Think Again by Adam Grant

Table of Contents

Part 1: Individual Rethinking

1. A Preacher, a Prosecutor, a Politician, and a Scientist Walk into your Mind
2. The Armchair Quarterback and the Imposter
3. The Joy of Being Wrong
4. The Good Fight Club

Part 2: Interpersonal Rethinking

5. Dances with Foes
6. Bad Blood on the Diamond
7. Vaccine Whisperers and Mild-Mannered Interrogators

Part 3: Collective Rethinking

8. Charged Conversations
9. Rewriting the Textbook
10. That’s Not the Way We’ve Always Done It

Part 4: Conclusion

11. Escaping Tunnel Vision

Epilogue

Actions for Impact

Breaking It Down

Chapter 1: A Preacher, a Prosecutor, a Politician, and a Scientist Walk into Your Mind

Preacher: delivering sermons to protect and promote one’s beliefs and ideals. (Treats their beliefs and ideals as gospel)

Prosecutor: recognise flaws in other people’s reasoning leading one to prove them wrong and promote one’s points. (Focuses on debunking and discrediting contrasting views)

Politician: when trying to win over an audience, one pushes and campaigns for their causes. (Focuses on popularity than accuracy)

Scientists: scientists take their time to make decisions as it provides them with the flexibility to change their minds over having consistency in their beliefs, causes and points.

Example: Mike Lazaridis – creator of the patented device for reading bar codes on movie films which were so valuable resulting in him winning an Emmy and an Oscar for technical achievement.

More known as the founder of BlackBerry where he created a mobile device that allows one to send emails through it by typing using their thumbs instead of their fingers.

The end of BlackBerry was when the iPhone was created where they used a touchscreen for typing instead of a physical keyboard. BlackBerry had a physical keyboard and was mainly used for work emails and calls. On the other hand, the iPhone was a phone version of the Mac while using phone functions as well. Mike’s failure lies in his inability to think like a scientist and kept believing that his hypothesis “a device mainly for calls and work emails with a physical keyboard” was what the consumers wanted.

• the smarter one is, the harder it is for them to update their beliefs. Research reveals that those who had high IQ scores were more likely to fall for stereotypes as they recognise patterns faster.
• Those that are good with numbers/math have it harder to rethink as it is harder for them to analyse patterns that contradict their view
• “Being good at thinking can make one worse at rethinking” – why rethink if I can think well? Fallacy
• Being in scientist mode is not a case of being open-minded but instead actively open-minded – constantly doubting one’s beliefs/hypotheses and finding revising their views constantly.
• In research, the one trait that differentiated between average and great presidents was their intellectual curiosity and openness
• Scientist mode = intellectual humility (knowing what one does not know)
• If knowledge is power, knowing what we don’t know is wisdom
• Even though Steve Jobs is commonly seen as the face of Apple. He was not fully on board with the iPhone. He was against the mobile phone market and it was his employees who had the vision and persistence to have him rethink his position. It shows how Steve Jobs is known as an individual that could think different but having him rethink was his employees.
• The curse of knowledge is that it closes one’s mind to what one does not know.

Driving point: Intellectual Humility is quintessential in one’s journey as it helps one to rethink their position

Chapter 2: The Armchair Quarterback and the Imposter

Research shows that women tend to underestimate their leadership skills while men tend to overestimate themselves.

Armchair quarterback: Analogy came from the fans who think that they know better than the coaches.

confidence > competence

Imposter syndrome: Genuinely unwarranted how good they are.

Confidence < competence

Dunning-Kruger effect: when we lack competence, one is most likely to be filled with overconfidence.

Research has shown by David Dunning and Justin Kruger

One study showed that those who scored the lowest on emotional intelligence were most likely to overestimate their skills while also dismissing their scores as inaccurate and the least likely to invest in coaching/self-improvements.

When one achieves slight understanding/knowledge of a domain/topic, it causes one to assume that they know-it-all all and have full competence. Coupled with overconfidence, it makes them overestimate their competence. This makes it hard for them to fill gaps in their knowledge and understanding.

• the sweet spot between the armchair quarterback and the imposter is confident humility (being uncertain in one’s tools but secure in one’s belief)

“Arrogance is ignorance plus conviction”

“While humility is a permeable filter that absorbs life experience and converts it into knowledge and wisdom, arrogance is a rubber shield that life experience simply bounces off of”Adam Grant

Humility is not having low self-confidence but rather is grounded in the understanding that one is fallible and flawed (like a reed)

• one of the Latin roots of humility means “from the earth”

One can be confident in one’s ability to achieve a goal in the future while maintaining the humility to question whether one has the right tools presently.

Essentially confident humility is having faith in one’s capability while appreciating that one may not have the right solution or even be addressing the right problem.

An example is Spanx founder Sarah Blakey who created footless pantyhose and did not have experience in fashion, retail and manufacturing. Furthermore, she was not fully aware of how to navigate the law. When she faced any hurdles she was uncertain, but she was confident she could overcome them as she was confident in her capacity to earn. What is essential is being able to acknowledge that one does not know everything and seek to learn from others.

Upsides of having imposter syndrome:

1. Motivates one to work harder as one feels that we have to prove one’s competence
2. Motivate one to work smarter as when we are uncertain whether one can win, it encourages one to rethink their position – reducing the chance of being prey to the Dunning-Kruger effect
3. Making us better learners: it does not make one feel that they are all high and almighty. It encourages one to learn from others. “Learning requires the humility to realize one has something to learn”

To achieve confident humility: it is important to realise that one does not have to wait for their confidence to rise to achieve challenging goals. One can build it through achieving challenging goals. Through this, it encourages one to thrive on the growth that comes from self-doubt

It is ok to doubt one tool but it is essential to be confident in one’s ability to learn.

Knowledge is best sought from experts, but creativity and wisdom can come from anywhere.

Great thinkers do not harbour doubts because they are imposters. They maintain doubts because they know everyone is partially blind and they are committed to improving their sign. They don’t boast about how much they know but rather marvel at how little they understand. They are highly aware that each answer raises new questions and the quest for knowledge is never-ending.

A mark of being a lifelong learner is recognising that one can learn something from everybody.

Driving point: One should strive to have confident humility where one is confident in their capability to learn but uncertain about the tools used. This will provide ensure that one does not become overconfident and opens up one’s mindset to trying to learn something from everybody they meet.

The mark of wisdom is one is able to realize how little they understand rather than how much they know

Chapter 3: The good fight club

High-performing groups have lower relationship conflict and higher task conflict where task conflict gradually decreases.

Low-performing groups have high relationship conflict and low task conflict.

The importance of productive disagreement: It is researched that disagreement is beneficial in one’s childhood if it is done so respectfully rather than hiding the conflict from the child.

Those that had parents that argued constructively felt more emotionally safe.

Interestingly, many creative individuals come from homes that are “tense and secure”.

For example, the Wright brothers who were the pioneers of aviation had a family culture of arguing. An anecdote to illustrate this is their family who was a bishop from a local church included books written by atheists in his library and went further to encourage them to read and discuss them.

Such “tense and secure” families taught their children how to fight for their ideas and the resilience to lose a disagreement without ever losing their resolve. It was the ubiquitous arguments between the Wright brothers that pushed them to rethink their assumptions.

The plight of the people pleaser

People who are agreeable are seen as nice and friendly in general.

What agreeable and disagreeable people bring to the table are stark.

Agreeable people tend to allow one to create great support networks as they encourage and support others.

While disagreeable people tend to create great challenge networks that push one to rethink their assumptions.

However, it is also important that disagreeable people have the same principles. They truly shine when they are completely committed which can be fostered through strong ties with their colleagues.

“Disagreeable givers often make the best critics: their intent is to elevate the work, not feed their own egos. They don’t criticize because they are insecure, they challenge because they care. They dish out tough love.”Adam Grant

Challenge network = Shit Detector = Good Fight Club

Don’t Agree to Disagree

The tension from arguments should be based on intellectual tension rather than emotional tension.

The tone should be vigorous and feisty. Avoid having a tone that is combative and aggressive.

It is important to understand that people disagree because they care. With such a baseline, it helps one to better understand and perceive arguments/disagreements.

“When I argue with someone, it’s not a display of disrespect – it’s a sign of respect. It means I value their views enough to contest them. If their opinions didn’t matter to me, I wouldn’t bother. I know I have chemistry with smoene when we find it delightful to prove each other wrong.Adam Grant

It is also fascinating how disagreeable people not only challenge one to think again but make agreeable people comfortable being disagreeable.

Getting Hot Without Getting Mad

How can one avoid relationship conflict and achieve task conflict?

1. Framing it as a debate rather than an argument as a debate is about ideas and opinions.
2. Do not argue about the why but rather the how

Ask How THAN Why

This is one of the key takeaways from the book! People tend to be overconfident in what they know. Hence, asking how helps one to self-actualize the limits of their personal understanding. This enables them to notice how they actually struggle to answer the question and how there might be gaps in their understanding.

The focus should be on why different solutions would work or not but rather on how the different solutions might work.

“That’s the beauty of task conflict. In a great argument, our adversary is not a foil, but a propeller. With twin propellers spinning in divergent directions, our thinking doesn’t get stuck on the ground; it takes flight”Adam Grant

Part 2: Interpersonal Rethinking

Chapter 5: Dances with Foes

I really like the starting quote from the book so I am going to put it here.

“Exhausting someone in argument is not the same as convincing someone.”Tim Kreider

The first part of the chapter revolves around Harish Natarajan who has won 36 international debate tournaments.

The science of the deal

A debate is not a war but rather a dance between two. In dance, if one tries too hard to lead and does not follow the rhythm of the dance, it just would not work out.

There was research done between two groups of negotiators. The ones that did badly by treating it as a war – proving areas where they are right. While the good ones tried to find common grounds as much as possible.

The bad ones piled up their reasons while the good ones only had a few. This concept lies in how a weak argument generally dilutes a strong one”. When many points are brought to the table, it is easier for people to remove the easier ones. The bad ones simply lost due to the weakness of their weaker points.

The bad ones were more likely to take a position of an attack or defend pattern. While the good ones showed curiosity about whatever the other party was saying.

The bad ones had much lesser questions than the good ones.

Good negotiators/debates start with treating it as a dance rather than a war by:

1. Finding common ground
2. A few key points
3. Curious about what the other party was saying
4. Asked more questions
5. More likely to express their feelings

When someone has resistance to an idea, it is better to provide one or a few solid points rather than many points. This is because when many points are provided, it triggers people’s awareness that someone is trying to persuade them and they shield themselves against it.

Adam Grant also cited how psychologists have found that the person most likely to persuade others is themselves. Doing so, allows others to pick the most compelling reasons for them – providing them with a sense of ownership.

Hierarchy of disagreement by Paul Graham

1. Refuting the central point (Explicitly refutes the central point)
2. Refutation (Finds the mistake and explains why its mistaken using quotes)
3. Counterargument (contradicts and then backs it up with reasoning and/or supporting evidence)
4. Contradiction (states the opposing case with little or no supporting evidence)
5. Responding to tone (criticizes the tone of the writing without addressing the substance of the argument)
6. Ad hominem (attacks the characteristics or authority of the writer without addressing the substance of the argument)
7. Name-calling (sounds something like, “you are not that smart after all”)

A good way to approach an argument is to start with common grounds and a few key points.

The more anger and hostility an individual has, the more curiosity and interest one should show.

Good negotiators are better at commenting about their feelings which helps them to better understand the feelings of the other party as well.

For example, asking questions such as “what evidence/supporting documents would change your mind?”.

Communicating ideas/content

In his book Originals, he mentioned how it’s better to have weak opinions held being expressed strongly. However, he mentioned how it should be the opposite where strong opinions held are expressed weakly as it exudes confident humility which invites curiosity and a more nuanced discussion.

Going against playing on one’s strength and downplaying one’s weakness

A surprising question asked during an interview is “exciting/surprising experiments that they have been up to”.

It is better to acknowledge legitimate weaknesses as compared to bragging or humblebragging.

It is pivotal to have the humility to look for one’s weaknesses, the foresight to spot them and the integrity to acknowledge them.

By avoiding arguments that dilute but rather focusing attention on one’s good points, it provides rethinking for the interviewer that they were looking for someone who is motivated and has the ability to learn.

Ask questions rather than think for the audience.

Chapter 6: Bad blood on the Diamond

Stereotypes are really sticky as people tend to resonate and mix with those that share the same sentiment – tribalism.

The Overview Effect

It is found that astronauts who just came back from space are less focused on individual achievements and personal happiness but rather more concerned about the collective good.

Being in outer space provides one with an overview of the Earth – allowing one to realize how we share a common identity with all human beings.

Shared identity is important in reducing stereotype and catalyse rethinking.

Humanizing rivals

When rivals get to know the individuals themselves, it defies the stereotype but rather exceptions.

Counterfactual thinking

Imagining how the circumstances would have been different if certain variables changed.

Many beliefs are cultural truisms where its widely shared but rarely questioned.

For example, mentioned how females are not as productive as males. Maybe say how there is also such a belief in China other than the US.

For stereotypes to be removed, it requires an open mind and being in the posture of having conversations. It is more about giving them reasons to think about their thinking.

Chapter 7: Vaccine Whisperers and Mild-Mannered Interrogators

How the right kind of listening motivates people to change

Motivational Interviewing

One comes from a standpoint that they do not know what is the underlying factor that motivates their action hence, they are genuinely curious to find out the underlying motivation.

The purpose of motivational interviewing is not to tell others what is good or bad. But rather aiding them in breaking away from their overconfidence cycles and opening them up to new possibilities.

Process of motivational interviewing:

1. Asking open-ended questions
2. Engaging in reflective listening
3. Affirming the person’s desire and ability to change

A vaccine whisperer named Arnaud Gagneur spent a significant amount of time asking her open-ended questions about how the people reached the decision to not get vaccinated.

The lady mentioned in the book Marie-Helene decided to vaccinate her kid after hearing Arnaud saying “whether she chose to vaccinate or not, he respected her choice as someone who wanted the best for her kids”.

Motivational interviewing helps in the area where people ignore advice not because they disagree with it. It is sometimes due to them resisting the sense of pressure and the feeling that someone else is controlling their decision.

To protect their freedom of choice, a motivational interviewer does not give commands or offer recommendations but shares what works from his/her personal opinion which sounds like “here are some ways this has helped me with this issue”.

In motivational interviewing, there are:

1. Change talk – a desire, ability, need or commitment to make changes
2. Sustain talk – comments about maintaining the status quo

Out of these two talks in a motivational interview, it is important to look out for change talk where they share what they are looking to change. This enables one to ask questions about why and how this change can be catalysed.

The fourth technique of motivational interviewing

At the end of conversations and transitioning to a different point, it is important to expound on what one understood of the other party’s reason to change and check if it is similar to what they have mentioned. This is followed by asking what their plans and future steps would be.

Wonders of listening

Listening not only promotes openness but also provides one with valuable information on change and talks about questions to ask on what change would look like for them.

It was mentioned by psychologists that when people detect other people trying to persuade them, their behaviour will change in a negative way where did bolster their defences and become less receptive and more resistant.

Hence, there is an innate genuine desire of wanting people to reach their goals.

Influential listening

Listening well is more than talking lesser but the skill of asking and responding.

It is showing more interest in other people’s interests rather than trying to judge them for their abilities/status or one’s own.

BEING truly interested in the other party.

Righting reflex is the innate desire to fix problems and offer solutions. A motivational interviewer curbs the righting reflex and offers sympathy/empathy rather than solutions.

Instead of trying to express one’s view, one should seek to listen, perceive and understand other people’s views.

Traits of a motivational interviewer:

1. Empathetic
2. Nonjudgemental
3. Attentive listener

Great listeners are more interested in making their other party feel smart

“How can i tell what I think till I see what I say?”E. M. Forster

“To speak with him was to be seduced by an inverse charisma, a sense of being listened to with such intensity that you had to be your most honest, sharpest, and best self.”

Inverse charisma: The magnetic quality of a great listener

For motivational interviews and good conversations to work, it requires one to first start a dialogue and then go into a prosecutor or preaching mode. The goal is to establish trust in the relationship so that the change talk happens – allowing one to better understand the difference in understanding and potential misconceptions.

“The power of listening doesn’t lie just in giving people the space to reflect on their views. It’s a display of respect and an expression of care.”Adam Grant

“Listening is a way of offering others our scarcest, most precious gift: our attention.”Adam Grant

The means are a measure of our character and having the means of motivational interviewing, inverse charisma and being an influential listener are the means towards character building.

I like how Adam Grant mentioned that we should be proud of how we achieve the end rather than the outcome.

Part 3: Collective Rethinking

Creating communities of lifelong learners

Chapter 8: Charged Conversations

Hearing an opposing view may not trigger one to rethink their position. Instead, it is easier to stick to one’s position.

Binary bias

The human tendency is to seek clarity and closure by simplifying a complex issue into two aspects.

“There are two kinds of people: those who divide the world into two kinds of people, and those who don’t”Humorist Robery Benchley

Antidote: exemplifying the range of myriads of perspectives on the topic

“It takes a multitude of views to help people realize that they too contain multitudes”Walt Whitman

Desirability bias

One’s beliefs are shaped by one’s motivations

Some still doubt that we have the will to act…but I say the will to act is itself a renewable resourceAl Gore

The antidote to binary bias:

Being aware of the range of perspectives across a given spectrum.

Technique to be learned and applied

Adding complexity to binary bias and statements

Headline 1: Here’s more evidence that coffee is good for your brain

Headline 2: Study: Increasing coffee intake harmful to the brain

Headline 3: Yesterday’s coffee science: It’s good for the brain. Today: Not so fast…

Comparing between the three headlines, headline 3 is definitely more enticing as there is added complexity to it.

Adding “how” also tends to reduce binary bias and calibrate rethinking

EQ vs IQ

Emotional intelligence is vital when it involves jobs that require one to deal with emotions but is more detrimental for jobs which do not deal with it.

The main point of Charged conversations: Seek complexity and seek nuances in the varying perspective.

Chapter 9: Rewriting the Textbook

Learning interrupted

When many are young, they are not taught to unlearn and more of fed what is right rather than allowing them to explore the ebbs and flows of different nuances. What is necessary is increasing the frequency at unlearning especially for cause-and-effect matters.

Process to learning how to unlearn and rethink:

1. Interrogate information rather than consuming it
2. Reject rank and popularity but rather reliability
3. Understand the author/send of an information is not the source

Active learning vs lecture

Even thought it has been found that students prefer lectures, active learning allows students to acquire more knowledge and skills from active learning.

This is due to active learning requiring one to put in more mental effort which brings about more inertia but allows one to have a deeper understanding.

Lectures breed inactive learners as the style of learning is passive.

While active learning requires one to step out of their comfort zone to learn.

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.Adam Grant

Importance of change

For things that require us to do repeatedly, it is important to think how one can change things out and learn to constantly improve.

For example for Adam Grant, he ensures that he updates his lectures and himself by throwing out 20% of his class contact and replacing it with new materials.

One of his rethinking was how to foster rethinking when it comes to evidence. He had his students work in small groups to record their own mini podcasts or mini TED talks. Their task was to question a popular practice and champion an idea that went against the grain of conventional wisdom or to challenges principles covered in class.

His findings were truly intriguing.

He found that students who struggled the most were the A students (perfectionists). It was also found that even thought the A students may do well in school, they performed the same as their peers in the workplace. He also cited evidences on how across a litany of industries, grades are not a strong predictor of job performance.

Excellence in school often requires mastering old ways of thinking.

An example given were architects where building an influential career demands new wats of thinking. The most creative ones usually graduate with an average of a B while the A students that were always looking to be right failed to take the risk of being unorthodox – causing them to be unable to rethink.

Another similar evidence is how students who graduated at the top of their class “Valedictorians” are most likely not to be visionaries as they usually settle into a system instead of shaking it up.

Straight A students were horrified of being wrong.

One of the best ways to learn is to teach

Jack of rough drafts, Master of crafts

Ron Berger and his hands-on craftsmanship are the foundation of his classroom philosophy.

Ge fostered the joy of rethinking by allowing them to create their own foundations rather than spoon-feeding them the foundations.

A psychologist found that one of the hallmarks of an open mind is responding to confusion with curiosity and interest.

Ron always had his students embrace confusion so as to elicit curiosity and interest whenever they faced confusion.

Quality means rethinking, reworking, and polishingRon Berger

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.Adam Grant

Chapter 10: That’s Not the Way We’ve Always Done It

Building cultures of learning at work

Psychological Safety

Nasa’s Ellen Ochoa’s list of questions:

• What leads you to that assumption? Why do you think it 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?

It is important to show how even though one might take their work seriously, they do not take themselves fully seriously. It is important to show vulnerability to inculcate a culture of psychological safety and openness.

Chapter main point: Showing how we are all work in progress by showing vulnerability

The worst thing about best practices

It is common for corporations to have best practices which unconsciously imply an endpoint.

A bad decision process is based on shallow thinking while a good decision process is grounded in higher-level thinking and rethinking.

What is done in Amazon

Decisions in Amazon are not made based on presentations but rather by a six-page memo that lays out the underlying problem with the different approaches that have been considered in the past and how the proposed action plan solves it. To avoid groupthink, everyone reads the memo silently.

Requiring proof is an enemy of progress – causing companies such as Amazon to use a principle of disagreement and commitment. It is to have people commit to the bets they have made and work on them. The end goal is to foster a culture of learning where people are welcome to have experiments and make rethinking a routine.

In the past, NASA’s culture was to prove how it was unsafe to launch. However, Ellen Ochoa created a culture of proving how it was safe to launch.

Part IV: Conclusion

Chapter 11: Escaping Tunnel Vision

When it comes to commitment, it tends to increase due to human nature. We tend to rationalize prior decisions and validate why it is the right choice.

Grit (passion + perseverance) is what enables many to commit through long-term goals that we set.

Despite the plus points and the celebrated good of grit, it does impede rethinking as it fosters the mindset of staying on course and committing to the goal.

Identity foreclosure

Settling prematurely on what we are without considering the myriads of possible selves.

Sometimes, the commitment to a certain career path early on has to do with the career chosen being tied to one’s identity rather than what one does. For example, “I am a scientist” rather than “I am doing science”. It is tied to their identity while the other is what one is working on. In the modern 21st century, most jobs require one to do more than just one work. It requires one to take on a litany of responsibilities rather than exclusively working on only one thing.

For those that tend to lock in their career early on, it is common for them to develop compensatory conviction and dive into that chosen path. Such actions do not breed rethinking. Even though that chosen path may provide the most prestige and money, it is still an unwise choice if they end up hating it – causing them to be depressed.

Key questions to ask oneself for a career check-up

Just as how we have health check-ups routinely, it is important to have career check-ups routinely as well. Some questions to ask oneself:

1. When did you form the aspirations you are currently pursuing, and how have you changed since then?
2. Have you reached a learning plateau in your role or your workplace, and is it time to consider a pivot?

Framework for navigating career paths

1. Identify individuals that one admires within or outside their field and observe what they do on a daily basis.
2. Developing a hypothesis on how their path(s) aligns with one’s interests, skills and values.
3. Testing out different identities by running “experiments”: interviews, job showing, sample projects and internships.

The main goal of this framework is to provide the opportunity for one to explore their potential selves.

How chasing happiness chases it away

Psychologists found that those who value happiness ends up becoming less happy.

One’s happiness is dependent on what we do than where we are. When one figures out what they are doing, it shapes their meaning and belonging rather than the environment itself.

Adam Grant’s advise for choosing a job

Instead of finding a job where one can be the happiest, it is vital to find a job where one can learn and contribute the most.

Psychologists found that passions are developed rather than discovered. Hence, it is important to proactively develop one’s passion(s).

Litmus test for meaningful work

“If this job was non-existent, how much worse off would people and society be?”.

Happiness is less of a goal but rather a by-product of mastery and meaning

“Those only are happy who have their minds fixed on some object rather than their own happiness; on the happiness of others, on the improvement of mankind, even on some art or pursuit, followed not as a means, but as itself an ideal end. Aiming this at something else, they find happiness by the way.”John Stuart Mill

I really like this quote that he quoted from E. L, Doctorow on how it is not plausible to plan out one’s life from start to end.

“Is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”E. L, Doctorow

I really like how Adam Grant ended his last chapter with these two paragraphs that resonated deeply with me on how one must always be humble and actively rethink to break free from the status quo and remove the parameters of one’s limits.

“Our identities are open systems, and so are our lives. We don’t have to stay tethered to old images of where we want to go or who we want to be. The simplest way to start rethinking our options is to question what we do daily.
It takes humility to reconsider our past commitments, doubts 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.”Adam Grant

Epilogue

To end it off, Adam Grant mentions how humility and curiosity are pivotal to rethinking and discovery. Coupled with bold and persistent experimentation to foster rethinking.

Actions for Impact

30 practical takeaways from Adam Grant:

Part 1: Individual Rethinking

A: Developing the habit of thinking again

1. Think like a scientist

Avoid preaching, prosecuting and politicking but rather treat views as hypotheses and test them out.

2. Define one’s identity in terms of values rather than opinions

Once an opinion is tied to one’s identity, it prevents one from rethinking their stance. However, if one values curiosity, learning, humility, flexibility and more, it fosters the mindset of rethinking.

3. Challenge one’s most beloved views

It is easier to fall in love with one’s personal assumptions and views as it reduces the mental load required from challenging one’s own assumptions. Hence, it is pivotal to seek out contrasting views.

b. Calibrate one’s confidence

4. Keep one’s confidence in check

It falls back to recalling the Dunning-Kruger effect whereby an individual’s lack of knowledge and skills in a certain area causes them to overestimate their own competence.

5. Perceiving doubt as an opportunity to grow

Instead of being overconfident in a certain stance or competence, it is more important to be confident in one’s ability to learn and relearn.

6. Find joy in being wrong

Having a paradigm shift from proving oneself to improving oneself.

c. Inviting others to question one’s thinking

7. Learning happens anywhere, anybody and anyhow

It is common to think that one can only learn from those that are better than them. However, there is definitely one aspect that one can learn from others.

8. Build both a challenge and support network

A support network provides one with cheerleaders around oneself. It is also equally important to have those around to critic.

9. Do not shy away from constructive criticism

It is common to feel attacked by conflicts and disagreements. Strive for task conflict rather than relationship conflict by having it intelligently rather than treating it emotionally.

Part 2: Interpersonal Rethinking

a. Asking better questions

10. Practice persuasive listening

Rather than trying to persuade others by talking, it is more effective by trying to listen. Instead of thinking about how can I make them see my point of view and support it, try to show interest in how one can support them and find their own reasoning for rethinking their view.

One’s question-to-statement ratio shows whether one is actively listening or speaking.

11. Question how rather than why

When questions start with why it brings one’s extremism and commitment to their views. Bolstering their stance on a certain view. However, asking how catalyses them to see the limits of their personal understanding -potentially fostering rethinking.

12. Ask “What evidence would change your mind”

This is definitely one of the biggest takeaways as one should not be a logical bully but rather foster an opportunity for the other to have an open mindset of one’s views.

13. Ask how they formed their view

Some views made by others are not rigorously built upon but rather what they feel than think. To help others rethink, it is important to have them consider how their views are formed and how they would be different in a different setting.

b. Approach disagreements as Dances, Not Battles

14. Acknowledge common ground(s)

Rather than trying to prove how “right” one is, it is important to view a disagreement as a dance than a war. “It takes two to tango” compared to a war where one loses or both. Establishing common ground allows one to rethink – potentially causing them to lower their defences and encourage them to rethink as well.

15. Sometimes less is more

Instead of bringing many points to the table, it can cause others to be defensive as they can narrow down on the weaker points that are not compelling to them. Instead, bringing forth a few strong points reduces the number of holes in one’s points.

16. Reinforce freedom of choice

In marketing and discussions, people hate to feel that their freedom of choice is being controlled. Hence, it is important to let them feel that they can be in control of their own decisions.

Part 3: Collective Rethinking

a. Have more nuanced (complex) conversations

18. Make contentious topics complex

Rather than making it black or white, make it grey. By seeing things in shades of grey, it fosters rethinking.

19. Do not shy away from caveats and contingencies

Acknowledging competing views and polarizing results does not decrease interest or credibly. Instead opening them up to rethink and consider the different views involved.

20. Expanding one’s emotional range

One does not need to remove negative emotions. Instead one should experience all forms of emotions ranging from happiness, sadness and even ambivalence.

b. Teaching kids to think again

21. Weekly myth-busting discussion

It is easier to teach kids to rethink at an earlier age so that rethinking becomes a muscle that they use starting from an early age. This also removes the current dogma that one must be a perfectionist and get things right on the first try. It teaches them to embrace the confusion and learn to relentless try.

22. Make multiple drafts and feedback from others a norm

Teaching them at an early age to work on multiple drafts and to revise their work, shows them the value of revising their ideas and beliefs – allowing them to be more open to rethinking. It shows them there are many possibilities rather than one option/idea that is tied to their identity.

c. Creating learning organizations

24. Abandon best practices

Having best practices fosters the mindset that whatever is done is the best version possible. Hampering the possibilities of refining and improving the current practice.

25. Establishing psychological safety

To create a culture where questioning and challenging the norm without being punished creates the leaders themselves to role-model humility and show their vulnerabilities. Essentially, showing how we are all “work in progress”.

26. Keeping a rethinking scorecard

Do not fixate just on the result but rather focus on the process involved. Drawing from the culture in Amazon, it is important to take into account the various options/possibilities involved and why this choice is made.

d. Staying open to rethinking one’s future

27. Throw away one’s ten-year plan

One’s passion is not discovered but rather developed. Instead of planning ten steps ahead, it is better to plan just one step ahead. Bearing in mind the analogy of how when one is driving in the dark, being able to see the path lit in front by the car’s headlight is able to navigate them to the end of the way.

28. Rethinking about one’s actions rather than just one’s surroundings

When one chases happiness, it instead chases it away. It is mastery and meaning that bring about happiness. Changing one’s actions potentially increases one’s learning and contribution to others.

29. Schedule a life checkup

Just as how one does a health checkup annually or semi-annually, one’s life requires a checkup too. It involves checking how much one is learning, how one’s beliefs and goals are evolving and the action plans for the future.

30. Making time to rethink

Instead of just constantly working on something, it is important to spend time rethinking and unlearning. It cultivates the mindset of rethinking and life-long learning.