The singular focusing ability that allows systems understanding goes under names that vary from organization to organization and competence model to model: big-picture view, pattern recognition, and systems thinking among them. It includes the ability to visualize the dynamics of complex systems and foresee how a decision at one point will ramify to create an effect at a distant one, or sense how what we do today will matter in five weeks, or in months, years, or decades. The challenge for leaders goes beyond having strengths in all three kinds of focus. The key is finding balance, and using the right one at the right time. The well-focused leader balances the data streams each offers, weaving these strands into seamless action. Putting together data on attention with that on emotional intelligence and performance, this triple focus emerges as a hidden driver of excellence.
— Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence (Daniel Goleman), Loc. 3141–7