TEB Book Review: Mindset by Dr. Carol Dweck

One of the habits of an Entrepreneur’s Banker is continued development through reading; and then sharing critical concepts and application insights with the entrepreneurs they serve. The first book that I want to share with you all is Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by. Carol S. Dweck, Ph. D.

The critical concepts of this book include:

1. Long term success is more about an individual’s mindset than their circumstances, talent, ability, skill, hard work or luck.

2. Everyone is born with a Growth Mindset; but over time some develop a Fixed Mindset.

• A growth mindset characterizes an individual that believes that they can expand their skills, intellect and abilities through effort.
• A fixed mindset characterizes an individual that believes that they are born with a fixed limit on their skills, intellect and abilities.

3. Where joy and satisfaction are derived from:

• A growth mindset receives joy from the learning associated with working the task. The journey is more important than the destination.
• A fixed mindset only gets joy out of the successful completion of a task. The result is more important than the path it took to achieve it.

4. What happens when the outcome is failure:

• A growth mindset is not content to fail; but they see failure as a part of the process that will lead to the best version of themselves.
• When a fixed mindset individual fails at a task (i.e. they did not receive a passing grade on the exam) they internalize the failure and see it as a direct reduction in their self-worth.

5. Who is responsible for failure:

• The growth mindset takes full accountability for failure and is fueled by the experience to learn skills, concepts or abilities so that the next time they are tested they will succeed. One example in the book is the classic story of Michael Jordan, who was once cut from his junior high basketball team. Instead of blaming the coach, the other players or his equipment, Michael stoked a fire inside of himself. That fueled him on his quest to become the greatest basketball player ever! (my assessment, not Dr. Dweck’s).
• As the fixed mindset believes that they possess the necessary skills, intellect and abilities to succeed at anything – when they are confronted with failure, they shift the blame to others. An example that Dr. Dweck sights in the book is John McEnroe – who blamed everyone (the officials, the weather, his gear, his hotel bed, etc.) for his failures.

6. Characteristics of their trusted team:

• The growth mindset is more concerned about achieving a goal and as a result, is ok with their ideas or plans being challenged, changed or scrapped. They realize that they do not have all the answers and as a result the team learns what idea has the greatest chance of success and then executes that (regardless of where it came from).
• A fixed mindset cannot tolerate being confronted or challenged. As a result, they tend to assemble a team of yes-men. This leads to stale (and sometimes disastrous) ideas and plans. It is more about proving themselves right than doing what is right for the organization.

7. A fixed mindset can be transformed into a growth mindset. This is not an easy task, but through honest assessment, support of an understanding team and TONS of honest effort it is possible.

The application to entrepreneurs is clear:

• Conduct an honest assessment of your mindset. This includes allowing those closest to you to speak truth into your life without offense or retaliation.
• Review your strategic goals and honestly ask yourself if your goals or your ego is more important.
• Assess how your mindset is supporting or hindering those goals; and if the change to a growth mindset is necessary, have the courage and strength to make the change.
• Lead your employees on their path to developing/ expanding a growth mindset. Imagine what can be accomplished if your entire staff was focused on getting better with every step they took. Where would you be in 5 years? What about 10? The sky is literally the limit.
• Have FUN and enjoy the journey. Remember, it (the journey) is more important than the destination.

Greg Martin is an entrepreneur’s insider to the banking industry and passionately believes that every person was uniquely designed for a higher purpose and calling. Greg guides entrepreneurs in defining and achieving their purpose and calling. His deepest passion is living life with his wife of 17 years and their wonderful son.