Think Again.
Week 3 begins - only 1,448 days to go...
I confess. I’m an Adam Grant groupie. If you don’t know him, he is an incredibly popular professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania specializing in organizational psychology. He was named by the Thinkers50 as the #2 most influential management thinkers in the world. He has a popular podcast that I follow and has done a number of TED talks. I love his work.
After I read his first book, Give and Take, I became quite the fan — I even queued up at a book signing event just to shake his hand and have the opportunity to meet him. What can I say? I’m a groupie.
Give and Take debunked the myth that ‘‘good guys finish last.’’ His research mirrored what I always believed — that through teamwork and helping others, you ultimately help yourself and can achieve success within your organizations. I loved his conclusions, because they reflected my own professional experiences.
He has subsequently written other books. The one, that is on my mind after two weeks of #FOTUS in the White House, is Think Again.
There are a lot of messages in this book.
The power of intellectual humility: recognizing our limitations and being open to new information. We can overcome confirmation bias, seek diverse viewpoints, and refine our thinking.
The benefits of cognitive flexibility: the ability to adapt our thinking in response to new evidence. This encourages one to consider alternative perspectives, challenge assumptions, and explore creative solutions to problems.
Constructive disagreements and collaboration: constructive debates can lead to better decision-making, innovation, and stronger relationships.
Grant suggests four distinct thinking styles: the Preacher, the Prosecutor, the Politician, and the Scientist. He uses these archetypes as a framework to analyze how people approach conversations, make decisions, and interact with the world. By understanding these thinking styles, you can stop and reflect on your own mindset and style — and perhaps learn how to engage with more open-minded effectiveness.
The Preacher: The Preacher mindset is an unwavering conviction and a desire to convince people their beliefs are right because in their minds, their opinions are absolute truths. They often seek validation and agreement from others. This thinking style can hinder intellectual growth by closing the door to alternative perspectives.
The Prosecutor: The Prosecutor mindset focusses on proving one's point and winning arguments. Prosecutors see things as battles to be won, seeking flaws and weaknesses in others' arguments. While this might be a great style in the courtroom, it often prevents genuine understanding and collaboration.
The Politician: The Politician mindset is driven by the desire to win approval and maintain popularity. Politicians craft their messages in order to appeal to their audience, sacrificing authenticity and intellectual honesty. This style prioritizes popularity over the pursuit of truth.
The Scientist: The Scientist mindset personifies intellectual curiosity, a willingness to question assumptions, and an openness to new evidence. Scientists approach situations as opportunities for learning and growth, with thoughtful exploration and consideration of multiple perspectives. This style fosters intellectual humility and encourages the pursuit of truth.
Each style has some appropriateness in various situations. I think of Jefferson’s quote:
In matters of style, swim with the current. In matters of principle, stand like a rock.
We all have a default thinking style and given different situations, hopefully move between the styles. My mom for example, tended toward politician with some preacher; my dad was primarily scientist. I know, that when I was younger, I could be quite the prosecutor, but fortunately with my dad’s influence and an assortment of personal and professional conditions, I’ve learned to be more of a scientist, because I have found that most situations are rarely black and white. There are many shades of gray. Understanding one’s natural tendencies can help with becoming more mindful of biases and limitations.
Grant recommends that for effective thought and communication one should:
Embrace the scientist mindset by being intellectually curious, open to new facts, and commit to intellectual humility. (Think Ted Lasso: Be Curious - Not Judgmental!)
Practice intellectual agility by shifting between thinking styles based on the context and goals of a particular conversation.
Because Adam Grant is an academic, his writings are backed by research, facts, studies and real data, which make his conclusions pretty compelling.
I bring him up, because I follow him and read his books and newsletters. Recently he posted this somewhere and I really liked this chart:
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that our wonderful, yet bruised, country is currently being led by a cult leader and not a critical thinker. Rather a scary thought.
The big message from Think Again is we need to consider “cognitive flexibility,” rethink our assumptions and respond to new evidence.
After the events of the last two weeks, I’m certainly rethinking my assumptions. For example:
I used to believe that the US military was being led by principled people who swore to stay out of politics in order to preserve and protect the Constitution. With a FauxNews lackey leading our Defense Department, I’m thinking again.
I used to take for granted, that the food I bought at the grocery store was safe. I had no reason to believe otherwise. Lately I’m beginning to think again. Will our food be safe, if RFKjr is put in charge of the FDA?
I used to assume that flying was the safest way to travel. With air traffic controllers being replaced or threatening to quit en masse, I’m beginning to think again.
Since the Watergate reforms, I believed that the DOJ had been cleaned up and there was a intended separation between the Attorney General, FBI, etc. and the executive branch. I also used to think, that if you committed a crime like, say, beating up a policeman, that there were consequences for your behavior. With #FOTUS in charge, I’m not only rethinking that idea, I’m seeing that it is a reality that has vanished and our justice system is moving toward vigilantism.
Like I said, I’m thinking again about a lot of things these days. And I wonder.
Do the people, who stayed home and didn’t vote in the last election, or the people, who reluctantly “had” to vote for Trump - I wonder, are they thinking again?
Thought for the day in honor of his birthday…
“There's nothing more scary than watching ignorance in action.” ~Tommy Smothers
What I read every day…
I’ve decided to eliminate a few sites from my posts, specifically, Letters from an American and The Bulwark. You can go directly to their Substack accounts to read what I read every day. I very much encourage you to subscribe to both. The links to their sites are below.
Quote of the day:
“When Trump said he was going to run the country like he runs his businesses, he wasn’t lying. Everything he touches turns to disaster. The presidency is no different…. Trump literally froze government funding. With just one move, he screwed over our veterans, our seniors, our children, and anybody else who relies on the government for anything at all. He’s responsible for one of the most chaotic days in recent history… The worst part? Trump couldn’t even be bothered to care. He was nowhere near the Oval Office. He spent the entire day on the golf course with a couple of his billionaire buddies in Florida.”
~The Lincoln Project
What I’m reading today…
Elon’s Twitter Destruction Playbook Hits The US Government, And It’s Even More Dangerous
Let’s be crystal clear about what’s happening: A private citizen with zero Constitutional authority is effectively seizing control of critical government functions. The Constitution explicitly requires Senate confirmation for anyone wielding significant federal power — a requirement Musk has simply ignored as he installs his loyalists throughout the government while demanding access to basically all of the levers of power, and pushing out anyone who stands in his way.
The Day Trump Became Un-President
As he did so often in his first term, he was reacting to a crisis as an observer and not as the president, who has the resources of the federal government at his disposal and the responsibility of getting answers.
Food, Gas Prices to Spike as Trump Levies 25% Tariffs on Canada and Mexico
Prices in the grocery aisle could leave you with a bad taste. The cost of food is 25% higher than pre-COVID levels and it doesn’t seem to be easing anytime this year… To start, Mexico is the largest supplier of fresh fruit and vegetables to the U.S., responsible for 92% of all agricultural imports to the country… A 25% tariff on Mexico will cause the cost of fresh vegetables, fresh fruit and berries, baked cereals, and avocados to rise.
Trump threatens trade war with EU
Trump effed around, American consumers will find out
The Price America Will Pay for Trump’s Tariffs: Alienating allies and partners that the U.S. desperately needs means that “America First” will be “America Alone.”
Who could have predicted, just a week into Donald Trump’s second administration, that his vice president would be in a spat with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the archbishop of New York, who had just delivered an invocation at Trump’s inauguration? … There appears to be little patience from either Trump or Vance for criticism from those who might otherwise be allies.
The Federal Government Is Not a Startup
People have been saying “We need to run government like a business!”—and trying to do so—for 200 years. The project always fails. The question isn’t whether it is going to fail again this time around, with the Silicon Valley tech mafia leading the way—the question is whether Elon Musk is smart enough to understand why it is going to fail.
Is There Anything Trump Won’t Blame on DEI?
Trump has already done more to abandon the ideal of meritocracy than perhaps any presidential administration since the Progressive Era. He is going to war against the civil-service system, which was established more than a century ago to ensure that federal jobs go to qualified civil servants, rather than as rewards for party hacks.
What Los Angeles Can Learn From Another Great American City That Burned
It was only because insurance companies threatened to withhold coverage after the second fire that Chicago finally began to act. The insurers demanded that new buildings be constructed of fireproof materials such as brick or stone; that warehouses and stores be equipped with iron shutters; and that the city reorganize the fire department, lay more and bigger water mains and pipes, install additional hydrants and remove all lumber yards from built-up areas.
How the World Is Reeling From Trump’s Aid Freeze
Trump’s order to halt most foreign aid has intensified humanitarian crises and raised questions about the United States’ reliability as a global leader.
"I'm in disbelief that this is actually happening": GOP election denial hits North Carolina voters
More than 65,000 North Carolina voters have had their votes swept up and called into question in the legal contention over the state's hot-button Supreme Court race.
CBS News Set to Hand Over Transcript of ‘60 Minutes’ Interview to F.C.C.
The broadcaster had declined previous requests by the Trump campaign to release the unedited transcript of an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Another news organization caves to threats…Dan Rather comments on this: Heartbreak for CBS News
What I am watching…
What frogs in hot water can teach us about thinking again
It's hard to admit that we were wrong and that we might have even wasted years of our lives.
Things I read everyday….
I read Letters from An American everyday, so I am no longer going to reference it in my Substack posts. Heather Cox Richardson’s newsletters are fabulous, so I encourage you to subscribe on your own.
I’m also a big fan of The Bulwark. I started subscribing to it shortly after I discovered it in 2019. The Bulwark was founded to provide analysis and reporting in defense of America’s liberal democracy. That’s it. That’s the mission. I find their podcasts and articles thoughtful and helpful in making sense of what is going on with the US.
