How Successful People Think Book Summary

How Successful People Think Book Summary Preview

Going against commonly held traditions and speaking your mind against commonly held ideas can lead to a lonely road. It is a road most successful people know well. In fact, it's their ability to think for themselves that often leads people to find great success lead by innovation. Their willingness to think creatively, push their ideas (even when they’re unpopular), and to solve problems is an essential driving force behind their ability to achieve. Fitting in might be easier - but it's not going to make you successful or empowered. How Successful People Think discusses how you can train your mind to problem solve, think creatively, and stand out like the best of them. 

What did you learn today?

To be a creative problem solver, you need to be a big picture thinker. You never know where a great idea, solution, or breakthrough might come from. Just ask the author, who starts every day by looking at his schedule and considering where he might find opportunities to learn. He then prepares himself for whatever opportunities might arise: when he had dinner with NFL coach Dave Wannstedt and learned some important things about teamwork he could apply to his own work. Another component of big picture thinking? Empathy.

Empathy is key

Empathy is essential for building successful client relationships, and successful client relationships are the cornerstone of any business. Just ask General Electric CEO, Jack Welch. He regularly tells his employees that maintaining existing relationships with their customers is more important than how many sales they make. One key element of maintaining relationships with others is the ability to empathize with them. In order to meet the needs of both clients and those who are closest to you, you must have an understanding of how they work and what they want. In order to develop this, carefully consider (in all of your relationships) what the other person wants and needs. 

Research and realism 

What was the most important aspect of passing most classes in school? Doing your homework. And thinking clearly. These two things come into play in business as well. The author talks about how most of his best thinking was done by other people: meaning that research has allowed him to access those who’ve solved some of his biggest dilemmas already. But in order to apply what you learn correctly, you’ll need to think realistically. And being realistic is very different from being optimistic. Reality is the difference between your ideas of how things should be, and how they actually are. Being realistic means you’ll have a strategy and be ready to face whatever comes up for your company, good or bad. It means getting rid of preconceived ideas about how you would like things to go, and instead of preparing and researching solutions for worst-case scenarios.

How to think more creatively 

Einstein once said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge”. Einstein had a tremendous amount of both. Let's say you’re not Einstein, how can you access your own creative problem-solving skills? First, remember that being creative...

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