Index Card Book Summaries: because most practical books can be summarized on an index card
Carol Dweck has taken the business world by storm by popularizing her success psychology book Mindset. I listened to the whole thing on Audible because I’m slightly OCD about completing books. I’ll share with you a little secret: the book is well summarized in a few lines, which follow.
There are only two types of mindsets
1. A growth mindset posits that you can grow and develop
2. A fixed mindset holds that how you are now is all you can achieve (i.e. is fixed)
The results and drivers of each mindset are listed in the table below.
| Mindset | Fixed | Growth |
|---|---|---|
| World View | You’re a finished product | You’re a work in progress |
| Impact on Outcomes | Regressive | Progressive |
| Drivers | Short term view, Stereotype threat | Long term view, Constructive thinking about setbacks |
| Approach | Haphazard, Uncontrolled, Reliance on raw talent | Strategic, Tactical, Focused on taking charge of the process |
| Results | Leads to short cuts, Inability to cope, Need to establish superiority | Tunes out the negative, Cultivates character, Care about personal best |
The book makes the compelling argument that people with a growth mindset are more successful in everything that they do. But how does the mindset of the managers and other authorities you work with factor into your ability to action a growth mindset? That will be saved for another post 🙂
