Think Again, Adam Grant
(back to books)
- Substrat: value curiosity, learning, mental flexibility, search for knowledge (i.e. be a scientist)
- what you see as part of your identity, indicates what you're able to do
- open minds respond to confusion with curiosity & interest
- a rich relationship requires regular rethinking
- productive disagreements
- expert negotiators find areas of agreement, express emotions & uncertainty, present fewer arguments, ask more questions
- with contentious topics, "how" ("why") more likely to lead to task (personal) conflict
- "how does it work?", "how do you know?", "what evidence would change your mind?" helps open minds
- if exposed to nuances of complex issue (e.g. through presentation or enquiry),
more likely to find shared perspective
- motivational interviewing: help others find motivation to change
- 1) open-ended questions, 2) reflective listening, 3) affirm person's desire & ability to change, 4) summarise
- difference between sustain talk & change talk; listen for change talk & ask about how & why they might change
- righting reflex: desire to fix problems & offer answers; skilled interviewer resists it
- rethinking cycle vs overconfidence cycle
- rethinking cycle: humility, doubt, curiosity, discovery
- overconfidence cycle: pride, conviction, confirmation & desirability bias, validation
- desirability bias: we see what we want to see
- Dunning-Kruger effect: most likely overconfident when lack of competence
- as we think and talk, we often slip into preacher, prosecutor or politician mode
- risk: we focus on preaching/prosecuting/politicking & don't rethink own views
- process accountability evaluates how carefully different options are considered (bad decision process is based on shallow thinking)
- visions for change more compelling when they include visions of continuity
- typically more variety within groups than between them; interacting with members of other group reduced prejudice in 94% of cases
- rethinking more likely to occur in learning culture, which thrives with psychological safety & accountability
- annual rethinking check-up: When did you form the aspirations you're currently pursuing
and how have you changed since then? Have you reached a learning plateau in your role
or your workplace, and is it time to consider a pivot?
- meaningful work question: if this job didn't exist, how much worse off would people be?

