Dorie Clark

We live in a time-pressed culture.

There is never enough time.

And we see it, we feel it around us every day.

We live in a world that valorizes work, accomplishment, busyness.

And there's real upside to that.

There's real value.

We're pushed, we're driven toward achievement and action and creation.

And that's great.

But there's also a downside.

And that's something that I think is worth talking about.

There was a study done a while back by the management research group of 10,000 senior leaders.

And they asked them, what is key to your organization's success?

And 97 percent said long-term strategic thinking.

I mean, when was the last time that 97 percent of people agreed on anything?

There is near unanimity that being a long-term thinker, having perspective, having the ability to think and ask big questions is essential to our success.

And yet, in a separate study, 96 percent of leaders were surveyed, and they said they don't have time for strategic thinking.

What is going on?

Why is it?

How can it be that 96% of people are not doing the one thing that they say is most critical to their success?

Well, I think we know the answer, or at least we think we do.