The HBR Guides Collection (8 Books) (HBR Guide Series)

Understanding How You’re Wired

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physical factors, ADT springs entirely from the environ-

ment. Like the traffi c jam, ADT is an artifact of modern

life. It is brought on by the demands on our time and at-

tention that have exploded over the past two decades. As

our minds fi ll with noise—feckless synaptic events signi-

fying nothing—the brain gradually loses its capacity to

attend fully and thoroughly to anything.

The symptoms of ADT come upon a person gradually.

The sufferer doesn’t experience a single crisis but rather

a series of minor emergencies while he or she tries harder

and harder to keep up. Shouldering a responsibility to

“suck it up” and not complain as the workload increases,

executives with ADT do whatever they can to handle a

load ...