In 1973, Managers Could Work 23 Minutes Without Distraction. And Today?

A study of business managers reports the following findings:

Managers scarcely have time to start on a new task or to sit down before they are interrupted.

Only 12 times in the study did the manager succeed in working undisturbed in his office for at least 23 minutes.

“The brevity of many of the manager’s activities is most surprising…Half of the observed activities were completed in less than nine minutes, and only one tenth took more than an hour.

A recent study? Hardly. These quotes are taken from Henry Mintzberg’s classic The Nature of Managerial Work published in 1973.

Read full article: Fast Company, October 17, 2012