Think Again

Grant's starting point is uncomfortable for smart people: intelligence does not protect you from rigid thinking, and the brighter you are, the better you can be at defending a view you should drop. He describes three habitual modes people slip into, preaching to defend their beliefs, prosecuting to attack other people's, and politicking to win approval, and argues for a fourth, thinking like a scientist, treating opinions as hypotheses to test. The idea he returns to most is confident humility: being sure you can reach a goal while staying unsure whether your current methods are the right ones.

Grant teaches at Wharton and is the author of Give and Take and Originals. As in those books, he works from academic research and folds in stories, from an international debate champion to the makers of the BlackBerry, who held on too long to what had made it a success.

Kirkus found the prose clear and well researched, but said the book breaks little new ground and repackages familiar ideas, and flagged a few passages that some readers would dispute. Readers who know the literature on cognitive bias, motivational interviewing and psychological safety will recognize much of it.

For investors and analysts, the value lies in its practical habits for updating a thesis, separating identity from opinion, and running debates where the strongest objection gets a hearing. It is a good complement to Philip Tetlock's Superforecasting and Annie Duke's Thinking in Bets.

1. Think like a scientist. Treat a view as a hypothesis to test rather than a belief to defend, and decide in advance what evidence would change your mind.
2. Practice confident humility. Be sure you can solve the problem while staying unsure whether your current approach is the right one. Overconfidence in methods is where many theses go wrong.
3. Separate identity from opinion. People who define themselves by their values rather than their positions find it easier to change a view, a useful habit for anyone who has to cut a losing position.
4. Fight about tasks, not people. Task conflict over ideas improves decisions, while relationship conflict shuts it down. Good investment committees make room for the first and avoid the second.
5. Reward process, not only outcomes. Organizations that hold people accountable for how they decided, not just for results, are more likely to catch errors before they compound.

The book is organized in three parts, moving outward from the individual to other people to organizations.

1. Individual rethinking. Grant introduces the preacher, prosecutor, politician and scientist mindsets, explains why expertise can breed overconfidence, and argues that impostor feelings can be useful when they push people to keep learning. He makes the case for enjoying the discovery that you were wrong and for productive task conflict, as opposed to personal conflict.
2. Interpersonal rethinking. Here he looks at how to open other minds: how an international debate champion wins arguments, how a Black musician has persuaded white supremacists to leave the movement, and how motivational interviewing helps people talk themselves into change, as in the work of a vaccine whisperer with hesitant parents. He also argues for complexity over binary framing on charged topics.
3. Collective rethinking. The final part turns to institutions: how schools can teach students to question, how organizations can build psychological safety and accountability for process as well as results, and how individuals can avoid tunnel vision in planning careers and lives.
4. Conclusion and action steps. Grant closes with a list of practical habits for rethinking.

Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller Discover the critical art of rethinking: how questioning your opinions can position you for excellence at work and wisdom in life Intelligence is usually seen as the ability to think and learn, but in a rapidly changing world, the most crucial skill may be the ability to rethink and unlearn. Recent global and political changes have forced many of us to re-evaluate our opinions and decisions. Yet we often still favour the comfort of conviction over the discomfort of doubt, and prefer opinions that make us feel good, instead of ideas that make us think hard. Intelligence is no cure, and can even be a curse. The brighter we are, the blinder we can become to our own limitations. Adam Grant - Wharton's top-rated professor and #1 bestselling author - offers bold ideas and rigorous evidence to show how we can embrace the joy of being wrong, encourage others to rethink topics as wide-ranging as abortion and climate change, and build schools, workplaces, and communities of lifelong learners. You'll learn how an international debate champion wins arguments, a Black musician persuades white supremacists to abandon hate, and how a vaccine whisperer convinces anti-vaxxers to immunize their children. Think Again is an invitation to let go of stale opinions and prize mental flexibility, humility, and curiosity over foolish consistency. If knowledge is power, knowing what you don't know is wisdom.