John's selection is full of information nuggets and practical advice. As an educator, I can see how John chose the book for advice on how parents and teachers can help encourage innovative thinking throughout child development. Adam Grant's advice applies to all types of organizations trying to adapt to an ever changing environment. To a fault, the book seems to contain a little bit of everything. His case studies such as Bridgewater are insightful, and who knew the people and the story behind the women's suffrage (Lucy Stone), digital photography (Land), the cell phone, the internet (CIA, Medina), and the Segway? The book includes humor and one-liners, insight to non-violent revolutionary leaders (MLK, Popovic), traits of famous innovators (Da Vinci, Einstein), and even a cold water swimmer (Pugh). Personally, I don't buy into all the benefits of procrastination and the virtues of the determined pessimist, and his deliberate methods of testing and analysis would drive me batty. Nonetheless, he could be right.
"The greatest tragedy of mankind comes from the inability of people to have thoughtful disagreement to find out what is true."
