1: As the pilots stepped into the cockpit, 440 passengers were preparing to board the eight-hour flight from Singapore to Sydney.
“Even before Captain Richard Champion de Crespigny stepped on board Qantas Flight 32, he was drilling his crew in the mental models he expected them to use,” Charles Duhigg writes in Smarter Faster Better..
Richard is a blunt Australian, “a cross between Crocodile Dundee and General Patton,” … continue reading
1: “All of the machines hooked up to the child showed that her vitals were within normal ranges,” Charles Duhigg writes in Smarter Faster Better.
The nurse looking after the baby in the NICU, or neonatal intensive care unit, didn’t seem worried.
But to Darlene, something seemed off.
She alerted the attending doctor, who then ordered several tests.
“When the labs came back, they showed that the baby was … continue reading
1: Darlene worked as a nurse in a neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU, near Dayton, Ohio.
One day as she walked past an incubator, she sensed something was wrong.
“All of the machines hooked up to the child showed that her vitals were within normal ranges,” Charles Duhigg writes in Smarter Faster Better.
The nurse caring for the baby didn’t seem worried.
But to Darlene, something seemed off.… continue reading
1: What’s the best way to make your to-do list?
There’s something satisfying about writing down a task and then crossing it off your list.
“That’s exactly the wrong way to create a to-do list. That signals you’re using it for mood repair, rather than to become productive,” says Carleton University psychologist Timothy Pychyl in Charles Duhigg‘s book Smarter Faster Better.
Writing down a series of short-term objectives … continue reading
1: Jack Welch returned from his trip to Japan in 1993 on fire about the power of stretch goals.
As GE’s CEO, the story of the Japanese bullet train inspired him to rethink his approach to goal-setting, according to Charles Duhigg in Smarter Faster Better.
Within six months, every GE division had a stretch goal.
But there was a catch.
Jack and the division leaders didn’t always agree on … continue reading
1: Tynan thought mindfulness and meditation were “too wishy-washy and time consuming,” he writes in Superhuman by Habit.
When he tried meditating, he found it hard to keep his attention on his breath. His mind kept wandering, which left him frustrated and ready to give up.
But then he discovered something that completely changed how he saw meditation.
“If meditation were easy, it would not be as beneficial,” he writes. … continue reading
1: The year was 1993. GE CEO Jack Welch was in Japan when he heard a story about the country’s railway system.
After World War II, Japan’s economy had been decimated.
“A large portion of the country’s population lived in or between the cities of Tokyo and Osaka, which were separated by just 320 miles of train track,” Charles Duhigg writes in Smarter Faster Better: The Transformative Power of Real … continue reading
1: A GE worker had an idea.
He suggested to his managers that they stop outsourcing the construction of protective shields for their grinding machines, as Charles Duhigg explains in Smarter Faster Better: The Transformative Power of Real Productivity.
This employee was taking part in what GE called a “Work-Out” within a struggling division that made jet engine parts.
Yesterday, we looked at a potential trap with SMART … continue reading
1: “It was the late 1980s and GE was the second most valuable company in America,” Charles Duhigg writes in Smarter Faster Better: The Transformative Power of Real Productivity.
“GE manufactured everything from lightbulbs to jet engines, refrigerators to railway cars,” Charles notes.
It was a massive enterprise employing more than 220,000 people.
The company’s leaders thought their formal goal-setting system was one of the keys to their success.… continue reading
1: Sleeping as long as you want?
Waking up without an alarm clock?
This may sound like being on vacation, Tynan writes in his book Superhuman by Habit.
By making good sleep a habit, however, it can become an important part of your everyday life.
The benefits of good sleep are immense:
“Being alert and … continue reading
