Addicted to Adrenaline

to impress the partners by arriving early, staying late, and generally maintaining a harried air. The managing partner called me into his office and told me that they had noticed the hours I was keeping. I was preparing to accept his appreciation and perhaps a raise or promotion, when instead he informed me that they had scheduled me for a time management course! Exhausted accountants make more mistakes, he said, that have to be caught and corrected by others. It was far more efficient, in his experience, to be rested and alert. A wise man.

So take this quiz:

If you are an employee, are you 1) drawing attention only to extreme measures, or are you 2) taking pride in the calm, efficient discharge of your responsibilities?

If you are a manager or team leader, are you 1) showering praise on those whose inefficiencies result in all-nighters, or are you 2) measuring and rewarding those who are so well organized that they don't generate any drama? And, once a crisis has passed, are you 1) so grateful for the heroic measures that you fail to question the reason for the threat in the first place, or do you 2) conduct a postmortem to focus on how the entire episode could have been prevented?

If you answered any of these questions with a "1," you are an adrenaline addict. Seek help.