Smarter, Faster, Better by Charles Duhigg: Why you need to embrace control but relinquish certainty
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\nAbout the Book\xa0
\nFrom the author of the\xa0New York Times\xa0bestselling phenomenon\xa0The Power of Habit\xa0comes a fascinating new book that explores the science of productivity, and why, in today\u2019s world, managing how you think\u2014rather than what you think\u2014can transform your life.
\nA young woman drops out of a PhD program and starts playing poker, a group of data scientists at Google embark on a four-year study of how the best teams function, a Marine Corps general, faced with low morale among recruits, reimagines boot camp and the filmmakers behind Disney\u2019s Frozen are nearly out of time and on the brink of catastrophe.
\nWhat do these people have in common?
\nThey know that productivity relies on making certain choices. The way we frame our daily decisions; the big ambitions we embrace and the easy goals we ignore; the cultures we establish as leaders to drive innovation; the way we interact with data: These are the things that separate the merely busy from the genuinely productive.
\nDrawing on the latest findings in neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral economics\u2014as well as the experiences of CEOs, educational reformers, four-star generals, FBI agents, airplane pilots, and Broadway songwriters\u2014this painstakingly researched book explains that the most productive people, companies, and organizations don\u2019t merely act differently.
\nThey view the world, and their choices, in profoundly different ways.
\nAbout the Author
\nCharles Duhigg is a reporter for The New York Times. He\u2019s also the author of The Power of Habit, about the science of habit formation, as well as Smarter Faster Better.
\nHe has worked at the Times since 2006. In 2013, he was part of a team that won the Pulitzer Prize for a series about Apple named \u201cThe iEconomy\u201d. Before that, he contributed to the NYT series about the 2008 financial crisis, how companies take advantage of the elderly and national violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act.
\nHe\u2019s also a native of New Mexico. He studied history at Yale and received an MBA from Harvard Business School. He now lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children and, before becoming a journalist, he was a bike messenger in San Francisco for one terrifying day.
\nLinks:
\nBuy the Book from the Book Depository - https://www.bookdepository.com/Smarter-Faster-Better-Charles-Duhigg/9781847947437/?a_aid=stephsbookshelf
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\nBIG IDEA 1 (5:08) \u2013 Doing more with less.
\nThis book was inspired by Charles Duhigg not getting a hold of Atul Gawande, the author of Checklist Manifesto as he happened to be enjoying time with family. Charles wondered how such a busy and popular man (Atul) was able to have leisure time.
\nThis inspired Charles to write this book about the fundamental principle of doing more with less. What we need to do is to be able to bring this to life is recognise that choices fuel productivity.
\nMotivation, working effectively with teams, focus, goal setting, managing others, decision-making, innovation, and absorbing data are the chapters in the book that have stories that help you do more with less.
\nBIG IDEA 2 (7:53) \u2013 Embrace control, relinquish certainty.
\nThere were studies mentioned in the book that those who have an ability to take control of their lives live longer, live happier, are more confident, and resilient.\xa0
\nThe best way to embrace control is by making decisions or taking actions, this might include small acts of defiance. The good news is that being able to take control can be learnt.
\nYou can teach this to both children and adults through feedback. Studies have found that kids who were given feedback \u201cyou worked very hard, well done\u201d after being given a maths challenge versus \u201cyou are really good at maths\u201d were more resilient when faced with harder challenges.
\nAn important thing about taking control is knowing the odds. If you\u2019re after certainty in your decisions, you\u2019ll never make a good decision. You have to think of the future as numerous possibilities of outcomes while still being able to make decisions as a result.
\nKnowing your odds, embracing control and relinquishing your need for too much certainty.
\nBIG IDEA 3 (12:39) \u2013 Building a productive culture.
\nThe book shared a fascinating story about the General Motors plant in Fremont, California who had a terrible working culture before Toyota took over. When Toyota did take over, they invited the employees to submit ideas and more importantly, created the environment where the workers could take pride in their work.
\nBuild the trust in action and not just with what\u2019s written in a contract or on a wall is imperative. Empowering people to make decisions and take pride in their work rather than doing things for the sake of just doing it.
\nThere was another example in the book about bag checks from a company with problems about theft. The unintended consequence was productivity dropped because people would leave earlier to get through the bag check line and get home a decent time.
\nThe fundamental part of building a productive culture is building trust and pushing things down to the lowest level of decision making possible. You\u2019ll start to see new ways of doing things emerge.
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