Some key points:

• Our performance is not homogeneous during the day:
  • For the majority of people, vigilance is high in the morning which allows to carry out analytical tasks. Then it decreases during the day (but this decrease of vigilance also allows a greater creativity in the evening).
    It is to be nuanced according to your “chronotype”: Are you more a morning lark or a nocturnal owl?
  • After about 6 hours of activity (so usually in the early afternoon), we have a drop in concentration and are more in danger of making mistakes (the statistics on medical errors in the hospitals are striking!)
    How to fight this hollow of the afternoon? Regular breaks, mini-naps…

• The stakes are different in the phases of a project:
  • A good start to the day, project, career has an influence on the whole suite.
    How can we maximize our chances of success?
  • The middle of a project can turn into a slump with lower motivation and quality but also can serve as a “wake-up call” especially if you are late (concept of “Oh-Uh” effect).
  • We remember more of endings than of whole stories.
    They can be the occasion for an additional “collar shot” or to end up in an impressive way.

• The secret to the effectiveness of a group, synchronization:
  • From examples of choirs, rowing teams or the meal delivery system in Mumbai, Daniel Pink identifies 3 synchronization factors for a group and offers team cohesion techniques.

Each chapter is followed by simple and judicious examples and rules to make use of those findings in our daily work.