Got pressure? Today’s CIOs and CTOs certainly do as they are charged with innovating on a daily basis. According to CIOInsight, some are tempted to go into "survival mode," sticking to what’s safe and familiar while avoiding making decisions that might endanger their status. However, a new book from UCLA clinical professor Marc Schoen, "Your Survival Instinct is Killing You: Retrain Your Brain to Conquer Fear, Make Better Decisions, and Thrive in the 21st Century", aims to help senior execs become "comfortable with discomfort." He offers five tips to help the technical C Suite operate outside of its comfort zone:
 

  • Embrace Discomfort — Understand that uneasy feelings amid high-risk situations are normal. Strive to manage these emotions rather than eliminate them.
  • Walk Away From the Computer — Don’t depend solely upon Google for "instant results" research. Get out of the office. Talk to people. Read widely. Attempt to solve a problem all on your own.
  • Limit Stimulations — Shut down your e-mail. Turn the smartphone off. Eliminate all outside noise and spend time every day just thinking.
  • Listen Without Distractions — When meeting with a team member, colleague or senior manager, be fully engaged. Don’t take phone calls or type texts and e-mails.
  • Develop In-Depth Immersion — Don’t cut colleagues off when they try to explain a situation. Read entire articles instead of just the bullet points. Dive deeply into a topic.

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Playwright and filmmaker David Talbert is working with Disney Branded Television on a musical series, “Madelyn Square Gardens,” about a young woman from Mississippi who moves to New York with big Broadway

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