The BTM Book Report: ‘Think Again’

Adam Grant’s Think Again is a book about learning and gaining wisdom from experience. It discusses the joy that can be found in being wrong and the important balance between confidence and competence. On the surface, it seems like a book written for business leaders and decision-makers, but coaches and athletes can also gain from the perspective shared in this book.

The foundation of Grant’s argument is the idea of mental models around certain personalities. What he deems the “cult leaders” always believe themselves to be right, while at the top of the pyramid are the “scientists” who acknowledge that they might be wrong. Further on, he discusses the problem with becoming too attached to your beliefs or opinions. If you become too attached to an opinion you have formed, then you are less likely to rethink your position or change it.

One of the first key topics is the idea of “confident humility.” In this state, the author argues that a person is confident in their ability to accomplish a goal but uncertain in how they will actually do it. Compare this to being insecure about your ability to accomplish a goal or overconfident that your method is the only true path to success. What happens when someone is in a state of confident humility is that the person is sure that they can figure out a way to do something and is open to new ideas for doing so. In this state, the person can rethink or reconsider what they know and add new information or skills to help them achieve their goals.

Another important discussion point is the idea that people should rethink things based on the process they used for making a decision, as well as the outcome of the decision itself. Most people will simply rationalize a ...