Dianne Huss Jeff Lerner Review
Meet Dianne Huss. She’s learning new skills in preparation for retirement. And joining ENTRE has been an eye opener about what it means to reach this goal. Because Dianne’s come to understand how her physical, personal and professional health are connected. Now Dianne is striving to be the healthiest version of herself in an effort to achieve the success she desires.
Welcome to another episode of Millionaire Secrets!
There’s an emotion we’re all familiar with as entrepreneurs.
Fear.
It’s one of the most useful emotions we’ve got. It can stop you from getting hurt and it can even save your life!
But it can also hold you back.
It can stop you from taking risks. And every entrepreneur knows, taking risks is one of the most important things we do!
My guest today knows this better than anyone.
Leslie Zann is a woman of many, many talents. She spent years in sales and business development before realizing her true vocation:
Helping people overcome their fears!
She helps others to address the fears and limiting beliefs that stop them from achieving success.
In this episode, we take a deep dive into the different types of fear and the effects they have on us.
More importantly, we talk about the different ways we can overcome them!
Have you ever made a risky decision?
How did it feel?
The chances are, at some point in the process, you experienced fear. But what you did next is most important.
Did you ignore that fear?
Or did you let it overcome you?
Check out this episode to find out what Leslie Zann, the expert on fear, would have done!
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Dianne Huss
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know Hardcover – February 2, 2021
by Adam Grant (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars
#1 New York Times Bestseller
"THIS. This is the perfect book for you right now. Learning is a process that requires concentration. But, learning and relearning involves more than that. It's about choosing the risk of bravery over the security. In "Think Rethink, Adam Grant weaves the world of storytelling and research to help us develop the mental and emotional strength that we require to remain interested enough in the world around us to change it. I've never felt more hopeful about the things I'm still not aware of."
Brene Brown Ph.D. the #1 New York Times best-selling creator of Dare to Lead
The best-selling author of Give and Take and Originals examines the essential art of thinking differently how to question your beliefs and to open people's eyes, which will help you achieve excellence at work as well as wisdom in the world.
Intelligence is typically viewed as the capacity to be able to think and learn. However, in the current world of rapid change there's a different set of cognitive skills that may matter more: the capacity to change your mind and learn. In our everyday lives most of us are drawn to the comfort of certainty over the uncertainty of doubt. We are influenced by opinions that make us feel happy rather than thinking about ideas that require us to think deeply. We consider disagreement to be an assault on our self-esteem, not an opportunity to gain knowledge. It is easy to surround yourself with those who share our views and we should be seeking out those who challenge our thinking process. As a result, our convictions become fragile long in the past before we can feel them. We are too much as preachers who defend our sacred convictions, prosecutors who prove that the opposing side is wrong and politicians who are clamoring to win approval, and not enough like scientists seeking truth. Intelligence isn't a cure and it may even be a curse. Being skilled at thinking may result in us being less able to rethink. The more brilliant we think we are, the more blind at our limitations could be.
The organizational psychologist Adam Grant is an expert in educating other people's minds, and our own. As the most highly rated professor at Wharton and the most popular creator of Originals and Give and Take Grant is one of his core values to make it his mission to convince people that he's right but to be open to the possibility that the other side is wrong. With bold ideas and a solid evidence, he reveals ways we can accept the thrill that comes from being incorrect, add an element of nuance to heated discussions and create workplaces, schools and communities that are full made up of lifetime learners. It will show how a global debate champion is able to win arguments as well as how an Black musician convinces white supremacists to stop hating and a vaccine whisperer encourages parents concerned about vaccinations for their children and Adam has persuaded Yankees supporters to support their team the Red Sox. Consider It again will show that we don't need to accept everything we read or take every feeling we experience. It's a call to release beliefs that don't serve our best interests and to value mental flexibility over unwise consistent thinking. If the power of knowledge is knowledge, being aware of what we don't know is wisdom.
A profound, utterly original, lighthearted manifesto on a mental skill we could use more of
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2021
The three hardest things to say in English are "I was wrong", "I'm sorry", and "Worcestershire sauce." Adam Grant can definitely help you with the first two. In a world changing at unprecedented speed, there's a new must-need skill on the block: "Intelligence is traditionally viewed as the ability to think and learn. Yet in a turbulent world, there's another set of cognitive skills that might matter more: the ability to rethink and unlearn."
If you think rethinking is hard, you think rightly. Our inner Preacher, Prosecutor and Politician stand ready to trip us up: "The risk is that we become so wrapped up in preaching that we’re right, prosecuting others who are wrong, and politicking for support that we don’t bother to rethink our own views."
So what should we do instead? This book helps you find your inner Scientist — infinitely curious, moderately confident, perennially skeptical. Then "you define your identity in terms of values, not opinions", and actively "seek out information that goes against your views."
With expert storytelling and a breezy yet earnest tone, Adam guides you through the perils and rewards of rethinking at the individual, interpersonal, and collective level. In the process, you'll meet a cast of fascinating folks who practice expert-level rethinking. There's Daryl Davis, the Black musician with the hobby of converting KKK members into friends. There's the vaccine whisperer who gets legions of anti-vax parents to vaccinate their kids, and Erin McCarthy who has her students re-write old history textbooks. And the other stories I'm not even mentioning lest I spoil your fun in reading Adam's deft plot twists and big reveals.
I particularly appreciate the plenitude of wisdom in this book, much of it counterintuitive. For example, assembling a "challenge network" of our most thoughtful critics (instead of a support network of yes-men) seems like a useful exercise against overconfidence. And it's heartening that a little bit of impostor syndrome actually renders us more credible. And now that Adam has highlighted the efficacy of motivational interviewing, I will use it much more in my coaching & behavioral change practice.
In addition to being supremely well-structured and instructive, "Think Again" is delightfully quirky. I read 160-180 nonfiction books a year, and it's safe to say I haven't read anything like this. There are a ton of cartoons, real and faux diagrams, and funny-yet-true flowcharts to illustrate points and elicit chuckles. Adam often inserts italicized musings and asides smack in the middle of a paragraph. The epilogue, which is kind of bonkers, embodies rethinking in physical form. And -- mayonnaise.
This is an utterly original book on a topic that not only bears directly upon our success, but also our long-term happiness: "It takes humility to reconsider our past commitments, doubt to question our present decisions, and curiosity to reimagine our future plans. What we discover along the way can free us from the shackles of our familiar surroundings and our former selves. Rethinking liberates us to do more than update our knowledge and opinions—it’s a tool for leading a more fulfilling life." That sounds pretty important to me, so I'll be re-reading rethinking regularly. Get the book for yourself and the other stubborn people you love who think they can pronounce "Worcestershire."
-- Ali Binazir, M.D., M.Phil., Chief Happiness Engineer and author of The Tao of Dating: The Smart Woman's Guide to Being Absolutely Irresistible , the highest-rated dating book on Amazon, and Should I Go to Medical School?: An Irreverent Guide to the Pros and Cons of a Career in Medicine
392 people found this helpful
DisneyDenizenTop Contributor: Harry Potter
HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWERVINE VOICE
Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2021
Right up there with Malcolm Gladwell as one of my very favorite non-fiction writers.
Learn while enjoying the reading experience.
117 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2021
This book is particularly relevant as many people reassess plans for their professional and personal lives. Well written, clear, and engaging- this book has been a quick and enjoyable read with many practical and actionable observations. I have already purchased extra copies for a few close friends and hope my team selects this for an upcoming book club.
105 people found this helpful
Another outstanding book by Adam Grant
Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2021
Quickly becoming one of the most important thought leaders of our era, Adam grand does it again. Building on his previous work in Give & Take and then Originals, the author challenges readers to reconsider how they approach work, problem-solving, and critical thinking. Unlike many authors in this category who repackage universal truths, Grant reveals fresh and surprising concepts that...well... really get you thinking again. Beautifully-written, funny, and eye-opening, this is one of my favorite books in the last couple years. Highly recommend to anyone who wants to learn, grow, and reinvent, both personally and professionally.
116 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2021
I am a big fan of Adam Grant. I listen to his podcast Work/Life and follow his posts on LinkedIn but had never read any of his books. Earlier this year, he announced the release of Think Again. I was hooked from the second I read the below quote from Daniel Kahneman on the book's website:
"Adam Grant believes that keeping an open mind is a teachable skill. And no one could teach this hugely valuable skill better than he does in this wonderful read. The striking insights of this brilliant book are guaranteed to make you rethink your opinions and your most important decisions.”
I could not have more conviction that tempering one's convictions and keeping an open, curious mind is crucial to success. Especially when you are trying to innovate. Embracing reality with an open mind, as put in Principles, another great book by Ray Dalio, is a great concept. But it is easier said than done.
I picked up Think Again over the weekend and can't put it down. I'm struck by what a fantastic writer Adam Grant is. He seamlessly weaves this broad topic of "open-mindedness" with practical tools for how to, and how not to, put it into practice. He also tells vivid, and sometimes heartbreaking stories that show this value in practice. If you're trying to improve your openness and curiosity and embrace the mentality of a tinkering scientist over a confident prognosticator, this book is fantastic. This is one of the most important, and underrated, leadership skills in the world and I'm so pleased to see a book that helps people understand what it looks like and how to put it into practice!
82 people found this helpful
Progress is impossible without change. Think Again.
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2021
Wonder why your smart friends think differently than you do? Maybe you should think again. Adam Grant has written a book that may be the best explanation of what's going on in our country today. I'm only a couple of chapters into the book and I'm already thinking it may be the best book I'll read this year.
78 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2021
An incredible, data supported, case for re-thinking. Adam encourages the reader to prop their identity on their values, not opinions and beliefs. He highlights the importance of having confidence in your ability to lean and accomplish, but steadfastly to your solutions or tools. Adam also nudges the reader to self asses how they preach, prosecute, or politic when it comes to discussing ideas or topics with others.
Must read!
15 people found this helpful
How to Beat the Overconfidence Effect in Yourself and Others
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2021
In 1933, the philosopher Bertrand Russell wrote that “the fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.” While this is just as true today as it was in the early twentieth-century, the problem actually runs deeper; almost everyone recognizes arrogance and overconfidence in others—but never in themselves.
Since the time of Russell, what’s become known as the Dunning-Kruger Effect has been experimentally validated. Research shows—and personal experience confirms—that those who are the least knowledgeable in a subject tend to be the ones who overestimate their own knowledge and abilities, while those that are full of doubt know enough about the topic to better gauge the extent of their ignorance.
And so the telltale sign of a lack of knowledge is, paradoxically, arrogance and overconfidence, whereas in those with actual expertise you often see the opposite: humility, doubt, and open-mindedness.
Far more people fall on the side of overconfidence. This is due, at least in part, to widespread access to the internet, where people can quickly read articles and watch videos (of varying quality and credibility) on any conceivable topic, creating the impression that one has attained deep knowledge in a subject when only a very superficial understanding has been gained.
Overcoming this unfortunate state of affairs is the subject of organizational psychologist Adam Grant’s latest book, Think Again, which seeks to show us how to overcome our own unjustified overconfidence by developing the habits of mind that force us to challenge our own beliefs and, when necessary, to change them.
Grant begins by telling us that when we think and talk, we often slip into the mindset of three distinct professions: preachers, prosecutors, and politicians. We become preachers when the unwarranted strength of our convictions compels us to convert others to our way of thinking; prosecutors when our sole aim is to discredit the beliefs of others; and politicians when we seek to win favors from our chosen constituency.
What all of these mindsets have in common is the assumption that our beliefs are infallible, and that no one could possibly have anything to teach us. Trapped in the prison cell of our own dogma, we don’t set out to learn anything or update our own beliefs; our job is simply to convert others to our way of thinking because, of course, we are right.
These habits of mental imprisonment can happen to anyone at any level of knowledge or experience, and intelligence itself has actually been shown at times to be a disadvantage, as those with high IQs have the most difficulty updating their beliefs. As Dunning himself said, “The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” You may think all of your beliefs are correct (otherwise you wouldn’t hold them), but there is little doubt that at least some (probably many) of them are false or oversimplified. If your mind remains closed, you’ll never discover which of these beliefs require updating.
The key question, then, is this: If most of us are unaware of the extent of our own ignorance, how can we hope to overcome our own resistance to change?
The first step, as Grant recommends, is to detach your sense of self from any specific beliefs. If you identify with a specific set of fixed core beliefs, you will be far less likely to change your mind in the face of new evidence or better reasoning.
Grant recommends instead to ground your sense of self in mental flexibility, taking pride in the fact that you’re willing to change your mind and update your beliefs. To achieve this, you must consider all of your beliefs to be provisional hypotheses and then seek to disprove them, in the process becoming more knowledgeable by being wrong more often. Using this approach, you will have discovered the ideal mindset for personal development and learning—not the mindset of a preacher, prosecutor, or politician, but the mindset of a scientist.
The scientist, Grant tells us, has one overarching concern: the truth. The individual that adopts a scientific mindset will be equally motivated to challenge their own beliefs as the beliefs of others, testing hypotheses against the evidence and continually updating their beliefs in the process.
Of course, as Grant points out, being an actual practicing scientist does not guarantee the adoption of this mindset. There are plenty of dogmatic scientists that don’t abide by the principles of their own training. The scientific mindset is not, as Grant is describing it, the mindset adopted by scientists necessarily, but rather the ideal mindset that follows the principles of science as an open-ended pursuit of knowledge that is constantly updated in the face of new evidence.
In one interesting study described by Grant (the book is filled with fascinating examples and studies of a similar sort), two groups of entrepreneurs were provided training. One group was taught the principles of scientific thinking while the control group was not. The researchers found that the scientific-thinking group “brought in revenue twice as fast—and attracted customers sooner, too.” As Grant wrote:
“The entrepreneurs in the control group tended to stay wedded to their original strategies and products. It was too easy to preach the virtues of their past decisions, prosecute the vices of alternative positions, and politick by catering to advisers who favored the existing direction. The entrepreneurs who had been taught to think like scientists, in contrast, pivoted more than twice as often.”
Individuals that enjoy the prospect of being wrong—and so expand their knowledge more often—tend to be more successful and tend to hold more accurate, nuanced beliefs. It’s not that they lack confidence, it’s that their confidence is of a different nature. Flexible-minded individuals have confidence in their ability to learn and to unlearn beliefs that are outdated or are no longer serving them well. Their confidence lies in their ability to change and to adapt rather than in strength of their convictions concerning any single set of beliefs. As Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman put it, “Being wrong is the only way I feel sure I’ve learned anything.”
There is definitely a line to walk, and the reader may wonder just how far they should take this advice. To constantly question every one of your beliefs would result in paralyzing doubt. Sometimes, it is the strength of our convictions that give us the energy and perseverance to pursue and accomplish our goals. So this is surely a balancing act, and while we all have to find the sweet spot between timidity and arrogance, conviction and doubt, there is little question that too many of us tend toward the extreme of overconfidence.
After showing us how to become better rethinkers ourselves, in the second part of the book we learn how to open other people’s minds. Grant shows us how world-class debaters win debates, how a black musician talked white supremicists out of their bigoted views, and how doctors persuaded anti-vaxxers to get their children immunized.
In every case, we learn the same lesson in the art of persuasion: to change someone else’s mind, you have to help them find their own internal motivation to change.
This is not easy. The mindsets we typically slip into tend to have the opposite effect. Act as a preacher, and people will resist being told what to think (even if the facts are on your side). Act as a prosecutor, and people will resent your condescension and will become further entrenched in their original views. Act as a politician, and you’re just saying what you think people want to hear.
None of these approaches are effective as tools of persuasion. It turns out that your best bet is to adopt, once again, the mindset of a scientist—and to try to get others to do the same. This will transform disagreements from battles to be won and lost into a collaborative pursuit of the truth.
The most skilled negotiators, debaters, and persuaders all use similar tactics: they first find common ground and points of agreement, ask more questions to get the other person thinking deeper, present a limited number of stronger points, and introduce complexity into the topic to move the person’s thinking away from black-and-white and into shades of gray.
It turns out that complexifying the issue is always key. Most people exhibit what psychologists call binary bias, or the “basic human tendency to seek clarity and closure by simplifying a complex continuum into two categories.” If you can show people—through the use of skillful questioning—that the topic they think they understand deeply (Dunning-Kruger Effect) is actually far more complex than they originally thought with more than two distinct positions, then you can plant the seeds of doubt that eventually lead to real change.
One example Grant uses is climate change. We tend to think that people fall into one of two categories—climate-deniers or alarmists—when in fact there are six distinct positions people can take from dismissive, doubtful, or disengaged to cautious, concerned, or alarmed—with shades of nuance in between. It’s often the recognition of this complexity that can get people talking and engaged in productive debate.
In the final part of the book, Grant shows us how to use the skills of rethinking to engage in more productive political debates, to become better teachers, and to create more innovative cultures at work. Grant provides a host of compelling examples, but my favorite is the middle-school history teacher who gets her students to think like scientists by rewriting textbook chapters that failed to cover important historical events in sufficient depth. Her students pick a time period and topic that interests them and then, through independent research, rewrite the textbook chapter, in the process cultivating the skill to always question what they read. This is a far better approach than simply delivering a lecture and forcing students to regurgitate the information on a test.
Bertrand Russell was once asked in an interview if he was willing to die for any of his beliefs. His response was this: “Of course not. After all, I may be wrong.”
It’s a shame that most people adopt the opposite attitude, and Grant’s latest book will go a long way to remedying this. Think Again is a timely exploration of the importance of humility and the capacity to rethink your own positions while helping others do the same.
But in the spirit of the book—and to “complexify” the topic—it’s worth considering when displaying doubt and humility might actually backfire. Grant wonders this himself, and points out, for example, that displays of doubt and humility have been shown to have negative effects in the workplace in those who have not already established their competence. It can also be less effective when delivering a presentation to an already sympathetic audience. Does Grant downplay the frequency of these types of situations?
Another area where excessive doubt and humility might backfire is an area that Grant fails to consider in much depth at all: arguing with bad faith actors. When discussing politics, Grant seems to assume that in most cases both sides are equally motivated by the truth, and that each side has simply failed to understand the complexity of the topic or the merits of the other side.
But we know that this is not always the case. In politics, people have a host of motives when arguing that sometimes have very little to do with the truth: the desire for power, money, influence, and sometimes simply the desire to offend and get a rise out of people. Grant does not cover how to handle these situations—or how to identify them—and it is highly unlikely that the tactics of the book will work in these situations.
Additionally, it seems that the masses respond better to confidence when electing political representatives, because we know that Trump was not elected based on his knowledge or competence—and certainly not on his humility.
When dealing with bad faith actors, perhaps a good strategy would be to start with a simple question, one Grant mentions in the book: “What evidence would change your mind?” If the answer is “nothing,” then it’s probably best to walk away. Either way, a chapter or section on bad faith actors and the questions you can ask to identify them would have been a welcome addition to the book.
But of course, this book is not the final word on the topic, and Grant wouldn’t want it to be. As we gain better evidence and more experience, it’s our responsibility to continually rethink and update our beliefs. As Russell said, “If you’re certain of anything, you’re certainly wrong, because nothing deserves absolute certainty.”
9 people found this helpful
Adam Grant's best book yet for business leaders
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2021
There are two powerful reasons to read this book. One: You’ll learn a lot. Two: This book will be mentioned in articles and discussions. It will make the short list of books every manager should read.
I bought Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant because I’ve learned a lot from his books, blogs, and articles. I expected the same level of lucid writing and penetrating insight that I got from Originals and Give and Take. For me, this was the best book yet.
Think Again is the best book Grant has written for business leaders. That VUCA world we keep hearing about requires flexibility and unlearning. Most of the books I’ve seen on the kind of learning you need for today’s world focus on corporate cultures, on creating “learning institutions.” Think Again is different. Think Again is about the learning culture between your ears. Here’s how Grant states the purpose of the book.
“This book is an invitation to let go of knowledge and opinions that are no longer serving you well, and to anchor your sense of self in flexibility rather than consistency. If you can master the art of rethinking, I believe you’ll be better positioned for success at work and happiness in life. Thinking again can help you generate new solutions to old problems and revisit old solutions to new problems. It’s a path to learning more from the people around you and living with fewer regrets. A hallmark of wisdom is knowing when it’s time to abandon some of your most treasured tools—and some of the most cherished parts of your identity.”
The first section of the book is about opening your mind. It’s about what “thinking again” really means. The second part of the book looks at ways to encourage others to think again or to think along with you. The third section is about creating communities of lifelong learners.
A key to getting the most from this book is the different mindsets that Philip Tetlock discovered. Here’s Grant’s brief description from Think Again.
“Two decades ago my colleague Phil Tetlock discovered something peculiar. As we think and talk, we often slip into the mindsets of three different professions: preachers, prosecutors, and politicians. In each of these modes, we take on a particular identity and use a distinct set of tools. We go into preacher mode when our sacred beliefs are in jeopardy: we deliver sermons to protect and promote our ideals. We enter prosecutor mode when we recognize flaws in other people’s reasoning: we marshal arguments to prove them wrong and win our case. We shift into politician mode when we’re seeking to win over an audience: we campaign and lobby for the approval of our constituents. The risk is that we become so wrapped up in preaching that we’re right, prosecuting others who are wrong, and politicking for support that we don’t bother to rethink our own views.”
Grant uses Tetlock’s terms for the different mindsets. I found digging around on the web and in the scholarly literature for more on the mindsets helped me squeeze even more value from this book.
This is not a book where you can skip around and get much value. The description of thinking in the first section sets up later lessons and insights. The second section builds on the first and applies the lessons to debate and persuasion. The third section builds on the first two. It extends the basic mindset idea to groups.
Suggestion. As a warmup for Think Again, take a minute to read a Farnam Street blog post: "Jeff Bezos on Why People that Are Often Right Change Their Minds Often."
In A Nutshell
Think Again is an excellent book that will give you techniques you can use to think more effectively at work and everywhere else. You’ll get more from the book if you do a little bit of homework. Learn about Tetlock’s mindsets and the general idea of changing your mind as a way of thinking.
6 people found this helpful
Interesting scholarly multi-faceted fascinating read about effective learning methods
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2021
The book entitled: “Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know” by Adam Grant is well worth purchasing and reading. The book is a wealth of information about methods of learning including which are most effective and impactful. With both scholarly studies and anecdotal stories the author weaves a coherent view of how we hold and stick to out of date opinions. He offers specific methods of breaking out of old habits and eliciting broader more nuanced understanding of complex subjects.
The author states: “Intelligence is traditionally viewed as the ability to think and learn. Yet in a turbulent world, there’s another set of cognitive skills that might matter more: the ability to rethink and unlearn. … Under acute stress, people typically revert to their automatic, well-learned responses. … As the coronavirus pandemic unfolded, many leaders around the world were slow to rethink their assumptions—first that the virus wouldn’t affect their countries, next that it would be no deadlier than the flu, and then that it could only be transmitted by people with visible symptoms. The cost in human life is still being tallied.”
Grant continues: “If you can master the art of rethinking, I believe you’ll be better positioned for success at work and happiness in life. … A hallmark of wisdom is knowing when it’s time to abandon some of your most treasured tools—and some of the most cherished parts of your identity.” He goes on to explain: “As of 1950, it took about fifty years for knowledge in medicine to double. By 1980, medical knowledge was doubling every seven years, and by 2010, it was doubling in half that time. The accelerating pace of change means that we need to question our beliefs more readily than ever before.”
Key to being able to rethink is Grant’s observation that: “As we think and talk, we often slip into the mindsets of three different professions: preachers, prosecutors, and politicians.” Moreover, he states: “We go into preacher mode when our sacred beliefs are in jeopardy: we deliver sermons to protect and promote our ideals. We enter prosecutor mode when we recognize flaws in other people’s reasoning: we marshal arguments to prove them wrong and win our case. We shift into politician mode when we’re seeking to win over an audience: we campaign and lobby for the approval of our constituents. The risk is that we become so wrapped up in preaching that we’re right, prosecuting others who are wrong, and politicking for support that we don’t bother to rethink our own views.” Grant provides examples of the failure of Blackberry to change and how Jobs was convinced to change and how that change made the iPhone a success.
Grant does not dodge sensitive topics, indeed he writes: “if the empirical pattern clashes with your ideology, math prowess is no longer an asset; it actually becomes a liability. The better you are at crunching numbers, the more spectacularly you fail at analyzing patterns that contradict your views. If they were liberals, math geniuses did worse than their peers at evaluating evidence that gun bans failed. If they were conservatives, they did worse at assessing evidence that gun bans worked.”
In terms of bias, Grant states: “In psychology there are at least two biases that drive this pattern. One is confirmation bias: seeing what we expect to see. The other is desirability bias: seeing what we want to see. … My favorite bias is the “I’m not biased” bias, in which people believe they’re more objective than others. It turns out that smart people are more likely to fall into this trap. The brighter you are, the harder it can be to see your own limitations. Being good at thinking can make you worse at rethinking.”
The author writes: “Thinking like a scientist involves more than just reacting with an open mind. It means being actively open-minded. It requires searching for reasons why we might be wrong—not for reasons why we must be right—and revising our views based on what we learn. … In preacher mode, changing our minds is a mark of moral weakness; in scientist mode, it’s a sign of intellectual integrity. … the purpose of learning isn’t to affirm our beliefs; it’s to evolve our beliefs. … If knowledge is power, knowing what we don’t know is wisdom.”
Grant writes: “According to what’s now known as the Dunning-Kruger effect, it’s when we lack competence that we’re most likely to be brimming with overconfidence.
In the original Dunning-Kruger studies, people who scored the lowest on tests of logical reasoning, grammar, and sense of humor had the most inflated opinions of their skills.”
The author goes on to write: “Humility is often misunderstood.. .. You can be confident in your ability to achieve a goal in the future while maintaining the humility to question whether you have the right tools in the present. That’s the sweet spot of confidence. … Confident humility doesn’t just open our minds to rethinking—it improves the quality of our rethinking”
Grant writes about leadership that: “When adults have the confidence to acknowledge what they don’t know, they pay more attention to how strong evidence is and spend more time reading material that contradicts their opinions. … The most effective leaders score high in both confidence and humility. Although they have faith in their strengths, they’re also keenly aware of their weaknesses.”
About errors, Grant writes: “The goal is not to be wrong more often. It’s to recognize that we’re all wrong more often than we’d like to admit, and the more we deny it, the deeper the hole we dig for ourselves.” He goes on to write: “Our inner dictator also likes to take charge when our deeply held opinions are threatened. … we have a lifetime of evidence that we’re wrong on a regular basis.” He goes on to write: “ … two kinds of detachment are especially useful: detaching your present from your past and detaching your opinions from your identity.” And “The second kind of detachment is separating your opinions from your identity. … Most of us are accustomed to defining ourselves in terms of our beliefs, ideas, and ideologies. This can become a problem when it prevents us from changing our minds as the world changes and knowledge evolves.”
Grant writes that: “Laughing at ourselves reminds us that although we might take our decisions seriously, we don’t have to take ourselves too seriously. Research suggests that the more frequently we make fun of ourselves, the happier we tend to be.” He goes on to write: “Psychologists find that admitting we were wrong doesn’t make us look less competent. It’s a display of honesty and a willingness to learn.”
The authors writes about conflict that: “One of the world’s leading experts on conflict is an organizational psychologist in Australia named Karen “Etty” Jehn. When you think about conflict, you’re probably picturing what Etty calls relationship conflict—personal, emotional clashes… But Etty has identified another flavor called task conflict—clashes about ideas and opinions.” Moreover, “All in all, more than a hundred studies have examined conflict types in over eight thousand teams. A meta-analysis of those studies showed that relationship conflict is generally bad for performance, but some task conflict can be beneficial: it’s been linked to higher creativity and smarter choices. … As one research team concluded, “The absence of conflict is not harmony, it’s apathy.”” And goes on to write: “Task conflict can be constructive when it brings diversity of thought, preventing us from getting trapped in overconfidence cycles.” Grant goes on to discuss family dynamics and the unusual dynamics of the Wright brothers who made extensive use of and benefitted from task conflict.”
Grant writes: “DON’T AGREE TO DISAGREE Hashing out competing views has potential downsides—risks that need to be managed. Agreeableness is about seeking social harmony, not cognitive consensus. It’s possible to disagree without being disagreeable. GETTING HOT WITHOUT GETTING MAD A major problem with task conflict is that it often spills over into relationship conflict.” Grant writes: “Rethinking depends on a different kind of network: a challenge network, a group of people we trust to point out our blind spots and help us overcome our weaknesses. Their role is to activate rethinking cycles by pushing us to be humble about our expertise, doubt our knowledge, and be curious about new perspectives. … They give the critical feedback we might not want to hear, but need to hear.” He writes that: “Starting a disagreement by asking, “Can we debate?” sends a message that you want to think like a scientist, not a preacher or a prosecutor—and encourages the other person to think that way, too.”
Grant referring not to a fight but a dance writes: “The skilled negotiators rarely went on offense or defense. Instead, they expressed curiosity with questions like “So you don’t see any merit in this proposal at all?” … Questions were the fourth difference between the two groups. Of every five comments the experts made, at least one ended in a question mark. DANCING TO THE SAME BEAT … “So,” he began, “I think we disagree on far less than it may seem.” … We won’t have much luck changing other people’s minds if we refuse to change ours. We can demonstrate openness by acknowledging where we agree with our critics and even what we’ve learned from them. Then, when we ask what views they might be willing to revise, we’re not hypocrites.”
The author provides a fascinating discussion of the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) including its strengths and weaknesses in being able to draw on extensive research for reaching consensus. He also goes on to give examples of where less is more effective. Grant also provides examples of where his ego gets the best of him. The author writes that: “Research shows that in courtrooms, expert witnesses and deliberating jurors are more credible and more persuasive when they express moderate confidence, rather than high or low confidence.”
Grant devotes a chapter to prejudices and stereotypes including sports teams and the classic Boston Red Socks / New York Yankees rivalries. Grant writes: “To activate counterfactual thinking, you might ask people questions like: How would your stereotypes be different if you’d been born Black, Hispanic, Asian, or Native American? What opinions would you hold if you’d been raised on a farm versus in a city, or in a culture on the other side of the world? What beliefs would you cling to if you lived in the 1700s? … People gain humility when they reflect on how different circumstances could have led them to different beliefs. … Psychologists find that many of our beliefs are cultural truisms: widely shared, but rarely questioned. If we take a closer look at them, we often discover that they rest on shaky foundations. … Research suggests that there are more similarities between groups than we recognize. And there’s typically more variety within groups than between them. … Sometimes letting go of stereotypes means realizing that many members of a hated group aren’t so terrible after all.” Moreover, Grant writes: “For over half a century, social scientists have tested the effects of intergroup contact. … interacting with members of another group reduced prejudice in 94 percent of the cases.”
Grant writes about the challenge of encouraging vaccinations and a method of convincing individuals; he begins by writing: “This is a common problem in persuasion: what doesn’t sway us can make our beliefs stronger. … Refuting a point of view produces antibodies against future influence attempts. We become more certain of our opinions and less curious about alternative views. Counterarguments no longer surprise us or stump us—we have our rebuttals ready.” The method that works based on work by Miller and Rollnick is “a practice called motivational interviewing. The central premise is that we can rarely motivate someone else to change. We’re better off helping them find their own motivation to change. Motivational interviewing starts with an attitude of humility and curiosity. We don’t know what might motivate someone else to change, but we’re genuinely eager to find out. The goal isn’t to tell people what to do; it’s to help them break out of overconfidence cycles and see new possibilities.” An example of given of allowing someone to talk about why they are afraid of vaccines and decide that they should get vaccinated. One of several challenges that the author notes is ” Listening well is more than a matter of talking less. It’s a set of skills in asking and responding. It starts with showing more interest in other people’s interests rather than trying to judge their status or prove our own.”
Grant goes on to describe other methods for rethinking about controversial topics by writing: “Eager to have a jaw-clenching, emotionally fraught argument about abortion? How about immigration, the death penalty, or climate change? If you think you can handle it, head for the second floor of a brick building on the Columbia University campus in New York. It’s the home of the Difficult Conversations Lab.” The author explains proven examples of coming to common ground explaining: “Presenting two extremes isn’t the solution; it’s part of the polarization problem. …Psychologists have a name for this: binary bias. It’s a basic human tendency to seek clarity and closure by simplifying a complex continuum into two categories. To paraphrase the humorist Robert Benchley, there are two kinds of people: those who divide the world into two kinds of people, and those who don’t.” Grant goes on to write: “Resisting the impulse to simplify is a step toward becoming more argument literate. Doing so has profound implications for how we communicate about polarizing issues.”
About Climate Change, Grant writes: “As a psychologist, I want to zoom in on another factor. It’s one we can all control: the way we communicate about climate change. Many people believe that preaching with passion and conviction is necessary for persuasion.” Moreover, the author writes: “To overcome binary bias, a good starting point is to become aware of the range of perspectives across a given spectrum. Polls suggest that on climate change, there are at least six camps of thought. … It’s especially important to distinguish skeptics from deniers. Skeptics have a healthy scientific stance: They don’t believe everything they see, hear, or read. They ask critical questions and update their thinking as they gain access to new information. Deniers are in the dismissive camp, locked in preacher, prosecutor, or politician mode … Although no more than 10 percent of Americans are dismissive of climate change, it’s these rare deniers who get the most press.” Moreover, he writes: “Psychologists find that people will ignore or even deny the existence of a problem if they’re not fond of the solution.
Featuring shades of gray in discussions of solutions can help to shift attention from why climate change is a problem to how we can do something about it.”
Grant covers other topics including emotional intelligence and contrasts it with IQ and the role each plays. Grant writes: “If you come across evidence that you might be wrong about the best path to gun safety, you can simultaneously feel upset by and intrigued with what you’ve learned.” As to racism, the author writes: “If someone says your actions haven’t lived up to your antiracist rhetoric, you can experience both defensiveness (I’m a good person!) and remorse (I could’ve done a lot more).” The author writes: “Humans, like polarizing issues, rarely come in binaries.
Charged conversations cry out for nuance. When we’re preaching, prosecuting, or politicking, the complexity of reality can seem like an inconvenient truth.”
With regards to education, Grant writes: “Rethinking needs to become a regular habit. Unfortunately, traditional methods of education don’t always allow students to form that habit.” He goes on to write: “It’s not hard to see why a boring lecture would fail, but even captivating lectures can fall short for a less obvious, more concerning reason. Lectures aren’t designed to accommodate dialogue or disagreement; they turn students into passive receivers of information rather than active thinkers.” He goes on to write: “If you spend all of your school years being fed information and are never given the opportunity to question it, you won’t develop the tools for rethinking that you need in life.” Grant goes on to share interesting methods he used in his classroom.
The author writes: “As they started working on the project, I noticed a surprising pattern. The students who struggled the most were the straight-A students—the perfectionists. It turns out that although perfectionists are more likely than their peers to ace school, they don’t perform any better than their colleagues at work. This tracks with evidence that, across a wide range of industries, grades are not a strong predictor of job performance.” Grant goes on to share a detailed story of a highly successful elementary school teacher, Ron and how he set up problems for his students to grapple with in phases. Grant summarizes by writing: “Ultimately, education is more than the information we accumulate in our heads. It’s the habits we develop as we keep revising our drafts and the skills we build to keep learning.”
Grant writes about “That’s Not the Way We’ve Always Done It” and shares experiences with medical errors and consulting with the Gates foundation and how leaders can make changes by admitting to having made errors and seeking to improve, providing as an example how he shared with his students criticisms of his teaching methods. In terms of organization improvements, Grant writes: “Organizational learning should be an ongoing activity, but best practices imply it has reached an endpoint. We might be better off looking for better practices.”
Grant writes: “When we dedicate ourselves to a plan and it isn’t going as we hoped, our first instinct isn’t usually to rethink it. Instead, we tend to double down and sink more resources in the plan. This pattern is called escalation of commitment.” He provides examples of where this is counterproductive and where rethinking is valuable including one poignant one involving a relative staying focused on earning a medical degree. Grant writes: “When we dedicate ourselves to a plan and it isn’t going as we hoped, our first instinct isn’t usually to rethink it. Instead, we tend to double down and sink more resources in the plan. This pattern is called escalation of commitment.” He makes the case for continuously rethinking one’s career and life choices. Point taken; however, it is noteworthy that rethinking and reprioritizing can derail a focused direction that may be best for the individual and even society; one could, of course, rethink this.
Grant writes: “Grit is the combination of passion and perseverance, and research shows that it can play an important role in motivating us to accomplish long-term goals.” About happiness, Grant writes: “In the United States, the pursuit of happiness is so prized that it’s one of the three unalienable rights in our Declaration of Independence.
Psychologists find that the more people value happiness, the less happy they often become with their lives. … people who look for purpose in their work are more successful in pursuing their passions—and less likely to quit their jobs—than those who look for joy. While enjoyment waxes and wanes, meaning tends to last.”
4 people found this helpful
Think Again If You Think You Don't Need to Read This Book!
Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2021
I've always been fascinated with understanding how people make decisions individually and collectively (including me! I'm my own little lab petri dish of thoughts!). So I was intrigued with Adam Grant's latest book: Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know as less-than-stellar decisions occur because of this "blind spot" - especially in this volatile and uncertain world.
Although Grant is an academic (teaches at Wharton), the book is easy to read - but a little harder to digest. Written in a conversational tone, the ideas are presented in a clear manner with examples, research, experiments, and stories. The harder part is to do the work and look in the mirror to see if and when we are on "Mount Stupid". (Although he doesn't really challenge you until hardback page 250 with a summary of "Actions for Impact". )
So what are some of the ideas that resonated with me?
- The Dunning-Kruger Effect. It's when we lack competence that we're most likely to be brimming with overconfidence. Unless you're a complete novice, you'll overrate your abilities.
- Mount Stupid is the point where you have just enough information to feel self-assured about making pronouncements and passing judgment (I have been there many times...).
- Do What Forecasters Do. When forecasters form an opinion, they ask what would have to happen to prove it false? They then keep track of their views so they can see when they were right, wrong, and how their thinking has evolved.
- The Value of a Challenge Network. "Across a range of networks, when employees received tough feedback from colleagues, their default response was to avoid those coworkers or drop them from their networks altogether - and their performance suffered over the following year." Counter this tendency by creating a safe space to get feedback.
- Debate vs Dispute. "Simply framing a dispute as a debate rather than as a disagreement signals that you're receptive to considering dissenting opinions and changing your mind, which in turn motivates the other person to share more information with you.
- Be a Fact-Checker - "(1) Interrogate information instead of simply consuming it. (2) Reject rank and popularity as a proxy for reliability and (3) Understand that the sender of information is often not its source.
- How to Question the Expert - To question them in a way that is not embarrassing to them or makes them look like a fool, ask these questions with a sense of curiosity: "What leads you to that assumption? Why do you think t is correct? What might happen if it's wrong? What are the uncertainties in your analysis? I understand the advantages of your recommendation. What are the disadvantages?
And that's just the tip of the iceberg! So much great information, I am going to go back through the book with Actions for Impact in hand!
4 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2021
It's hard to believe Adam Grant's topped his own prior work, but he has. And, also explained something about the genius that drives him in a way that it opens up possibilities for the rest of us. All those beliefs we imbibed as children from older siblings' friends and don't think to question (while we change technology in a crazy-making rapidity) bear questioning too. Grant shows us why...and also, how to get to a place where you, too, enjoy being shown wrong because it opens up the door to new learning. Some I knew of -- like motivational interviewing -- but hadn't appreciated their merit. Others were new. So glad I read this, and can't wait to develop still better habits.
4 people found this helpful
DrArthur P.Ciaramicoli, author of The Soulful Leader and The Triumph of Diversity
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2021
I have spent the last forty years in clinical practice trying to help people unlearn their biases toward themselves and others. We are in a most distressing time of polarization drvin by misunderstanding and misperceptions. Dr. Grant's book is. a practical guide to perceiving the truth rather than continuing to derive information from biased sources that please our ego's and maintain self righteous, moralistic behavior. Read this book carefully, slow down and learn how to open your perceptional field to all variables not just a few. You will reap the benefits of an open mind and a truthful existence as a result.
5 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2021
The ACT meditation method, with the practical techniques Mr Grant gives, works. It's powerful. I gained insight into how accepting my negative feelings and feeling their effect in my body allows me to understand and control them. Instead of living in my head, I learned how to feel arising thoughts, acknowledge and accept them, and ultimately diminish their pull. One of the immediate results of my using the meditation techniques is that I no longer wake up angry, having relived bad experiences even in my sleep; during the day, I see those negative narrative loops inside my head begin, and can disarm them by focusing on how they feel, allowing them to drift away. Thank you!
7 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2021
Our culture and educational system condition us as children that we need to have the correct answer to any question we are asked. We get praised for the right answers and lose points and status when we give the wrong answer. Adam Grant, author of Think Again – The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know, advocates a different and better approach.
Professor Grant says that we should experience the joy of being wrong. Instead of an attachment to be right, we need to approach everything from the viewpoint of a scientist and be open to being wrong. When we can acknowledge that we don’t know something, we can be open to discovering new information, new solutions.
If you have been paying any attention, you know how divided our country has become. An underlying reason is our attachment to our own “tribal views” and refusal to approach issues with an open mind. By being open to being wrong, we can begin to see things more realistically. That can be a joyful experience.
So many of our strongly held beliefs were instilled in us as children. We accepted those beliefs and for the most part have never revisited them. We fail (or refuse) to reconsider our position on many religious and political views. We simply fail to Think Again.
Dr. Grant discusses the dangers of rigid thinking models and how we fall prey to disinformation campaigns. We are easily manipulated by marketers, politicians and scammers because we seek out information which confirms what we want to believe. If we hope to bring some unity to the country, we need to avoid group think, we need better tools to spot misinformation and a better way to think. Thinking like a scientist, looking for the truth instead of confirmation of what we already (think) we know, is the first step.
An interesting and insightful read. We all would do better if we remembered to Think Again and start enjoying the joy of being wrong.
2 people found this helpful
Armand Kruger, good news junkie
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2021
How I know Adam Grant reading his work. Thought provoking ideas of how we box ourselves in with our thinking habits. Excellent research to appreciate the thinking and work that went into this offering. at the end of my first reading I thought this was really for the cognitively brave, but then discovered: it is you and me in many situations called everyday life. Be ready for a gentle journey to a new place in thinking
4 people found this helpful
Great book that covers a lot of topics!
Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2021
This book was very insightful, enjoyable and accessible. Some science, some storytelling, some personal anecdotes from the author are all weaved through the basic premise of questioning the world around you and being open to change your perspective. This is easier said than done, but the more we think about things, the better off we'll be. If you enjoy books like this, you might not get a ton of info that is new to you. However, there is great value from reading this book as it is a good reminder and has examples that stick and can serve as continual reminders, to think like a scientist and continue to analyze different things you encounter in your everyday experiences. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I know that you will too!!
2 people found this helpful
Made me think...re-think actually
Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2021
Really enjoyed the book and looking forward to book club with my siblings to discuss it. As a consultant in lean and agile, it aligns so much with where my thinking has gone - the power of “living in the grey”. Adam does a great job outlining what re-thinking is and examples where it really matters. Also, he outlines a really strong thesis for why it can be a difference maker in life. Great book!
One possible improvement (or maybe a follow up book) is recognizing at some point life requires decisions based on our thinking or re-thinking and that time sometimes constrains the need to stop re-thinking and take action and decide on our behaviors. Example: Adam talks about vaccines as a topic for re-thinking. At some point, we need to make a decision where time is a factor (i.e., take the vaccine now and reduce the risk of infection OR not take the vaccine and reduce the risk of unknown effects that may show up years from now). Time matters and making decisions matters. Sure, we can re-think the decision later, but at some point, you can’t get un-vaccinated or un-COVID’d.
2 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2022
Think Again works. Throughout the book, I found myself rethinking some of my assumptions and learning new applications of familiar and new psychological findings. In many ways, Adam Grant challenges us to rethink what we are doing at work, school, and even in relationships. It’s a book that deserves a place in any syllabus challenging students to think and rethink their assumptions and to develop confident humility. But Think Again also belongs in discussion groups in the workplace.
On a technical note, Grant divides the book into four parts followed by an Epilogue, and a more or less set of summary statements presented as Actions for Impact. The chapters are introduced with a poignant story. As the theme of a chapter unfolds, we encounter more stories and illustrations that help us appreciate the author’s point. You’ll find it’s like taking a course from a master lecturer with the added bonus that you can pause and think about the points. The notes are extensive and the index, comprehensive. Including the end matter, it’s only 307 pages but the conclusion ends on page 243.
One person found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2021
How does Adam Grant keep pumping out these incredible books. I've read Give & Take and the Originals. I listen to his podcast, as well. He (and his team, I presume) generates incredible content. Think Again is no different. In fact, I might say it's one of the most important books out there in our divided society where people seem to be so focused on 'being right.' Think Again made me...think again about the way I process information, formulate opinions and engage in debates and discussions about important topics. I am constantly referring to these concepts with my clients. Don't think about...just buy it!
2 people found this helpful
Another great read by Adam Grant to help anyone improve their life
Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2021
Think Again has many extraordinary points based on solid studies. My favorite point of the book is how it explains people can make better decisions and communicate better (our two most important skills) when we put aside our emotion and think like a scientist should, and don’t preach, prosecute, or politic. The scientific method is basically making an observation and developing a hypothesis or idea about the observation and testing the idea. The book also explains the details about how a champion debater lowers people’s defensiveness by admitting the value in their opponent’s views. This book fits well with his previous great books, Originals, and Give and Take.
3 people found this helpful
A Profound and mentally challenging reading.
Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2021
The book is profound and meditative. This is not the type you can read it in one sit.If has changed my view about studying and also trying to practice the unlearning in order to achieve high performance in projects or concepts. Really appreciate all I could draw out if it for my mental health.Recommending to those who are interested in science or to pragmatically inclined individuals.
Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2021
As a leader for a team in a non-profit overseas, I want to continue to be challenged to be ready to question my own presuppositions. This book challenges me and encourages just that. In a world where the issues seem already settled in so many of our minds, I want to be someone who is ready to listen. To question my own conclusions. This book helps remind me to do that. Unfortunately, I would venture to hypothesize that most people who would buy this book are like me and that it's sort of "preaching to the choir", but I hope not.
Probably my most memorable part of the book...the discussion on relational conflict versus task conflict. As someone who has seen TONS of relational conflict and how it destroys teams, I find it helpful to identify that there is a difference in the types of conflict that teams might be dealing with...and how one type can be something really fruitful, and the other can be completely destructive.
One person found this helpful
Something to really think about ...
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2021
I just got this book and I’m already on page 50. It’s being kept in our John, which is our library. My wife and I are 76 and because of our ages, we spend a lot of time in the library. So, we’re both progressing pretty well with this book and I can tell you that it’s the best book that I’ve ever almost read. I’ve almost read Daniel Kahneman’s “Thinking, fast and slow” three times. I’ve never been able to finish it. He has a new book called “Noise” coming out soon that I’m sure deals with much of what this book is about.
Because of the 2007 Great Recession, my wife and I can’t afford to retire. We’re entrepreneurs. This book is all about something in business called “Disruptive Innovation,” which was discovered by Clayton Christensen twenty years ago. We’re really into this stuff. One of his cohorts, Geoffrey Moore said in “Zone To Win” that the people in charge should not be put in charge of rethinking anything. It’s too much to ask of them. A whole different crew needs to do this. Hmmmmm. I think I need to go to the John.
2 people found this helpful
One of the most insightful books I have ever read
Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2021
I listened to the Next big Idea podcast with Adam Grant talking about some of the info from this book, and it was an amazing podcast so I decided to buy the book. This is probably one of the most insightful books on human behavior that I have read. He writes in a light manner and uses some humor, yet the content is just so powerful if you really think about what he is saying. I am literally "rethinking" my life and hopefully making some adjustments for the better. I bought a second book to give to my son. Get the book- and it could help you to rethink how you think and why.
2 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2021
Much of the world’s misery comes from absolute beliefs that are never questioned, doubted or changed. This books premise is keep an open mind to new views, ideas and truths. Unfortunately biases are learned early and not easy displaced. Education by schools, churches and family can block open minds with dogmatic truths. The book’s 300 pages offer processes to open minds and produce better outcomes. While Adam provides many examples and techniques I fear many readers will lack the expertise to implement many of his suggestions. I loved the many tables and diagrams showing ideas graphically. The many summaries make ideas clear and easily remembered. I will be better by re-evaluating mine, others views and beliefs in a kinder way.
One person found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2021
Adam Grant is the consummate storyteller. The book drew my attention from the jump in the telling of the smokejumpers. How the ability to think again saved the life of the crew chief while resulting in devastating human loss for much of the courageous crew members. The gist is that those who died failed to use their imagination, instead trying to simply outrun the fire.
Grant begins with a section on the importance we, as individuals, should realize in rethinking thought rote thought patterns. He then covers how thinking again can help solve societal ills such as stereotyping and subconscious biases.
Grant convinced me on the importance of thinking like a scientist that is open minded got exploration.
One person found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2022
- This book helped me recognize how much work goes into research from Scientists. When they produce articles, theories, statements their work is backed by intense testing with many trials and calculations. (This is important because in the world we live in we sometimes forgot how much of an impact scholars have on making advancements in life that require a lot of thinking and complexity.
- I personally have fell victim to looking for a simplified answer to everything and trying to simplify everything down as much as possible. When sometimes the case is thinking and spending time thinking again would help move problems a long more efficiently.
- Lots of information in this book with different viewpoints ones I had failed to look at in a long time.
One person found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2021
I have enjoyed reading every word of this book and the insights Adam Grant presents. It has helped open some of my blind spots and save me the trip to Mount Stupid. “Confident Humility” is such an important concept to grasp, live and practice. It allows much room to admit mistakes, learn and be open to rethink and experiment. For the record, I call my mouse “Mayonnaise” and have nicknamed her “Mayo”. I heart the open-ending, thank you for the inspiration!
3 people found this helpful
This book challenged me in the right way.
Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2021
Excellent book. This should be required reading for all high school and college student.
Adam Grant identifies the solution to our social discord - think like a scientist. While it's easy to say others need this, my standard for an excellent book is when it challenges me to reconsider my thinking. He did within the first few pages.
This book is so good I wish I had written it. Excellent content. Well written.
2 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2021
At first, I thought I knew how this book would go. I’ve read other books in this same genre, and the frequently have a common flaw - confirmation bias that turns every example into proof of the author’s thesis. This book is different. There are plent of examples to be sure, but the supporting material and wealth of pragmatic lessons I can learn from make it an exceptional entry in I expect to reference in the future.
2 people found this helpful
Excellent read and very informative!
Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2021
This book has opened my mind to possibilities I hadn't thought of. I love the way the concepts were presented and explained.
Very easy to read, understand and start rethinking! Thank you Adam Grant for making all this information accessible to us in one book. Very grateful!
3 people found this helpful
Aka tomorrow is different than today and much different than yesterday
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2021
This book states that changing your mind due to new evidence is the healthiest and most successful path to a better life. Admission of being wrong in the past and improving your views is strength, not a sign of weakness. Doubling down on a bad idea is how people continue to fail in life, and more people do this than not. Read this book and start to think again!
2 people found this helpful
Well positioned, well presented, well targeted
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2021
People... This is NOT a doctorate dissertation or treatise submission for international medical publications. It is a plainly spoken footpath for consideration where we as a culture can rethink how we look at others we share this planet with -- with (as of today) nowhere else to go.
What's interesting is how many posted comments hyper-extend what's offered in print directly to them, their belief structure or their decision-making process. It's as if they see this book as criticizing them and theirs personally. 'Me thinks they doth protest too much...'
The simple ask is, as Daniel Kahneman's dust cover comment puts it, "The striking insights...are guaranteed to make you rethink your opinions and your most important decisions." Kahnerman's lifelong relationship with Amos Tversky plants a flag in the ground for how some "opposites" wander about to discover and occupy a common place to co-exist and be productive forces in the world.
We all have to find better ways to look through others eyes to better understand their truths. OKAY, IT'S REAL HARD LATELY. But it is vital to start, and this is as good as any place for that. However, a person must make the effort. This is not personal condemnation but an invitation to sit back, listen and ask non-threatening questions.
One person found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2021
I am a grad student and this book has so much to offer. I am constantly reading articles and research papers and this book explains so much of the same thing. Adam Grant is a great write and keeps you on your toes every chapter along with helping you become a better thinker and person. Would recommend this read.
2 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2021
Can't put it down.
6 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2021
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I loved this book! Such amazing takeaways.
4 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2021
Adam Grant is very convincing in proving that a diploma can be the key to either success or failure. His story of the Blackberry's innovative inventor admiring his product's instant success but failing to see the steps that would soon make it obsolete makes a lasting impression. The strength of this book is that Grant not only believes creativity can be taught, but he writes a book which does it. I've found the perfect gift for my twenty-something grandchildren.
One person found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2021
I almost used up a packet of Post-it flags marking thoughts I want to come back to. Given our polarized country I lingered over the section on 'winning debates', and have consciously tried to change some of what I say/do when interacting with someone with opposing ideas.
2 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2021
This book will be on my top 10 list. So timely and a fun read. Many great concepts with memorable examples to help with retention. I will be scheduling time to rethink this first draft of my review but for now this is my initial impression after reading this book!
2 people found this helpful
From the United States
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2021
I stop short of saying "Must Read" but it certainly comes close. In this era of strong partisan feelings, this book helps explain what is going on and what we can do about it to reduce stress and succeed in debates.
2 people found this helpful
Fascinating, Insightful, and Easily Digestible
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2021
I’m typically a fiction reader but I heard Adam Grant on the Armchair Expert podcast and was fascinated with the way he thinks. I decided to pick this book up because rethinking and admitting to not knowing things is not my best skill. I couldn’t put this book down! While I’m fascinated with psychology, I get lost in the terminology but I didn’t have this problem at all with Think Again. Grant’s writing is easily digestible without trivializing any of the information. This will not be the last Adam Grant book I read!
2 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2021
I started recommending this book to people when I was less than 40 pages in, and I am glad that I did! I very much enjoyed it, as did the two people who have read it so far out of all those whom I have recommended it to.
2 people found this helpful
I feel like I need to re-read this again every few years
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2021
I have a sneaking suspicion that this book will influence my future like no other book I absorbed this year. After listening to Adam Grant read the audiobook, I bought the print version to be able to reference it. How do you know when to change your mind? How do you help others to see when they need to change theirs? Grant answers those questions in this book with applications for our personal transformation and cultural influence. I recommend this book to especially to parents, teachers, ministers, entrepreneurs, engineers, and writers.
One person found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2021
In the coaching world, it's incredibly important to know that we don't know everything. It's a discussion I have in every class with my students.
Each chapter in this book is a goldmine for remembering that through the adoption of a beginner's mindset and practicing continual curiosity we can discover new ways to understand our clients, and ultimately the world.
2 people found this helpful
A powerful concept for these times
Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2021
In an age of polarizing, black and white thinking, Think Again is exactly the push we all need to stay open without letting our brains fall out. A great read that is entertaining and enlightening!
2 people found this helpful
Most important book you’ll read this year
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2021
In a world that appears to have lost the ability to hold civil debates or value the art of compromise, what can we do to avoid and potentially reverse the polarization? I believe Adam Grant’s concepts are key to any hope we have of finding an answer. But if Adam’s work has taught me anything, it’s that I may be wrong. Please read this book and let the debate begin!
2 people found this helpful
You MUST read this no matter what!
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2021
I don’t want to say too much about this book because it will take away from the impact. From page 1 it is phenomenal. Great stories, analogies, and wisdom. Best book in this genre ever!
2 people found this helpful
I don’t know what I was thinking
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2021
I bought this book because it was recommended when I completed Malcolm Gladwell’s book - Talking To Strangers. There are similarities that I’ve seen between both authors. Their content is fact based but stimulates your thinking.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I have already began rethinking. Thank you Adam.
2 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2021
Love love love this book. I bought it for my team. The disappointment was that every single one came damaged or dirty. Returning and going to the good old bookstore for better quality.
Another winner from Adam Grant!
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2021
A clear but obvious message on keeping our minds open to rethinking our opinions/assumptions/biases with some useful tips on how to do so. Adam Grant doesn’t disappoint with this book and advocates us to think like practitioners while also throwing in a few happiness pointers at towards the end.
I do feel that his confidence-competence conundrum is well presented and his solution of confident humility is one I believe leaders need to role-model.
For Adam Grant fans such as myself, he cannot say or do wrong (ironic given what the subject of the book is!).
One person found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2021
I follow Grant on LinkedIn, and I've learned much from his regular musings. He's also motivational. I was impressed by his earlier book, Originals, and I was likewise impressed by this book.
2 people found this helpful
Time to think if we want to think again 😉
Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2021
A very thought provoking and powerful book. I have seen Adam Grant's talk videos and listened to his podcasts and he is such a great story teller. He was able to weave the concepts with the right kind of data to make his case. Definitely recommend reading this book
2 people found this helpful
My number one book to give as a gift this year
Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2021
Loved Think Again! Rereading now. Summary: powerful book on intellectual humility, scientific thinking, and learning. Reality test your assumptions. A tough decision in the face of uncertainty is just a hypothesis. Embrace and enjoy when others prove you wrong because it's an opportunity to learn and grow.
One person found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2021
I started a learning process to understand why people voted or chose ideas that were counterproductive for them. Started with sociology, and then with Arendt. Neuroscience, Behave and Kahneman and others. I was thinking what is the solution them, if all these are too much deeply buried in us. This book was a real solution recommendation.
2 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2021
Well written and great stories to help facilitate understanding of how to think again. Using these tools could go a long way in helping all of us be better together!
2 people found this helpful
Compelling real stories to make a case to “rethink” for a better outcome
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2021
This is one of the best books on human phycology and behavior I have read. Well written with lots of real-life case studies and stories. Adam makes a strong case that rethinking is an essential life skill and an important tool. The book is full of data and charts related to the power of knowledge, competence, confidence, human behavior, etc. The final chapter on actions for impact itself is invaluable. Must read for self-development and leadership in any profession.
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2021
I decided to give this book a chance after it was a read by Michael Dell, but some of the abstracts from the book drew me in. There are great pearls of wisdom that are business and life lessons for all. The laxidasical approach to the writing made it a pleasant read rather than a reference study.
One person found this helpful
Opening the rethinking channels
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2022
I love learning. And new ideas excite me. But this concept? The notion of rethinking has already started to impact my approach to almost everything. And I am excited to see how rethinking will continue to help me evolve my understanding of both myself and the world around me.
One person found this helpful
Best brain book ever! FULL of info!
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2021
I've only read 24 pages, but it's already the best book I've read about the benefits of honing our thinking habits; and the devastating consequences of choosing the status quo and our usual M.O.
2 people found this helpful