“Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things” by Adam Grant

Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things - Adam GrantAnother great read from Adam. As the title suggests, the author explores self-improvement techniques by embracing the unknown and unfamiliar, overcoming obstacles by building support systems, and discovering inner potential—not through the end result, but through the growth that happens along the way.

Why does Finland’s education system consistently rank among the best in the world? How did José Hernández, a 47-year-old non-native English speaker, who was rejected 11 times, finally land a job as a NASA engineer and eventually become an astronaut? How did NBA superstar Stephen Curry succeed despite not following the typical path to his career? How did a junior engineer’s idea lead to the rescue of 33 miners trapped for 69 days in Chile’s 2010 mining disaster? These are just a few of the stories the author uses to illustrate his points.

The concepts in this book can be applied to personal self-improvement, family development, or even large-scale organizational improvements for businesses or governments.

I particularly appreciate the author’s writing style, which is easy to follow and broken into manageable sections.