An excerpt, describing the fragmentation of managers' time:<p>Folklore: The Manager is a reflective, systematic planner. The evidence on this issue is overwhelming, but not a shred of it supports this statement.<p>Fact: Study after study has shows that managers work at an unrelenting pace, that their activities are characterized by brevity, variety, and discontinuity, and that they are strongly oriented to actions and dislike reflective activities.<p>Consider this evidence:<p>- Half the activities engaged in by the five chief executives of my study lasted less than nine minutes, and only 10% exceeded one hour.<p>- A study of 56 U.S. foremen found that they averaged 583 activities per eight-hour shift, an average of 1 every 48 seconds.