The Mosaic Principle: The Six Dimensions of a Successful Life & Career

by Nick Lovegrove

The world is an increasingly interconnected place; in work as in life, we need a broad range of experiences to widen our knowledge, perform our best and feel most fulfilled. But in education and business there is the growing feeling that we are being led down a rabbit hole of narrow expertise, forced to specialise or shuttled into niche positions that don't make use of our wider talents.

In The Mosaic Principle, Nick Lovegrove encourages us to take the broad view, showing how we can develop the mosaic of skills we need to make the most of ourselves and our careers, to the benefit of all. Drawing on more than three decades of personal experience across sectors, and examining the inspiring stories of extraordinary people, historical and contemporary, Lovegrove sets out the six dimensions of the successful generalist, skills that provide the ways and means for taking unorthodox steps to encourage us to live broader, better lives.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction

348 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2016

Reviews

[Юра Мельник · Rating 2 out of 5]

Не став дочитувати, бо, дійсно, забагато води. Не розумію кому може сподобатись читати такий потік шаблонних "прикладів із життя" для пояснення більш-менш раціональних і потрібних підходів. Сенс книги безумовно вартий уваги, але його можна було викласти у статті на 20 сторінок. Як книгу, я оціню це творіння на 1,5 зірочки, а як принцип - на 4.

[Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of stories and practical advice, this book provides persuasive rationale for the professional and personal advantages of breadth of experience. Highly recommend for anyone who is a) deciding how to maximize their impact in the world, b) considering a career change, and/or c) feeling that their workplace is growing stale. While not addressed directly, I suspect that much of the advice is also pertinent to those facing career burnout. I wrote more marginalia in it than any other book that I own. To enhance learning, I plan to go back and review all of those margin notes.

[Solomiya Zahray · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are told by our surroundings and society that we can succeed only when following a certain structured career path, the author argued however, that by acquiring experience in different fields makes us have a unique point of view and a broad approach to life- helping reuse knowledge and apply it into practice in different fields of life. Specialization- I don’t think so, at least not for life. Live a broad spectrum of careers. Be curious and challenge yourself to be a novice over and over and over again. This book aligns with my personal life philosophy.

[Helen Blunden · Rating 2 out of 5]

Technically, I didn't read the book in full as I skimmed it. It's quite heavy going with lots of examples and cases of individuals who have created a successful life and career. It's written more like a management text where you have to "fish out" the tips, strategies and ideas. The notes and references are quite detailed. Only read this book if you want a deep read.

[Farrah · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's an interesting idea, but filled with anecdotes which don't really resonate with me.

One thing I got out of it: To avoid becoming a "jack of all trades, master of none," one must add their own experience and perspective (from the vertical line in the T) to their larger skill set (the horizontal line)

[Supinder · Rating 1 out of 5]

An easy and undemanding read - a lazy and guileless summary of authors such as Adam Grant and David Brookes. Considering the furore surrounding Brunswick PR vis a vis the Save the Children charity and Alan Parker, the sections on character ring like hollow bullshit.

[A Ter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good lessons and guiding frameworks, though for someone who exalts breadth, it feels like so many of the examples of success (and the successful) are remarkably narrow.

[LaShana Claude · Rating 5 out of 5]

Professor Erin Meyer- INSEAD- author of the Culture Map

Press inquiries

ww,publicaffairsbooks.com

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's readable, but most of the corporate examples were boring and over long, although the author at least made an effort to make the lessons therein transferable to government and non-profits.

That said, except for a tiny section at the end, this book has nothing to do with life as a whole, just career, and mostly mid to late career at that.

A lot of it also felt like namedropping.

Overall, it had some interesting points, but there's probably a better book with the same perspective.

[Adriana Colella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to get a copy of the book before the full release, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. As a recent college graduate in an increasingly competitive job market, Lovegrove's thoughtful case for broad experience, instead of specialization, really resonated with me. I attended a liberal arts college and graduated with an English degree. More and more, the type of education I decided to pursue is deemed a waste. However, Lovegrove argues that the breadth of experience and problem-solving skills liberal arts students gain are necessary and important for recent grads. Through reading the book, I feel that I can better articulate why my skill set is valuable to future employers. Additionally, Lovegrove illustrates his points with profiles of different interesting people. This was my favorite aspect of the book. Although I had not heard of most of the people, the people he profiles, like Paul Farmer inspired me with all they have been able to achieve in their careers as well as all the good they have been able to do for the world.

Overall, Lovegrove makes a powerful, well-argued case against over-specialization. I would definitely recommend this book to other recent grads and anyone who needs to refresh their approach to their careers or lives.