This is a condensed slide deck from my Spring 2019 section of The Art of Self-Coaching at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Course materials are archived at https://www.edbatista.com/the-art-of-self-coaching-course.html

1. Photo by Philip Bird [link]
The art of
self-coaching
Ed Batista
CLASS 3: ATTENTION
Spring 2019

2. Attention
Another foundational topic
EMOTION: Emotions are attention magnets
HAPPINESS: What we pay attention to matters
RESILIENCE: Managing our attention under stress

3. Photo by Jason Baker [link]
Your most
precious resource

4. Attention > time

5. Effectiveness
Emotional Arousal
Performance
Eustress Distress
(Not literally a bell curve)

6. Effectiveness
Choosing where to focus your attention
Choosing what (& who) to ignore
Fundamental leadership skills
More difficult under stress
It will only get harder

7. System 1 &
Keith Stanovich, University of Toronto
Richard West, James Madison University
Individual Differences in Reasoning (2000)
Daniel Kahneman, Princeton
System 2

8. System 1 &
Systems = Modes of operating
Not actual brain structures
System 2

9. Photo by Jeff Mikels [link]
System 1 &
System 2

10. System 1 &
Most processing = Automatic & unconscious
Consciousness = Tip of the iceberg
System 2

11. Photo by John Flannery [link]
System 1 &
System 2

12. Photo by John Flannery [link]
System 1 &
System 2

13. Photo by Aero Icarus [link]
System 1 &
System 2
1 in 50,000,000,000

14. Photo by Miles Continental [link]
System 1 &
System 2
1 in 66,000,000
750x more deadly

15. Who’s in charge?
REMAIN CALM! ALL IS WELL!

16. Who’s in charge?
It depends
System 2 usually an acquiescent monitor
& sometimes in charge & actively resistant
& sometimes an endorser, NOT an enforcer

17. Why does this
Photo by Robert S. Donovan
matter?

18. Photo by Sarah Joy [link]
Attention budget

19. Attention budget
If you try to go beyond your budget, you will fail.
~Kahneman

20. Ego depletion
Photo by Rennett Stowe [link]

21. Ego depletion
Self-control consumes System 2 processing
Usually unpleasant (a good thing)
Resistance diminishes over time
It’s probably not about glucose

22. Law of least
Photo by Stuart [link]
effort

23. Law of least
effort
We’re lazy (or efficient) (or economical)
System 2 processing is inefficient & expensive

24. Law of least
effort
So we conserve System 2 resources (a good thing)
But this results in biases & systematic errors*
*Bugs are inevitable

25. What can we do?
Photo by Lydia [link]

26. Multi-task?
Photo by Nathan Jones [link]
DOES
NOT
EXIST

27. Multi-task
Either continuous partial attention
Or rapid context switching
Useless for serious work
Inefficient in all cases

28. Plug leaks
Photo by James Lee [link]

29. Attention
economy
Photo by Matt Biddulph [link]

30. We’re not just
consumers
Photo by XoMEoX [link]

31. We’re also
the product
Photo by United Soybean Board [link]

32. The tip of a long
tentacle
Photo by damn_unique [link]

33. Behind the screen

34. Mental control
Photo by flickrfavorites [link]
(aka)

35. Attention mgmt.
Photo by flickrfavorites [link]

36. Attention mgmt.
Try to pose for yourself this task: not to think of
a polar bear, and you will see that the cursed
thing will come to mind every minute.
~Fyodor Dostoyevsky

37. Attention mgmt.
Daniel Wegner, Harvard
People can control their mental states
just by trying to direct their thoughts.
These strategies of mental control
can sometimes backfire, however.

38. Surprise!
Photo by Henry Burrows [link]

39. Surprise!
Emotion is needed to interrupt thinking when
prompt response to environmental demands is
needed. Emotion should not be very
susceptible to willful control.
~Daniel Wegner

40. Mental control
Photo by Vincent Diamante [link]

41. Mental control
Suppression (Freud)
Concentration (James)
Almost always insufficient
Sometimes counterproductive
An alternative (Dewey)

42. Habit
Photo by Justin Henry [link]

43. Habit
Habits must intervene between wish & execution
in the case of bodily acts, [but] we still cherish
the illusion that they can be dispensed with in the
case of mental & moral acts.
~John Dewey

44. Habit
Could the young but realize how soon they will
become mere walking bundles of habits, they
would give more heed to their conduct while in
the plastic state.
~William James

45. Deliberate
Photo by Naval Surface Warriors [link]
practice

46. Deliberate
practice
Not “perfect”
Attention > time
Usually depleting (a good thing)
Focused attention is a finite resource

47. Deliberate
Repeated exposure = Cognitive ease
Skill in a task = Requires less mental effort
Habitual activities = Lower demand on System 2
practice

48. What can we do?
Photo by Lydia [link]
(else)

49. Build capacity
(aka)

50. Get MESSy
Photo by Paul Colley [link]

51. Get MESSy
Mindfulness
Exercise
Sleep hygiene
Stress reduction

52. Get MESSy
Mindfulness

53. Mindfulness
Photo by Strevo [link]

54. Mindfulness
Non-judgmental
awareness
& acceptance
of experience

55. Mindfulness
The most powerful self-coaching tool
Critical to attention & emotion management

56. Meditation?

57. Meditation

58. Meditation
Repeated effort (over & over & over & over)
Cultivated habit of attention management
Self-directed neuroplasticity

59. Meditation
A workout, not a break
Consistent practice is the key
Try 1 minute per day & work up

60. What can we do?
Photo by Lydia [link]
(else)

61. Photo by Andrea [link]
What else can
Healthy distractions
Bounded worry
Medication*
we do?

62. Adderall (et al)
Photo by Tony Wilson [link]

63. Photo by Pranav Yaddanapudi [link]
To sum up
Attention is your most precious resource
We can struggle to direct it effectively
Mere mental effort isn’t enough
Habitual practices are key

64. To sum up
This will only get harder
Everyone wants the leader’s attention
No one cares how much it costs the leader
Start treating your attention like a resource

65. For next time…
Photo by Kim Faires [link]

66. Emotion
Photo by Jill M [link]

67. Photo by dotmatchbox [link]
An exercise…

68. An exercise…
Emotional Style
60 true/false questions
Generally true or generally false
Go with your gut & don’t deliberate

69. An exercise…
Complete it (10 mins), then score it (10 mins)
Then do the Class 4 reading
Bring a copy to class

70. An exercise…
Take note…
“Resilience” in Davidson = Recovery Time

71. And a survey!

72. And a survey!
Link on Canvas
Help design next week’s class
6 dimensions of Emotional Style
Note the 3 that interest you most
AFTER doing the exercise & reading

73. Other items…
Slides will be posted on my site
Assignment & survey due Tues 9pm
Today’s 1:1s (and all future 1:1s) in B206