Hidden Potential 📚

Adam Grant stuffs Hidden Potential with loads of anecdotes and research on growth, learning, and performance.

Excellence

Excellence relies less on our natural talent.

It’s more about proactiveness, collaboration, discipline, and determination.

It’s never too late to build character traits in life to get this benefit.

There are lots of different ways to learn. Mixing them up is worth it.

Sometimes working in your least preferred way is better for learning as it forces you to work harder.

Ask loads of questions and take notes. Seek and soak up information.

Asking others for one thing you can do to improve will help surface up lessons and ways to improve faster.

Take small steps or slices and build gradually.

Not aiming for perfection can unlock good solutions.

Adding play makes practice more effective.

Also ensure you take regular breaks as that’s a more effective way of internalising lessons and practice.

Progress isn’t linear.

A rut or plateau or stagnation isn’t a signal you’ve hit your peak. It’s a chance to back up and try a different approach.

You will need to regress to progress.

Pooling study resources in a group leads to higher collective outcomes.

The tutor effect: teaching others improves your understanding.

Being doubted by experts can have a demoralising effect. Being doubted by non-experts can drive higher performance.

When someone ignorant doubts you it feels like a challenge.

If credible people believe in us it is a signal that we should believe in ourselves.

It’s more important to be good ancestors than dutiful descendants.

The Finnish education system was focused on early intervention.

All kids are given attention—not just those that show early potential.

Teachers can stay with student for multiple years in a row—this is known as “looping”.

Teachers get more break time so they can better prepare.

Play leads to a love of learning.