Adam Grant, organizational psychologist and author, discusses the value of creating for an audience, the role of intrinsic motivation in creativity, and the impact of reaching a large audience. They also explore continuous improvement and the challenges of mastery in a skill.
Embracing mistakes as opportunities for learning and growth, rather than striving for perfection, is crucial for personal development.
Aligning personal values with the desire to create meaningful work is essential for achieving success and making a positive impact on others.
Deep dives
Adam Grant's Journey as an Organizational Psychologist
In this podcast episode, Max Linsky interviews Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist and bestselling author. They discuss Grant's new book, Hidden Potential, and his process of idea generation and writing. Grant shares personal experiences and insights, including his struggles with perfectionism and his journey as a writer. He emphasizes the importance of curiosity, the balance between pleasing the audience and remaining true to oneself, and the role of character in success. Grant also reflects on how his own growth and self-improvement influence his writing and advice.
The Downsides of Perfectionism
One of the main themes explored in this podcast episode is the negative impact of perfectionism. Grant discusses how perfectionism can hinder personal growth, lead to missed opportunities, and contribute to burnout. He shares his own experience as a recovering perfectionist and offers insights on the importance of embracing mistakes as opportunities for learning and growth. Grant highlights the need to challenge the notion of perfection and instead focus on progress and improvement.
The Intersection of Giving Advice and Self-Reflection
The podcast episode delves into the idea that when giving advice to others, individuals often give themselves advice as well. Grant candidly shares his own journey of self-reflection and growth, using his work as a means to explore questions about success, character, and the balance between personal fulfillment and making a positive impact on others. He explores the concept of giving a gift through his writing and the importance of aligning personal values with the desire to create meaningful work.
The Evolution of Adam Grant's Writing Process
Throughout the conversation, Grant reflects on his evolution as a writer and his writing process. He discusses the challenges he faced as a freshman in college when he failed a writing test, which sparked a personal journey to improve his writing skills. Grant shares how he tackles the structural aspects of writing, the separation of idea generation and refining, and his preference for clear frameworks in his books. He also emphasizes the importance of curiosity, learning from mistakes, and consistently seeking improvement as a writer.
“If you only focus on your own interest, you tend to develop novel ideas, but not necessarily useful ideas. And so for me, the audience is a filter. … I might have 30 ideas for a book. Let me hone in on the four or five that also might be relevant to other people. The goal there is to make a contribution.”