Reviewed by Ed Ladd.
Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist from The Wharton School, has written a book that is an essential read for anyone who seeks to lead organizational change, for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of the challenges we face in the world today, and for anyone who wants to have a life of learning. In international education, we have for a long-time embraced Carol Dweck’s concept of a “growth mindset.” Grant takes a deeper dive into what is required to achieve this mindset and presents us with the research and the strategies to achieve this lofty goal. I believe wholeheartedly with his statement “I can’t think of a more vital time for re-thinking.” And while, his reference point is global, I think it aptly applies to education. He wants to “anchor our sense of self in flexibility rather than consistency.” For the first time, thanks to Grant, I think I fully understand Thoreau’s statement “That consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”
Grant’s book is divided into three sections: Individual Rethinking, Interpersonal Thinking, and Collective Rethinking. In each of these sections, he shares research, uses stories from real life to illustrate the findings from the research, and gives us an array of examples to understand the obstacles to rethinking and strategies to overcome these obstacles.
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