In February, our Book of the Month, "Think Again" provided us with a wealth of new learning experiences. We wanted to share our final thoughts on what we have learned last month and how it can help you to become your best self.
"Think Again" by Adam Grant emphasizes the importance of developing a flexible mindset and being open to reevaluating our beliefs and assumptions. Grant argues that intellectual humility, the willingness to admit when we're wrong and to seek out diverse perspectives, is crucial for personal and professional growth. He offers practical strategies for challenging our own ideas, engaging in constructive debate, and ultimately becoming more adaptable and effective thinkers in a rapidly changing world. Here are our final thoughts after reading our book of the month.
"I was delighted that my suggestion 'Think Again' by Adam Grant was chosen as the book of the month.
I couldn’t really imagine what the book was about. What does 'The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know' mean? Why is it so important to think again? I felt the dedication words 'To Kaan, Jeremy, and Bill, My three oldest friends - one thing I won’t rethink'. A man who is loyal to his friends must write a good book.
So starting the book, I felt, I might learn a lot of things that I wouldn’t have considered before. And my expectations were surpassed by miles.
Normally, I read books rather rapidly to understand the key concepts and just soak up the knowledge. With this book, I truly was thrilled by the wisdom in every sentence. So I took my time and often times put the book away to think about what I just read and how I could implement this knowledge into my daily life.
Many comics, illustrations and graphs make the book easier to read. But to a large extent, it reads like a sequence of scientific papers. So it was a hard read, but if you have read it, you can enjoy the knowledge you just gathered."
"Think Again is an exciting book that challenges familiar social conventions. The section on team reasoning is particularly intriguing. Adam Grant encourages us to question familiar patterns and emphasizes the importance of teamwork for success. This insight has been helpful in my daily life. The book is filled with engaging anecdotes that I frequently paused to highlight."
"While reading 'Think Again' I noticed that I am a part of the Dunning-Kruger Party. If you don't know what this means, just read the book ;) We often have the impression that we have vast knowledge about a grand array of topic. Politics, technology or even in sports. But embracing the fact that you actually don't know as much as you believed, being humble and seeking the truth is what really helps you to grow as a person.
There were many passages where I thought 'this is so important, I have to tell my friends immediately'. I even went so far and sent several passages, especially the parts about criticism and what education really is about, to my university professor.
What I learned from our book of the month is that there are many things that I still don't know or don't understand. Instead of covering up my shortcomings, I should have the humility to admit that there are many things that I still have to learn yet. When we maintain the same mindset we had as beginners, eagerly seeking to learn and challenging pre-existing assumptions, we truly start to grow personally. This particular passage stuck especially to my head as there is a similar saying in Japanese from Zeami (14th century) - shoshin wasuru bekarazu 初心忘るべからず - 'You must not forget your beginner’s spirit.'
And that is what I try to implement in my daily life. Having th courage to ask 'why do you know" and 'I don't know everything. Could you please explain to me how it works? I have now the power of knowing what I don't know."
Favorite quotes:
Learning requires the humility to recognise that you have something to learn.
Creative tensions make beautiful music.
Every month we read one book of the month and discuss the topics from this particular book. If you want to join the discussion, take a look at our book of the month blog.
If you haven't read our book of the month from February 2024 "Think Again" yet, you can add the book to your bookshelf here:
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