The one habit that can improve almost every leadership skill There is a simple practice that can improve nearly every component of leadership excellence and it doesn't require adding anything to your busy schedule. In The Mindfulness Edge, you'll discover how a subtle inner shift, called mindfulness, can transform things that you already do every day into opportunities to become a better leader. Author Matt Tenney has trained leaders around the world in the practice of mindfulness. In this book, he partners with neuroscientist Tim Gard, PhD, to offer step-by-step, practical guidance for quickly and seamlessly integrating mindfulness training into your daily life—rewiring your brain in ways that improve both the ‘hard' and ‘soft' skills of leadership. In this book, you'll learn how mindfulness training helps you: Quickly improve business acumen and your impact on the bottom line Become more innovative and attract/retain innovative team members Develop the emotional intelligence essential for creating and sustaining a winning culture Realize the extraordinary leadership presence that inspires greatness in others The authors make a compelling case for why mindfulness training may be the 'ultimate success habit.' In addition to helping you improve the most essential elements of highly effective leadership, mindfulness training can help you discover unconditional happiness and realize incredible meaning—professionally and personally.

Table of Contents:
Preface A Note On Best Enjoying This Book xvii Introduction xix Everything Begins in the Mind xx You Can Rewire Your Brain for Leadership and Personal Excellence xxi What You’ll Find in This Book xxiii Part 1 How Mindfulness Training Rewires the Brain for Leadership Excellence 1 Chapter 1 The Shift That Changes Everything 3 Beginner’s Mind 6 The Attitude of a Beginner Is Essential 7 The Shift That Changes Everything 14 Changing Our Default 19 Review Questions 22 Chapter 2 Making an Immediate and Direct Impact on the Bottom Line 23 How We Unconsciously Affect Gross Margins and Expenses 25 Uncovering Our Cognitive Biases 27 The Illusion of Control Bias 27 The Status Quo Bias 29 The Logic Bias 30 The Reaction Time Bias 31 Mindful Self-Awareness and Better Decisions 32 Mental Agility 36 Freedom from Autopilot Mode 36 A Persistent Beginner’s Mind 40 Doing What’s Uncomfortable 41 Quick Impact and Great Potential 42 Review Questions 42 Chapter 3 Organizational Climate Change 44 The Power of a Positive Emotional Climate 45 The Leader Drives the Emotions of the Team 46 The Emotionally Intelligent Leader 47 A More Emotionally Intelligent Brain 51 A Training Regimen for Emotional Intelligence 54 A Human Approach 55 Review Questions 57 Chapter 4 Fueling the Fire of Innovation 59 The Archetype of an Innovator 62 Resilience in the Face of Opposition 63 Empathy 66 Empathetic Design 68 Review Questions 69 Chapter 5 Developing Extraordinary Leadership Presence 70 Staying Cool under Pressure 72 Fearlessness 75 The Most Important Aspect of Leadership Presence 77 Review Questions 81 Chapter 6 Why Mindfulness Is the Ultimate Success Habit 82 Two Life-Changing Discoveries 83 The Power of Serving Others 84 Unconditional Happiness 85 The Study of Happiness 86 Happiness Is Good for Business 87 Happiness Is Predetermined, Kind of (But You Can Change That) 88 The Ultimate Success Habit 91 Review Questions 93 Part 2 Developing the Ultimate Success Habit 95 Chapter 7 The Perfection of the Present Moment 97 Beginning to Practice in Daily Life 100 The Brain Is a Habitual Machine 103 The First Step to Unconditional Happiness 104 A Win-Win-Win Paradigm Shift 108 Review Questions 111 Chapter 8 The Power of Sitting Still 112 Seamlessly Integrating the Training into Daily Life 114 A Beginner’s Guide to Sitting Still in Mindfulness 117 An Intermediate-Level Guide to Sitting Still in Mindfulness 121 Spilling over into Activity 124 Review Questions 124 Chapter 9 From 4 Hours to 4 Minutes: Mastering Emotions for Optimal Performance 125 Returning to Cool: From 4 Hours to 4 Minutes 128 Mindfulness of Emotions: SCIL 130 A Ride on the River of Emotions 139 Review Questions 139 Chapter 10 The Wisdom of True Excellence 141 Things Aren’t as They Seem 142 An Incredible Discovery 145 You’re Not What You Think 146 Wisdom versus Knowledge 150 The Interplay between Stable Awareness and Wisdom 151 Review Questions 152 Chapter 11 Extraordinary Leadership Presence and the Final Piece of the Puzzle of Unconditional Happiness 153 Pain Is Inevitable; Suffering Is Optional 155 A Taste of Liberation 158 More Fully Enjoying What’s Pleasant 160 That Darn Wisdom Again 163 The Root Cause of Suffering 163 Review Questions 165 Chapter 12 Advanced-Level Training 166 The Best Movie Ever 167 Brutal, Compassionate Honesty 169 Investigation of Phenomena 170 Fearlessness 172 Managing Change 173 Seeing Opportunities No One Else Sees 174 Just Listening 175 The Power of Doing Nothing 176 Review Questions 177 Chapter 13 The Foundations of Wisdom: Physical Training for Character 178 The Foundations of Wisdom 180 Foundation of Wisdom 1—Integrity 181 Foundation of Wisdom 2—Skillful Communication 182 Speak in Ways That Are Helpful 183 Refrain from Offering Opinions Unless Asked to Do So or It Is Absolutely Necessary 184 Be Mindful while Using Electronic Devices 184 Conflict Management 185 The Power of Empathy 189 Foundation of Wisdom 3—Wise Consumption 191 Foundation of Wisdom 4—Generosity 194 Foundation of Wisdom 5—Kindness 195 Respect the Belongings of Others 195 Be Kind to All Conscious Beings 196 Exercises in Kindness 197 Your Personal Core Values 198 Review Questions 198 Chapter 14 Discovering Incredible Meaning at Work and in Your Time away from Work 201 A Purposeful Paradigm Shift 202 Saving the World on Your Way to the Bathroom 206 Review Questions 208 Afterword 209 Appendix Introduction to Neuroscience 210 How We Study the Brain 210 What Can We See in the Brain? 211 Notes and Resources 215 Acknowledgments 249 About The Authors 252 Index 255