Think Again by Adam Grant

(PDF Summary)

Think Again is a book about the power of unlearning and rethinking. Adam Grant argues that
the ability to rethink is underestimated, even though it is perhaps more important than
conviction for long-term success. This summary includes 10 of the book's biggest ideas.

1) Think Like a Scientist

Entrepreneurs are often admired when they have a clear vision and brim with conviction. But
more successful are the entrepreneurs who are aware of their blind spots and do not
proclaim their ideas as incontrovertible truths but formulate them as hypotheses.

Example: Mike Lazaridis, the inventor of the BlackBerry, would have been better off
formulating his conviction that people prefer a physical keyboard to a touchscreen as a
hypothesis instead of seeing it as an incontrovertible truth.

2) Beware of Mount Stupid

The Dunning Kruger effect describes the phenomenon of becoming overconfident as soon
as you start studying a subject before you really become an expert. In reality, people are
often stranded on Mount Stupid –  where confidence exceeds competence.

Example: People who regularly watch a team sport such as football tend to develop
overconfidence and often think they are smarter than the coach or manager of a professional
sports team.

3) Foster Constructive Conflict

Most people enjoy being surrounded by others who think alike and have similar views. As a
result, we rarely question our opinions. Instead, our beliefs become solidified, even if,
objectively speaking, they would be wrong.

Example: The Wright brothers, who are considered the inventors of the motorized airplane,
had a constructive argument culture. By managing not to take their disputes personally, but
to focus on the task at hand, they made rapid progress and were able to identify potential
design problems quickly.

© Copyright | Felix Hofmann | https://www.felixhofmann.net

 4) Use Fewer Arguments
When other people are on the wrong track in our opinion, and we try to encourage them to
reconsider their opinions, we tend to present as many arguments as possible. Unfortunately,
if someone does not find a single argument convincing, they usually reject the whole case.

Example: The argument that you do good for the students, staff, and faculty of a university
when you donate convinced 6.5% of alumni. Similarly, 6.5% of alumni were persuaded by
the argument that giving back feels good and makes them happy. However, when both
arguments were listed in the same email, many alumni felt overwhelmed. Only less than 3%
of them still donated money. Therefore, we should limit ourselves only to our strongest
arguments when we want to convince other people.

5) Let People Convince Themselves

But it is not only the number of arguments that are a hindrance when you want to dissuade
someone from a “wrong” opinion. People are best persuaded by themselves. Therefore, to
convince people, you should focus on commonalities, ask questions with genuine curiosity,
and confirm the others that they have the will and ability to change.

Example: To convince season-ticket holders of a college basketball team to come to the

home game, the strongest argument was not a real argument, but a simple question: Are
you planning to attend? Suddenly not only 77% but 85% of the fans came to the home
game.

6) Embrace Complexity
In many cases, topics are simplified to fit a strong opinion. Social media and algorithms
reinforce this trend. However, the truth is often more complex.

Example: A few years ago, a study appeared on the cognitive effects of coffee consumption.
Although the media reported on the same study, some wrote that coffee was harmful, while
others wrote that coffee was good for the brain. With a little skill, however, it is possible to
find headlines that create suspense while still expressing complexity. The Washington Post
wrote, "Yesterday's coffee science: It's good for the brain. Today: Not so fast...".

7) Foster Iterative Approaches

Many people still think that entrepreneurs are successful when they have a brilliant idea and
implement it steadfastly. However, another skill is much more important than the initial
brilliant idea: the ability to work iteratively and to discard bad ideas. Leaders should consider
how to create an environment where iterative work becomes the norm.

Example: In a school in Idaho, children learn to work iteratively. Instead of evaluating the
successful or less successful completion of a task, the children receive several rounds of
feedback from their classmates and can improve their work several times. This fosters the
ability to deal with feedback.

© Copyright | Felix Hofmann | https://www.felixhofmann.net

 8) Create Learning Cultures
Any kind of organization in which people work together develops a culture. In cultures with a
high level of psychological safety, people dare to express their opinions and admit mistakes.
In cultures where psychological safety is low, people are afraid to make and admit mistakes.

Example: When Google examined its organization concerning the question "What makes a
successful team?", psychological safety overshadowed all other aspects. As a leader, the
best way to establish psychological safety is to talk about your weaknesses and how you
have learned from constructive criticism in the past.

9) Promote Process Accountability

In learning cultures, employees are also accountable for their performance. However, it is
important that employees are not only accountable for the results of their work, but also the
process. Process accountability means that someone acts thoughtfully and recognizes and
evaluates alternatives.

Example: At Amazon, decisions are made based on a six-page memo. The idea behind this
is that in bullet points in a PowerPoint presentation, superficial thinking is less easily
recognizable. The memo, on the other hand, must describe the problem precisely, consider
alternatives, and explain in detail how the new solution will serve the customer. This ensures
the process accountability of the project sponsor.

10) Activate Counterfactual Thinking

Many people carry around prejudices or tend to generalize about people in terms of gender,
skin color, age, origin, or other characteristics. The causes of these prejudices are usually
very arbitrary upon closer examination. Counterfactual thinking can help break down these
biases.

Example: To activate counterfactual thinking, you might ask people questions like, “How
would your stereotypes be different if you’d been born Black, Hispanic, Asian, or Native
American? What opinions would you hold if you’d been raised on a farm versus in a city, or
in a culture on the other side of the world?”. What is special about these questions is that
they motivate people to explore the origins of their beliefs and rethink their attitudes toward
other groups.

These were the 10 biggest ideas from Think Again by Adam Grant.

© Copyright | Felix Hofmann | https://www.felixhofmann.net