Return on attention: Does your information diet serve you?

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Your attention is a precious asset and what you consume and pay attention to is entirely your decision. The term 'return on attention' refers to how much attention you are exerting on something and whether it is meaningful or a waste. Many people are not aware of where they are paying attention or how much attention is wasted. News is designed to trigger and keep you engaged, but you are responsible for managing your attention. It is important to say no and make responsible choices, as constantly saying yes gives up your freedom of choice and leads to instinctive behavior. It is crucial to assess whether you are getting the best return on your attention, as many people are not.

Joe McCormack, author of BRIEF: Make a Bigger Impact By Saying Less, returns to the podcast to discuss his follow-up book NOISE: Living and Leading when Nobody Can Focus. He shares how our electronic devices are hijacking our ability to focus, talks about the concept of infobesity, and offers ideas on how we can be deliberate about where we invest our attention.

Joe McCormack is on a mission to help organizations master lean communication. In an age of shrinking attention spans, non-stop interruptions, and floods of information, the messages business and military leaders send out are getting lost in a sea of words.

An experienced marketing executive, successful entrepreneur and author, Joe is recognized for his work in narrative messaging and strategic communications. His book, “BRIEF: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less”(Wiley, 2014) tackles the timeliness of the “less is more” mandate. Because even expert communication can be thwarted by an audience that has lost the capacity to pay attention, he follows up with a pragmatic guide to managing a distraction-filled environment in “NOISE: Living and leading when nobody can focus” (Wiley, 2020).

He speaks at diverse industry and client forums on the topics of brevity, storytelling, change and leadership. A passionate leader, he founded The BRIEF Lab in 2013 after years dedicated to developing and delivering a unique curriculum on executive communications for U.S. Army Special Operations Command (Ft. Bragg, NC). He actively counsels military leaders and senior executives on effective, efficient communication and produces a weekly podcast series called “Just Saying”.

The BRIEF Lab’s mission is to help organizations master concise communication to improve operational efficiency and effectiveness. His clients include Mastercard, Grainger, Boeing, Harley-Davidson, TransUnion, BMO Harris Bank, DuPont and a variety of U.S. military units. Previously, he served as SVP, Corporate Marketing at Ketchum, a top-five marketing agency in Chicago, where he directed its corporate marketing practice and introduced new service models to enhance messaging and deepen relationships with market influencers.

He received a BA in English Literature from Loyola University of Chicago where he graduated with honors. He is fluent in Spanish and has broad international experience. He lives in Pinehurst, NC.