As part of doing Personal Progress for church, I re-read the book Rookie Smarts for the Knowledge project. I just wrote this reflection on the book.
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For this project, I chose to re-read the book "Rookie Smarts" by Liz Wiseman. The subtitle of the book is "why learning beats knowing in the new game of work" and focuses on why being a "rookie" can often be an advantage in terms of doing our best work and feeling most energized and fulfilled. In the context of this theme within Personal Progress, I feel this is significant since, rather than devaluing knowledge that we've already gained, the book emphasizes the need to always be learning new things/knowledge and not being afraid of venturing in new areas, jobs/callings, etc that we lack experience with. I think this is an important message to keep in mind as I progress both in my career and my service within the church.
The book starts off poising two questions that serve as the foundation for the rest of the book
1 When is *not* knowing more valuable than knowing?
2 Why are you often at your best when you are new to an undertaking, doing something for the first time?
Subquestions then include things like
1 When does experience become a burden?
2 Why are we so often at our best when we are newcomers, when logic tells us we might be underskilled, underqualified, clueless, and potentially dangerous?
3 And, why do some people thrive in these conditions while others disengage or operate disastrously?
Some interesting context-setting quotes are
"While experience provides a distinct advantage in a stable field - like the realms of bridge building, ballet, or concert piano performance - it can actually impede progress in an unstable or rapidly evolving arena. When the world is changing quickly, experience can become a curse, trapping us in old ways of doing and knowing, while inexperience can be a blessing, freeing us to improvise and adapt quickly to changing circumstances. In the new world of work, where knowledge is fleeting and innovation cycles spin so quickly that many professionals never face the same problem twice, rookies are often top performers, drawing on the power of learning rather than falling back on their accumulated knowledge."
"When there is too much to know, the only viable strategy is to know where and how to find information you need when you need it ... when there is too much to know, having the right question may be more important than having the right answer."
"The critical skill of this century is not what you hold in your head, but your ability to tap into and access what other people know. The best leaders and the fastest learners know how to harness collective intelligence."
"This book is about living and working perpetually on a learning curve."
"Too many of us are living in the past tense - talking about what we learned, experienced, did - when what we really need to do is start living in the present tense or even the future tense - talking about what we're learning and what we're planning and where we're heading - as if the adventure is still on. If you are at the top of your game, it might be time to position yourself at the bottom of a learning curve."
"Some of the world's greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible. -Doug Larson"
Specific Rookie modes are
1 Backpacker - little to weigh them down and with the freedom to venture out and explore new possibilities bring openness to their work
2 Hunter-Gatherer - marshal a network of experts rather than relying on own expertise
3 Firewalker - take small, calculated steps, move fast, and seek feedback to stay on track
4 Pioneer - improvise and work tirelessly to provide for basic needs keep things simple and focus on meeting core needs
One of the most challenges aspects of being a veteran is that you feel you have a reputation and ego to defend - so you are more afraid of failing and more protective of the status quo. We're also more prone to giving advice than taking it and ignore information that may challenge what we feel we already know and how things already works.
We can replenish our rookie smarts by having an insatiable curiosity, a humility that makes you a lifelong student, and a playful but intentional approach to achieving your goals. Key to be a perpetual rookie - "The real skill of the perpetual rookie is knowing when to play the role of the veteran and when to don the rookie cloak. In times of tumult and transition, the best leaders know when it is time to stop, unlearn, and relearn ... the highest-performing rookies were most often in executive roles. These were smart, seasoned executives who had made internal or external career moves and were now leading in a new domain ... in which they had no experience. They brought the best of both worlds a veteran's wisdom of experience, leadership skills, and organizational savvy and a rookie's tendency to ask naive questions, learn quickly, build new networks, and unlock new possibilities."
The book starts off poising two questions that serve as the foundation for the rest of the book
1 When is *not* knowing more valuable than knowing?
2 Why are you often at your best when you are new to an undertaking, doing something for the first time?
Subquestions then include things like
1 When does experience become a burden?
2 Why are we so often at our best when we are newcomers, when logic tells us we might be underskilled, underqualified, clueless, and potentially dangerous?
3 And, why do some people thrive in these conditions while others disengage or operate disastrously?
Some interesting context-setting quotes are
"While experience provides a distinct advantage in a stable field - like the realms of bridge building, ballet, or concert piano performance - it can actually impede progress in an unstable or rapidly evolving arena. When the world is changing quickly, experience can become a curse, trapping us in old ways of doing and knowing, while inexperience can be a blessing, freeing us to improvise and adapt quickly to changing circumstances. In the new world of work, where knowledge is fleeting and innovation cycles spin so quickly that many professionals never face the same problem twice, rookies are often top performers, drawing on the power of learning rather than falling back on their accumulated knowledge."
"When there is too much to know, the only viable strategy is to know where and how to find information you need when you need it ... when there is too much to know, having the right question may be more important than having the right answer."
"The critical skill of this century is not what you hold in your head, but your ability to tap into and access what other people know. The best leaders and the fastest learners know how to harness collective intelligence."
"This book is about living and working perpetually on a learning curve."
"Too many of us are living in the past tense - talking about what we learned, experienced, did - when what we really need to do is start living in the present tense or even the future tense - talking about what we're learning and what we're planning and where we're heading - as if the adventure is still on. If you are at the top of your game, it might be time to position yourself at the bottom of a learning curve."
"Some of the world's greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible. -Doug Larson"
Specific Rookie modes are
1 Backpacker - little to weigh them down and with the freedom to venture out and explore new possibilities bring openness to their work
2 Hunter-Gatherer - marshal a network of experts rather than relying on own expertise
3 Firewalker - take small, calculated steps, move fast, and seek feedback to stay on track
4 Pioneer - improvise and work tirelessly to provide for basic needs keep things simple and focus on meeting core needs
One of the most challenges aspects of being a veteran is that you feel you have a reputation and ego to defend - so you are more afraid of failing and more protective of the status quo. We're also more prone to giving advice than taking it and ignore information that may challenge what we feel we already know and how things already works.
We can replenish our rookie smarts by having an insatiable curiosity, a humility that makes you a lifelong student, and a playful but intentional approach to achieving your goals. Key to be a perpetual rookie - "The real skill of the perpetual rookie is knowing when to play the role of the veteran and when to don the rookie cloak. In times of tumult and transition, the best leaders know when it is time to stop, unlearn, and relearn ... the highest-performing rookies were most often in executive roles. These were smart, seasoned executives who had made internal or external career moves and were now leading in a new domain ... in which they had no experience. They brought the best of both worlds a veteran's wisdom of experience, leadership skills, and organizational savvy and a rookie's tendency to ask naive questions, learn quickly, build new networks, and unlock new possibilities."
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