Thank you so much to Penguin Random House South Africa for gifting me a review copy of this book
Published: February 2021
Pages: 307
Genre: Non-Fiction, Psychology, Self Help
The reason I wanted to read this book was because it promised to teach me how to rethink in a day and age where the world changes faster than we might change our underwear. We are probably all guilty of holding onto perspectives and opinions that we formed in our younger years or because of a particular set of circumstances that happened to us years ago. This book encourages us to be intentional about regularly rethinking ideas and opinions we hold on to.
This book is written in such an engaging and fun way. The chapter titles are so clever, especially after reading the chapter and understanding its meaning. In the first section of the book, Adam Grant explores Individual Rethinking. The first chapter is titled “A Preacher, a Prosecutor, a Politician, and a Scientist Walk into Your Mind”. In this chapter he talks about how each of us defends our views like one of those professions.
“In each of these modes, we take on a particular identity and use a distinct set of tools.”
Page 18
“We go into preacher mode when our sacred beliefs are in jeopardy; we deliver sermons to promote and protect our ideals. We go into prosecutor mode when we recognise 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.” He goes on to discuss examples of the thinking and behaviour of each of these professions. But then he talks about thinking like a scientist.
“If you’re a scientist by trade, rethinking is fundamental to your profession. You’re paid to be constantly aware of the limits of your understanding.”
Page 19&20
You’re expected to doubt what you know, be curious about what you don’t know, and update your views based on new data. The theme of these four professions is carried throughout the book as the author shows ways that the different professions handle various scenarios individually, when challenged on their thinking, as well as in a group setting or corporate environment.
There were quite a few things I enjoyed about this book. There are cartoons that are appropriate to the current thought littered throughout the book which was fun. I really enjoyed the graphs, facts and stats that he presents throughout the book. Overall, this book was really engaging and enjoyable. There is also a list of action points at the back of the book which I thought was a really nice bonus. The first of the things I’d want to point out as things to be aware of, is that it is quite academic. The vocabulary can be difficult to grasp at times. Even though it has stories, and it is quite conversational most of the time, it has its academic side as well. Another thing is that all of the examples are American. This makes sense since the author is American but unless one’s general knowledge or knowledge about American news is up to date, some of the examples might go over your head. It’s not the easiest read ever but well worth the read and really enlightening.
I would recommend this book to people who feel stuck in their thinking and people who find that they only frustrate people in arguments or cause them to shut off. There was a lot of good stuff in this book, and I could probably write something about every chapter, but there are three chapters that stood out to me the most: Chapters 5, 7 and 10. In Chapter 5, the author talks about how to win debates and influence people. He explains that effective debates are not a back and forth or defend and attack spiral, they are actually more like a dance. If we are like scientists and we are after the truth, then when in a debate, then we can do things like find common ground with our opposition, learn from their viewpoint and possibly question our own thinking. This dance tactic also suggests asking genuine questions and being genuinely curious about the opposition’s viewpoint, how they got to believing it that way and learning from that and using that to engage and challenge their thinking, with the thought that the opposition can and must do the same to you.
In Chapter 7, we learn about how the right kind of listening motivates people to change. Adam Grant talks about motivational interviewing, “which involves 3 key techniques: asking open ended questions, engaging in reflective listening and affirming the person’s desire and ability to change.” Page 147. This was just so eye-opening because he reiterates humility and curiosity for this technique above all else. He explains how the best approach is not to come in as a person with all the answers but to rather come in with a genuine desire to get to know the other person and their motivations and where their viewpoints originated from. Only then, can you ask the right questions which in turn causes the person to rethink their opinion.
In Chapter 10, the theme is building cultures of learning at work. One of the key things for me from this chapter is building something he calls psychological safety in the workplace.
“…psychological safety is not a matter of relaxing standards, making people comfortable, being nice and agreeable, or giving unconditional praise. It’s fostering a climate of respect, trust and openness in which people can raise concerns and suggestions without fear of reprisal. It’s the foundation of a learning culture.”
Page 209
He compares a learning culture to performance culture and how a learning culture results in more innovation and less mistakes. Adam Grant uses an example of NASA, where they made some really tragic mistakes and how they weren’t able to get to the root issue until a certain level of psychological safety existed within the team and the right questions could be asked which led to them discovering the real cause of the problem. It ended up being a small fix and there were many successful launches after reaching the root problem through asking the right questions and being able to critique a colleague’s work in a respectful and helpful way.
There is so much helpful and practical stuff in this book on the power and beauty and strength of rethinking as a regular practice in our lives as individuals and in any other arena we find ourselves. It’s about not being scared to be wrong but learning from everything and keeping an open mind to what is possible. This is a book I will have to read again in order to absorb more of what’s in its pages and really get a grasp on the concepts in order to apply them well. But for now, I have learnt that rethinking is a valuable tool and a necessary skill to hone if I want to be a more effective leader and person.
Until next time! 😊
Chevonn
All The Books and I 
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