Think Again
Author: Adam Grant
309 Pages – Penguin Random House, 2023
This is one of the best books I have read in the last few years. If I were king, every slot director from Biloxi to Macau would have a copy of Adam Grant’s “Think Again” on their nightstand and reading it would be mandatory. Failure to do so would result in lengthy graveyard meter-reading duty.
There’s no need for me to summarize this work, as the best description is in the subtitle: “The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know.”
Call it ego, fear, too many years in the business, or just plain stubbornness; we all occasionally cling to assumptions and harmful concepts that don’t serve us.
Right out of the gate, in the section titled “The Ignorance of Arrogance,” Grant confronts us with four deceptively simple questions:
- Why English became the official language of the United States?
- Why women were burned at the stake in Salem?
- What job Walt Disney had before he drew Mickey Mouse?
- On which spaceflight humans first laid eyes on the Great Wall of China?
You’ll have to read the book for the answers. But Grant’s point is that none of us are as plugged-in as we imagine. And the faster we accept that, the faster we grow and learn to re-think.
That’s the whole point of the many pages that follow. Grant urges us all to be more open to new ideas, concepts that challenge our beliefs, and a willingness to learn and grow.
Author Adam Grant
When not writing, Grant is an organizational psychologist and professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He has also done consulting work with numerous high-profile clients in the business world.
His style in this book reminds me of the works of Malcolm Gladwell and Michael Lewis as (like them) he backs up his thoughts with fascinating real-world examples. These range from NASA to firefighters, and psych labs to the Gates Foundation. One of the most fascinating revelations is about the Unabomber!
On Page 30 there is a chart Grant included that I just had to steal and reproduce:
I can’t count the times I’ve become frustrated hearing others spout one, or all, of those claims. Sadly, I’ve uttered a few of them myself:
- “Video slots will never do better than reel spinners here.”
- “No one would ever pay a slot manufacturer to put their machines on our floor.”
- “Do you really think anyone would watch a video of someone else playing slots?”
Experience, and way too many lost bets, has made me more open to new ideas. So have classrooms, seminars, and (crucially) great books like this one. If ever there was a time to think again, it’s now with AI around every corner and our industry changing faster than the weather.
Grant even takes a stab at discussing some controversial issues such as abortion and gun control, just to let us know that openness is not an easy journey or destination.
He wraps up with a set of practical tips for learning to rethink, maintaining an open mind and keeping your career on track. To repeat, “Think Again” is especially important as we encounter the challenges and opportunities ahead.
This one should be on your reading list as soon as possible. The cover price is $20 in paperback, but you can find it on Amazon and other sites for as low as $11. Buy it. And read it now!
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If you’re just not up to taking on Grant’s 300 pages at the moment, you can start with an old favorite about embracing change called “Who Moved My Cheese?” It’s a ridiculously quick read, but one that will have lasting impacts and put you in the proper mood to take on “Think Again.”
