Habit is one of the most useful biological adaptations we humans have developed. It allows us to get through each day efficiently. We perform mundane tasks while our mind is on important matters, we mentally create important responses while mindlessly scanning junk email, we listen politely to boring presentations while mentally evaluating the monthly revenue projections.

And habit allows us to move through life in a semi-asleep state, responding to today's issues out of last decade's learned responses. Science tells us that each human being thinks about 65,000 thoughts daily! The sad corollary fact is that nearly every one of today's thoughts are the same as yesterday's …and the day before …and the month before …and the year before.

Becoming organizationally mindful requires a process of awakening: of discovering just how many ways you are on automatic pilot and becoming open to new and different ways of engaging the world, your colleagues, employees, clients and family members.

So if you're sleep walking through life, these will be familiar signposts:

• You notice yourself attending meetings that make no difference in your ability to produce results, yet you can't find a good reason to stay away
• You're bored to tears with the same old, same old
• You can accurately predict the responses of those around you …and you're aware exactly what your moves and counter moves will be in most engagements
• Its not clear who's driving the bus …but you know it isn't you
• You're working harder and harder and producing no greater results
• You're health is deteriorating or your home life is heading for the skids
• You have a 'leadership' position yet feel you have little influence or leverage