Project Management
In the Age of
Attention Deficit
Achieving Focus and Results
Without Losing Your Mind
La Crosse-Rochester Chapter
Project Management Institute
Charter House
Rochester, Minnesota
13 January 2015
Paul Artell Smith and Eyad Salem
WatchWorks Management Consulting LLC
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The New Normal
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Attention!—Not a New Area of Study
“Everyone knows what attention is. It is taking
possession of the mind, in clear and vivid form,
of one out of what seems several simultaneously
possible objects or trains of thought.
Focalization, concentration of consciousness
are of its essence. It implies a withdrawal from
some things in order to deal effectively with
others.”
—William James (1842-1910)
Philosopher and Psychologist
* Involuntary Attention * Voluntary Attention *
Mind-Wandering * Narrow vs. Broad Attention *
McKay and McKay, January 2014.
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Strong Processes & Tools Help, But…
• Fewer than two-thirds of projects meet
their goals and business intent.
• 17% of projects fail outright.
• For every $1 Billion spent on failed
projects, $135 Million is lost forever.
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PMI Inc., 2013.
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Maybe A Little Worse Than We Thought
Fun Statistics
Data
Average attention span 2013
8 seconds
Average attention span 2000
12 seconds
Average attention span of a goldfish
9 seconds
Average number of times per hour an office worker checks email
30
Average length watched of a single internet video
2.7 minutes
Percent of web views that lasted less than 4 seconds
17%
Percent of web views that lasted more than 10 minutes
4%
Source: National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, The Associated Press,
Research conducted January 2014.
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Modern Life Attention Deficit
“How do you know you have ADD
or [just] a severe case of modern
life?...Everyone these days is
super-busy and multitasking and
keeping track of more data points
than ever. The actual condition is
just that—taken to a more extreme
level.”
—Edward Hallowell, M.D.
Adult Psychiatrist and ADHD Expert
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Faces in the Crowd
•
Traditionalists. 1925 to 1945.

•
Boomers. 1946-1964.

•
Prefer face-to-face meetings. Tolerant of technology, like Boomers.
Now the second largest generation. Traditional. Work to live. Millennials think they are
rigid and rules-bound.
Generation X. 1965-1980.
 Gen-Xers are self-reliant and many grew up as latch key kids. Relatively fewer in number.
•
Millennials or Generation Y. 1981-1995.

Seen as needy by their Gen X managers. Technology savvy. Want feedback/development.
Generation Zen. 1996 – Present. Known as Digital Natives or Gen Z.
 Technology savants, in comparison to other generations.
Miller-Merrell
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Labor Force Demographics
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Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants
Digital Natives Prefer—
Digital Immigrants Prefer—
•
Receiving info quickly from multiple
sources.
•
Controlled release of info from
limited sources.
•
Multitasking and parallel processing.
•
Single or “focused” tasks.
•
Pictures, sounds & video before text.
•
Prefer to get information from text.
•
Hyperlinked sources—learning that
is instant, relevant and fun.
•
Greater need for private and
personal space for introspection.
•
Interacting in “real-time.”
•
Like info presented linearly, logically
and sequentially.
•
User generated content.
•
Pathways to older technologies.
Note: The concept of Digital Natives & Immigrants was pioneered by Marc Prensky. His work has been
quoted extensively in many articles and publications. Mr. Prensky first published on this topic in 2001 in
a work titled On the Horizon. He is also the author of Teaching Digital Natives (2010).
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Multi-tasking vs. Continuous Partial
Attention
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Multi-Tasking vs. Continuous Partial
Attention
Multi-Tasking
• Originates from desire to be more productive and efficient.
• Involves activities that require minimal thinking.
• Tasks are usually low importance and/or low stress.
For example: Doing the laundry while talking on the phone.
Governed primarily by the Automatic Mind.
Stone, 2009
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Multi-Tasking vs. Continuous Partial
Attention
Continuous Partial Attention
•
•
•
•
•
Originates from desire to be aware of everything.
Attention is torn between all tasks, large and small.
May develop a false sense of constant crisis.
May compromise thinking and decision making abilities.
Can cause a lack of productivity, or even production paralysis.
For example: Answering critical emails while driving.
Governed primarily by the Reflective Mind.
Stone, 2009
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Manage Your Attention First
Tactics
1 – Increase your attention gradually.
2 – Create a distraction to-do list.
3 – Practice mindfulness.
4 – Physical exercise.
5 – Memorize things.
6 – Read long stuff slowly.
7 – Be curious.
8 – Practice attentive listening.
McKay and McKay, January 2014
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Manage the Attention of Others in the
Context of Project Management
Do Tactics
Don’t Tactics
•
Explicitly tailor communications to
the various audiences.
•
Attempt to change the meta-trend. It
is too broad and deep.
•
Adopt a “frequent and short” update
strategy for full team and sub-teams.
•
Shift around roles & responsibilities
without strong reason.
•
Rigorously assess individual interest, •
commitment and skill for employees
on the project.
Assume everyone cares about the
project, the plan or the outcome.
•
Meet project team members where
they stand in terms of digital media.
Resort to “brinkmanship” tactics that
push people to the edge.
•
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Benefits of Attention Management
Benefits
How
Improves Relationships
Fully present with another individual.
Boosts Resilience
Permits you to direct your mind to
positive events.
Increases Happiness
Conscious shift to broad focus creates
connections & opportunities.
Increases Creativity
Encourages mind-wandering and
nudges you in new, positive directions.
Deepens Wisdom
Directed attention encourages deep
thinking, moral reasoning, and
productive internal debates.
Improves Critical Thinking
Directed attention allows you to more
quickly take in new info, analyze it, and
make better decisions.
McKay and McKay, January 2014.
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Moving From Paying Attention To Gaining
Wisdom—Classic Pathway
Wisdom
Knowledge
Information
Data
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Seeking Wisdom in the Data Storm
WISDOM
KNOWLEDGE
Applied Information
⏎
⌘
⏎
⌘
Applied Knowledge,
Over Time
INFORMATION
Aggregation of Relevant Data
⏎
⌘
DATA
Raw and Voluminous
More Available Than Ever Before
Start here—with a question.
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Final Thoughts
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Bibliography and Additional Readings
Banaji, M., & Greenwald, A. (2013). Blindspot: Hidden biases of good people. New York: Delacorte Press.
Bauerlein, M. (2011). The digital divide: Arguments for and against Facebook, Google, texting, and the age of social networking. New
York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin. Baym, N. (2010). Personal connections in the digital age. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
Carr, N. (2010). The shallows: What the Internet is doing to our brains. New York: W.W. Norton.
Carr, N. (2014). The glass cage: Automation and us. New York: Norton.
Deal, J. (n.d.). The Myth of Generational Differences in the Workplace. Retrieved December 11, 2014, from
http://www.amanet.org/training/articles/The-Myth-of-Generational-Differences-in-the-Workplace.aspx
Gelb, M., & Caldicott, S. (2008). Innovate Like Edison: The Five-Step System for Breakthrough Business Success. New York: Plume.
Glaser, J. (2014). Conversational intelligence: How great leaders build trust and get extraordinary results. Brookline: Bibliomotion.
Goleman ET. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2014, from
http://www.sonoma.edu/users/s/swijtink/teaching/philosophy_101/paper1/goleman.htm
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam Books.
Goleman, D. (2014, February 26). What Mindfulness Is -- And Isn't. Retrieved December 11, 2014, from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-goleman/mindfulness_b_4859364.html
McKay, B., & McKay, K. (2014, January 20). Attention, Please! What Every Man Ought to Know About Focus. Retrieved December 23, 2014,
from http://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/01/20/attention-please-what-every-man-ought-to-know-about-focus/
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Bibliography and Additional Readings
McKay, B., & McKay, K. (2014, January 20). Attention, Please! What Every Man Ought to Know About Focus. Retrieved December 23,
2014, from http://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/01/20/attention-please-what-every-man-ought-to-know-about-focus/
Miller-Merrell, J. (n.d.). Recruiting in The Five Generation Workplace. Retrieved December 11, 2014, from
http://www.smartrecruiters.com/blog/recruiting-in-the-five-generation-workplace/
Patterson, Kerry. Change Anything: The New Science of Personal Success. New York: Business Plus, 2011. Print.
Personality test based on C. Jung and I. Briggs Myers type theory. (n.d.). Retrieved December 23, 2014, from
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp#top
Pope, L. (2013, August 22). Why it’s time to reject the myth of multitasking. Retrieved December 23, 2014, from
http://lumiaconversations.microsoft.com/2013/08/22/why-its-time-to-reject-the-myth-of-multitasking/
Project Management Institute, Inc. (2013, March). Pulse of the Profession. The High Cost of Low Performance. Retrieved January 3,
2015. https://www.pmi.org/~/media/PDF/Business-Solutions/PMI-Pulse%20Report-2013Mar4.ashx
Stone, L. (2009, November 28). Continuous Partial Attention. Retrieved December 23, 2014, from
http://lindastone.net/qa/continuous-partial-attention/
Turkle, S. (2011). Alone together: Why we expect more from technology and less from each other. New York: Basic Books.
Winning the generation game. (2013, September 28). Retrieved December 11, 2014, from
http://www.economist.com/news/business/21586831-businesses-are-worrying-about-how-manage-different-age-groups-widelydifferent
Weinreich, Obendorf, Herder, and Mayer: (2008, February “Not Quite the Average: An Empirical Study of Web Use,” in the ACM
Transactions on the Web, vol. 2, no. , article #5
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