by Adam Grant
First published 2016
Grant tackles the puzzle of how to champion fresh ideas without destroying your career or credibility. He examines the strategies that allow people to introduce novel concepts, challenge established norms, and transform outdated systems while managing the inevitable risks. The book reveals how to identify promising ideas, voice dissent effectively, build supporter networks, time interventions strategically, and handle fear and uncertainty. Grant shows how parents and teachers can foster creative thinking in children and how leaders can create environments that encourage productive disagreement. His examples include an entrepreneur who presents investors with reasons to reject his proposals, an Apple employee who confronted Steve Jobs despite her junior position, a CIA analyst who dismantled secretive protocols, a billionaire who terminates staff members for avoiding criticism of his decisions, and a television executive who rescued Seinfeld despite lacking comedy experience. These cases demonstrate practical methods for rejecting conformity and upgrading existing conditions.
Genres: psychology, business, non-fiction
Vibes: informative, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: non-fiction, self-help
326 pages · Hardcover · Viking