Decoding Greatness: How the Best in the World Reverse Engineer Success
National Bestseller

For readers of Outliers, Atomic Habits, and Deep Work, comes a game-changing approach to unlocking your greatness, using a secret strategy that’s vaulted business titans and creative geniuses to the top of their profession.

We’ve long been taught there are two ways to succeed—either talent or practice. In Decoding Greatness, award-winning social psychologist Ron Friedman illuminates a powerful third path—one that has launched icons in a wide range of fields, from artists, writers, and chefs, to athletes, inventors, and entrepreneurs: reverse engineering.

To reverse engineer is to look beyond what is evident on the surface and find a hidden structure. It’s the ability to taste an intoxicating dish and deduce its recipe, to listen to a beautiful song and discern its chord progression, to watch your favorite film and grasp its narrative arc.

“Clear, concise, and backed by science” (Daniel Pink, author of When), Decoding Greatness marries “alluring stories and illuminating studies” (Adam Grant, author of Think Again) of top performers—from Agatha Christie to Andy Warhol, Barack Obama, to Serena Williams—with groundbreaking research on pattern recognition and skill acquisition. You’ll learn how to take apart acheivements you admire, pinpoint precisely what makes them work, and apply that knowledge to develop novel ideas and products that are uniquely your own.

Bursting with unforgettable stories and actionable strategies, Decoding Greatness is an indispensable guide to learning from the best, upgrading your skills, and sparking breakthrough ideas.
1137252023
Decoding Greatness: How the Best in the World Reverse Engineer Success
National Bestseller

For readers of Outliers, Atomic Habits, and Deep Work, comes a game-changing approach to unlocking your greatness, using a secret strategy that’s vaulted business titans and creative geniuses to the top of their profession.

We’ve long been taught there are two ways to succeed—either talent or practice. In Decoding Greatness, award-winning social psychologist Ron Friedman illuminates a powerful third path—one that has launched icons in a wide range of fields, from artists, writers, and chefs, to athletes, inventors, and entrepreneurs: reverse engineering.

To reverse engineer is to look beyond what is evident on the surface and find a hidden structure. It’s the ability to taste an intoxicating dish and deduce its recipe, to listen to a beautiful song and discern its chord progression, to watch your favorite film and grasp its narrative arc.

“Clear, concise, and backed by science” (Daniel Pink, author of When), Decoding Greatness marries “alluring stories and illuminating studies” (Adam Grant, author of Think Again) of top performers—from Agatha Christie to Andy Warhol, Barack Obama, to Serena Williams—with groundbreaking research on pattern recognition and skill acquisition. You’ll learn how to take apart acheivements you admire, pinpoint precisely what makes them work, and apply that knowledge to develop novel ideas and products that are uniquely your own.

Bursting with unforgettable stories and actionable strategies, Decoding Greatness is an indispensable guide to learning from the best, upgrading your skills, and sparking breakthrough ideas.
17.99 In Stock
Decoding Greatness: How the Best in the World Reverse Engineer Success

Decoding Greatness: How the Best in the World Reverse Engineer Success

by Ron Friedman
Decoding Greatness: How the Best in the World Reverse Engineer Success

Decoding Greatness: How the Best in the World Reverse Engineer Success

by Ron Friedman

Paperback

$17.99 
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Overview

National Bestseller

For readers of Outliers, Atomic Habits, and Deep Work, comes a game-changing approach to unlocking your greatness, using a secret strategy that’s vaulted business titans and creative geniuses to the top of their profession.

We’ve long been taught there are two ways to succeed—either talent or practice. In Decoding Greatness, award-winning social psychologist Ron Friedman illuminates a powerful third path—one that has launched icons in a wide range of fields, from artists, writers, and chefs, to athletes, inventors, and entrepreneurs: reverse engineering.

To reverse engineer is to look beyond what is evident on the surface and find a hidden structure. It’s the ability to taste an intoxicating dish and deduce its recipe, to listen to a beautiful song and discern its chord progression, to watch your favorite film and grasp its narrative arc.

“Clear, concise, and backed by science” (Daniel Pink, author of When), Decoding Greatness marries “alluring stories and illuminating studies” (Adam Grant, author of Think Again) of top performers—from Agatha Christie to Andy Warhol, Barack Obama, to Serena Williams—with groundbreaking research on pattern recognition and skill acquisition. You’ll learn how to take apart acheivements you admire, pinpoint precisely what makes them work, and apply that knowledge to develop novel ideas and products that are uniquely your own.

Bursting with unforgettable stories and actionable strategies, Decoding Greatness is an indispensable guide to learning from the best, upgrading your skills, and sparking breakthrough ideas.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781982135805
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication date: 01/24/2023
Pages: 288
Sales rank: 978,539
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Ron Friedman, PhD, is an award-winning psychologist and the founder of ignite80, a learning and development company that teaches leaders science-based strategies for building high-performing teams. His research has been featured on NPR, Bloomberg, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, as well as in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Guardian, The Globe and Mail (Toronto), Fast Company, Psychology Today, and Harvard Business Review. He is the author of The Best Place to Work, an Inc. Magazine Best Business Book of the Year, and Decoding Greatness. He lives in Pittsford, New York.

Table of Contents

Introduction: A Secret History from the Land of Innovation xi

Part I The Art of Unlocking Hidden Patterns

1 The Mastery Detectives 3

2 Algorithmic Thinking 25

3 The Curse of Creativity 51

Part II The Vision-Ability Gap 77

4 The Scoreboard Principle 89

5 How to Take the Risk Out of Risk Taking 116

6 Practicing in Three Dimensions 138

7 How to Talk to Experts 169

Conclusion: Stumbling on Greatness 197

Acknowledgments 205

Notes 207

Index 247

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