1 The attitude is that if one is not moving ahead, he is falling behind
2 Time is treated as if it were something almost real People budget it, waste it, steal it, kill it, cut it, account for it; they also charge for it They do this because time is a precious resource
3 Everyone is in a rush—often under pressure In the writer’s eyes, city people always appear to be hurrying to get where they are going, restlessly seeking attention in a store, or elbowing others as they try to complete their shopping
4 Don’t take it personally This is because people value time highly, and they resent someone else“wasting”it beyond a certain appropriate point
5 This is because Americans generally assess and enquire about their visitors professionally rather than socially They start talking business very quickly Time is always ticking in their inner ear
6 Americans produce a steady flow of labor-saving devices: they communicate rapidly through faxes, phone calls or emails rather than through personal contacts
7 The impersonality of electronic communication has little or no relation to the sig