Rookie Smarts: Why Learning Beats Knowing in the New Game of Work

By Liz Wiseman

Book Overview

Wall Street Journal Bestseller

Is it possible to be at your best even when you are underqualified or doing something for the first time? Is it still possible, even after decades of experience, to recapture the enthusiasm, curiosity, and fearlessness of youth to take on new challenges? With the right mindset--with Rookie Smarts--you can.

In a rapidly changing world, experience can be a curse. Careers stall, innovation stops, and strategies grow stale. Being new, na ve, and even clueless can be an asset. For today's knowledge workers, constant learning is more valuable than mastery.

In this essential guide, leadership expert Liz Wiseman explains how to reclaim and cultivate this curious, flexible, youthful mindset called Rookie Smarts. She argues that the most successful rookies are hunter-gatherers--alert and seeking, cautious but quick like firewalkers, and hungry and relentless like pioneers. Most importantly, she identifies a breed of leaders she refers to as "perpetual rookies." Despite years of experience, they retain their rookie smarts, thinking and operating with the mindsets and practices of these high-performing rookies.

Rookie Smarts addresses the questions every experienced professional faces: "Will my knowledge and skills become obsolete and irrelevant? Will a young, inexperienced newcomer upend my company or me? How can I keep up?" The answer is to stay fresh, keep learning, and know when to think like a rookie.

Rookie Smarts isn't just for professionals seeking personal renewal; it is an indispensible resource for all leaders who must ensure their workforces remains vital and competitive.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 006232263X
• ISBN13: 9780062322630
• Release Date: January 2014
• Publisher: Harper Business
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

It's not what you know, it's how fast you can learn.

The title of the book is misleading; however, the concept is somewhat correct. The thrust of the book is that even the process of learning can change over time. We already know that technology changes exponentially, and to stay even, you have to learn every waking moment. The question is, how important is it to learn new ways of learning? The book raises a good question; however, many miss the mark on the flip side. Not everyone is on the cutting edge when it comes to technology, business practices, or even people's relationships. A deep background in the history of technology, sociology, economics, and related fields can help excel in the process of becoming something like a "Rookie." There is an advantage to looking at something in a different way, allowing breakthroughs; however, the advantage does not negate a historical understanding in a business environment. One plus is the structure of the book, with a chapter summary that helps you focus on what you may have missed.