"Read. Read. Read. Read. Read." - Werner Herzog
Read to learn and to provoke thought. Adam Grant's Hidden Potential shares ideas for unearthing potential.
He discusses the humble sea sponge. It filters, absorbs nutrients, and grows. Sea sponges leverage this strategy to live up to 2,000 years!
Cognitive skills aren't the best predictor of success. Other factors including social and collaborative skills matter more.
1) Character. Character reflects both who we are and what we do. In the television series Firefly, Captain Malcolm Reynolds often says the wrong things, insensitive or worse. But as a leader, he always does the right thing. Do the hard, uncomfortable work of putting in the work over putting in the time.
2) Mentoring. "Mentoring is the only shortcut to excellence." Learn something from everyone. Yet remember the words of Abraham Lincoln, "I learn from everyone, often times it’s what not to do."
3) Progress. The best way to seek progress is not comparing ourselves to others but to who we were yesterday. Believe in our capacity to grow (growth mindset) over innate ability.
Take a few minutes to read key points.
AI Takes:
From DeepSeek
Adam Grant’s Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things explores how individuals and organizations can unlock their untapped abilities. Here are five key takeaways from the book:
1. Skills Are Built, Not Born
Grant challenges the myth of innate talent, arguing that success comes from deliberate practice, learning strategies, and perseverance.
Growth is about how you learn, not just what you know.
2. The Power of Imperfect Progress
Embracing discomfort and imperfection is crucial for improvement.
Early struggles often lead to greater long-term success than early ease.
3. Scaffolding for Success
Effective learning requires structured support ("scaffolding")—mentors, feedback systems, and incremental challenges.
Organizations and individuals should design environments that encourage gradual mastery.
4. Character Over Confidence
Traits like determination, curiosity, and proactivity matter more than self-assurance.
Grant highlights the importance of motivation to learn rather than just motivation to perform.
5. The Strength of Weak Ties
Diverse, less familiar connections (not just close mentors) often provide the most valuable insights and opportunities.
Networking broadly fuels creativity and growth.
6. Redefining Success as Progress
Achievement isn’t just about reaching goals but about surpassing your own expectations over time.
Grant encourages measuring growth relative to your starting point, not others’ achievements.
From ChatGPT:
Adam Grant’s Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things centers on how people can grow beyond what natural talent might predict—through deliberate learning, resilience, and well-designed systems of support. Here are five to six key takeaways:
1. Potential is not fixed—it’s built.
Grant challenges the idea that talent is innate and static. Instead, he emphasizes that potential is something developed over time through effort, feedback, and the right environment.
2. The best learners embrace discomfort.
Growth often requires stepping outside your comfort zone. Grant highlights the importance of "desirable difficulties"—struggles that promote deeper learning—and encourages seeking out challenges rather than avoiding them.
3. Character skills matter more than raw ability.
Traits like grit, humility, curiosity, and self-control play a larger role in long-term success than raw intelligence or talent. These character skills can be cultivated and are essential to fulfilling potential.
4. Scaffolding helps people rise.
Supportive structures—such as good coaching, mentorship, and collaborative communities—can accelerate learning and performance. Grant underscores that success is often social, not solo.
5. Progress is often nonlinear.
Grant points out that people grow at different rates and that early struggles don’t predict later success. He encourages redefining excellence as a trajectory, not just an outcome.
6. Excellence comes from systems that develop everyone.
Rather than only identifying stars, great organizations build cultures that help everyone improve. This inclusive approach to growth can unlock hidden potential across a team or institution.
Lagniappe. "The only thing that matters is the next ball."
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