BIQ: Books I Quote: Mindset, By Carol S.Dweck, Ph.D.

Mindset, The New Psychology of Success, by Carol S.Dweck, Ph.D.

I read this book because it was recommended reading for our EMBA Students at HULT International Business Schools. I wanted to learn more about the growth and fixed mindset concept. I wanted to be able to explain it.

Below are some of the quotes I will keep from this book:

"For thirty years, my research has shown that the view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life."

"Once I went to an exhibit in London of Paul Cézanne's early paintings. [...] Here is what I found: Some of the paintings were pretty bad. [...] Although there were some paintings that foreshadowed the later Cézanne, many did not. Was the early Cézanne not talented? Or did it just take time for Cézanne to become Cézanne?"

"If you are somebody when you are successful, what are you when you're unsuccessful?"

"As the New York Times article points out, failure has been transformed from an action (I failed) to an identity (I am a failure). This is especially true in the fixed mindset."

"Instead of trying to learn from and repair their failures, people with the fixed mindset may simply try to repair their self-esteem. For example, they may go looking for people who are even worse off than they are."

"The fixed mindset stands in the way of development and change. The growth mindset is a starting point for change, but people need to decide for themselves where their efforts toward change would be most valuable."

"So in the fixed mindset, both positive and negative labels can mess with your mind. When you're given a positive label, you're afraid of losing it. When you're hit with a negative label, you're afraid of deserving it."

"Finding #1: Those with the growth mindset found success in doing their best, in learning and improving. And this is exactly what we find in champions. [...] "I derive just as much happiness from the process as from the results. I don't mind losing as long as I see improvement or I feel I've done as well as I possibly could. If I lose, I just go back to the track and work some more.""

Finding #2: Those with the growth mindset found setbacks motivating. [...] Michael Jordan embraced his failures. In fact, in one of his favorite ads for Nike, he says: “I’ve missed more than nine thousand shots. I’ve lost almost three hundred games. Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot, and missed.” You can be sure that each time, he went back and practiced the shot a hundred times.”

On people management with fixed mindset bosses: “Don’t forget that these great geniuses don’t want great teams, either. Fixed-mindset people want to be the only big fish so that when they compare themselves to those around them, they can feel a cut above the rest. In not one autobiography of a fixed-mindset CEO did I read much about mentoring or employee development programs. In every growth-mindset autobiography, there was deep concern with personnel development and extensive discussion of it.”

“When bosses become controlling and abusive, they put everyone into a fixed mindset. This means that instead of learning, growing, and moving the company forward, everyone starts worrying about being judged. It starts with the bosses’ worry about being judged, but it winds up being everybody’s fear about being judged. It’s hard for courage and innovation to survive a companywide fixed mindset.”

“True self-confidence is “the courage to be open—to welcome change and new ideas regardless of their source.” Real self-confidence is not reflected in a title, an expensive suit, a fancy car, or a series of acquisitions. It is reflected in your mindset: your readiness to grow”

... and many more great quotes. I warmly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in #Growth, #mindset, #development, #selfworth, #learning and #cultureatwork.

I wish you a happy, growing mindset!