Adam M. Grant > Quotes

“In the deepest sense of the word, a friend is someone who sees more potential in you than you see in yourself, someone who helps you become the best version of yourself.”
― Adam M. Grant, Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World

“Argue like you’re right and listen like you’re wrong.”
― Adam M. Grant, Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World

“If knowledge is power, knowing what we don’t know is wisdom.”
― Adam M. Grant, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

“We learn more from people who challenge our thought process than those who affirm our conclusions. Strong leaders engage their critics and make themselves stronger. Weak leaders silence their critics and make themselves weaker. This reaction isn’t limited to people in power. Although we might be on board with the principle, in practice we often miss out on the value of a challenge network.”
― Adam M. Grant, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

“We listen to views that make us feel good, instead of ideas that make us think hard.”
― Adam M. Grant, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

“Procrastination may be the enemy of productivity, but it can be a resource for creativity.”
― Adam M. Grant, Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World

“Being original doesn’t require being first. It just means being different and better.”
― Adam M. Grant, Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World

“Thinking like a scientist involves more than just reacting with an open mind. It means being actively open-minded. It requires searching for reasons why we might be wrong—not for reasons why we must be right—and revising our views based on what we learn.”
― Adam M. Grant, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

“A mark of lifelong learners is recognizing that they can learn something from everyone they meet.”
― Adam M. Grant, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

“Practice makes perfect, but it doesn’t make new.”
― Adam M. Grant, Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World

“As Samuel Johnson purportedly wrote, “The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.”
― Adam M. Grant, Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.”
― Adam Grant, Originals: How Non-conformists Change the World

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” George Bernard Shaw”
― Adam M. Grant, Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World

“To become original, you have to try something new, which means accepting some measure of risk.”
― Adam M. Grant, Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World

“How do you know? It’s a question we need to ask more often, both of ourselves and of others. The power lies in its frankness. It’s nonjudgmental—a straightforward expression of doubt and curiosity that doesn’t put people on the defensive.”
― Adam M. Grant, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

“We favor the comfort of conviction over the discomfort of doubt,”
― Adam M. Grant, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

“Research reveals that the higher you score on an IQ test, the more likely you are to fall for stereotypes, because you’re faster at recognizing patterns. And recent experiments suggest that the smarter you are, the more you might struggle to update your beliefs.”
― Adam M. Grant, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

“Part of the problem is cognitive laziness. Some psychologists point out that we’re mental misers: we often prefer the ease of hanging on to old views over the difficulty of grappling with new ones. Yet there are also deeper forces behind our resistance to rethinking. Questioning ourselves makes the world more unpredictable. It requires us to admit that the facts may have changed, that what was once right may now be wrong. Reconsidering something we believe deeply can threaten our identities, making it feel as if we’re losing a part of ourselves.”
― Adam M. Grant, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

“The less intelligent we are in a particular domain, the more we seem to overestimate our actual intelligence in that domain.”
― Adam M. Grant, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

“personality is how you respond on a typical day, character is how you show up on a hard day.”
― Adam M. Grant, Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things

“A hallmark of wisdom is knowing when it’s time to abandon some of your most treasured tools—and some of the most cherished parts of your identity.”
― Adam M. Grant, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

“In these pages, I learned that great creators don’t necessarily have the deepest expertise but rather seek out the broadest perspectives.”
― Adam M. Grant, Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World

“This explains why we often undercommunicate our ideas. They’re already so familiar to us that we underestimate how much exposure an audience needs to comprehend and buy into them. When”
― Adam M. Grant, Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World

“The greatest shapers don’t stop at introducing originality into the world. They create cultures that unleash originality in others.”
― Adam M. Grant, Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World

“It’s a sign of wisdom to avoid believing every thought that enters your mind. It’s a mark of emotional intelligence to avoid internalizing every feeling that enters your heart.”
― Adam M. Grant, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

“Humility is often misunderstood. It’s not a matter of having low self-confidence. One of the Latin roots of humility means “from the earth.” It’s about being grounded—recognizing that we’re flawed and fallible. Confidence is a measure of how much you believe in yourself. Evidence shows that’s distinct from how much you believe in your methods. You can be confident in your ability to achieve a goal in the future while maintaining the humility to question whether you have the right tools in the present. That’s the sweet spot of confidence.”
― Adam M. Grant, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

“We laugh at people who still use Windows 95, yet we still cling to opinions that we formed in 1995.”
― Adam M. Grant, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

“Success doesn’t measure a human being, effort does.”
― Adam M. Grant, Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success

“Shapers” are independent thinkers: curious, non-conforming, and rebellious. They practice brutal, nonhierarchical honesty. And they act in the face of risk, because their fear of not succeeding exceeds their fear of failing.”
― Adam M. Grant, Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World

“Intelligence is traditionally viewed as the ability to think and learn. Yet in a turbulent world, there’s another set of cognitive skills that might matter more: the ability to rethink and unlearn.”
― Adam M. Grant, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know