Think Again by Adam Grant

In his latest book, organizational psychologist and Wharton professor Adam Grant discusses the value of rethinking and with a clever mix of science and storytelling pitches why it’s so important for us to be curious, open minded and feel the joy of being wrong.

FOUR MINDSETS

According to Grant, as we think and talk, we often slip into the mindsets of three different professions: Preachers, Prosecutors and Politicians. 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 that we don’t bother to rethink our own views. Instead, we should be aiming to be in a Scientist mode: When we accept how little we know, we form hypotheses, run experiments, and consistently rethink our understanding of the world and others based on new knowledge.

If knowledge is power, knowing what we don’t know is wisdom.        

Fallacies & Biases

First-instinct fallacy:?Tendency to believe your first thought, idea, or answer is closer to the truth than revised thoughts, ideas, and answers.

Desirability bias: Our tendency to see what we want to see.

Confirmation bias: Our tendency to see what we expect to see.

Binary bias: Our tendency to seek clarity and closure by simplifying complex ideas and situations into two categories.

These biases don’t just prevent us from applying our intelligence. They actually contort our intelligence into a weapon against the truth.

We need to refuse to let our beliefs become part of our identity

To unlock the joy of being wrong, we need to detach. Two types of detaching are important here: Detaching your present from your past and Detaching your opinions from your identity.?

It’s a sign of wisdom to avoid believing every thought that enters your mind.?It’s a mark of emotional intelligence to avoid internalizing every feeling that enters your heart. When you form an opinion, ask yourself what would have to happen to prove it false. Then keep track of your views so you can see when you were right, when you were wrong, and how your thinking has evolved.?

The absence of conflict is not harmony, it’s apathy.?

This is something, I keep telling our team in BSH Home Appliances Middle East. 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. So I expect everyone in the team to think and act the same way. Leaders should have a challenge network around them; 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.?

Another great quote I took away from the book

Many communicators try to make themselves looks smart. Great communicators are more interested in making their audiences feel smart. They help people approach their own views with more humility, doubt and curiosity.        

Creating a culture of learning

An organization with a culture of learning requires at least two things –?Psychological Safety and Accountability. Psychological safety is about creating an environment of trust, respect, and openness where people can raise concerns and ideas without the fear of being reprimanded. Although psychological safety erases the fear of challenging authority, it doesn’t necessarily motivate us to question authority in the first place. When psychological safety exists without accountability, people tend to stay within their comfort zone, and when there’s accountability but not safety, people tend to stay silent in an anxiety zone. When we combine the two, we create a Learning Zone. People feel free to experiment – and to pole holes in one another’s experiments in service of making them better. They become a challenge network.