Content Summary

Why Learning Beats Knowing in the New Game of Work

What is this book about? This book explains how rookie gains advantage in the world and how to cultivate the mindset of a rookie in order to get its benefits.

Part 1: Rookie Smarts: Living on the Learning Curve

Introduction

There are fields where experience matters and where it doesn’t matter. Fields like construction or piano performance need someone with experience in order to have good results. Stable fields require experience. Unstable or rapidly evolving fields may make experience a curse.

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Those who choose to live and work on a learning curve will experience greater vitality in their careers and will be well positioned in the new game of work.

Chapter 1: The Rise of the Rookie

Rookie mindset operate in four modes (or state of minds): Backpackers, Hunter-gatherer, Firewalker, and Pioneer. Each mode determines how we think and act when we take on tasks for the first time.

These are the patterns of behavior with each given mode:

Rookie Smarts		Veteran Comfort Zone
Mode	Mindset	Mode	Mindset
Backpacker	Unencumbered	Caretaker	Protecting
Hunter-gatherer	Alert and seeking	Local Guide	Advising
Firewalker	Cautious and quick	Marathoner	Steady pace
Pioneer	Hungry and relentless	Settler	Comfortable and consuming

Hunter-gatherer vs Local guide example from the author: When she thinks she’s a leadership expert, she gets into advising mode. When she thinks she’s a student of leadership, she keeps an open mind and asks for advice. In this way, she’s able to provide more value for others and for herself.

However, rookies cannot operate well in all situations.

These are the circumstances where rookies do operate well:

1. When there are new areas to be discovered and innovated
2. When there are gains to be made immediately
3. When there are multiple ways to solve a problem
4. When there is too much information for one person to know

These are the circumstances where rookies do not operate well:

1. When a single mistake is unrecoverable.

Chapter 2: Backpackers: An Unencumbered Mind

Backpackers vs Caretaker
Backpackers have nothing to weigh them down and nothing to lose, which opens them to see new possibilities, explore new terrain and act wholeheartedly.

Caretakers have accumulated a track record, a trophy case, and the spoils of success, which cause them to expend their energy maintaining the status quo.

Rookie Smart mode vs Veteran Comfort Zone mode

	Backpacker	Caretaker
Circumstance	Rookies have no history to draw from, no reputation to uphold and no resources to hide behind.	Veterans have a past track record to maintain, a reputation to uphold, and resources to protect.
Mindset	With nothing to weigh them down, Backpackers have an unencumbered and hopeful outlook.	Burdened with resources and expectations, Caretakers have a defensive, protective outlook.
Practices	Backpackers tend to: 1. See new possibilities 2. Explore new terrain 3. Act wholeheartedly	Caretakers tend to: 1. Limit what is possible 2. Stay on a path 3. Protect resources and relationships
Result	As a result, they rise above the status quo. Instead of settling in to yesterday’s best practices, they find new practices fit for the new terrain.	As a result, they get trapped into approaching projects “the way it has been done,” protecting the status quo, often optimizing for old realities.

How to cultivate Backpacker mindset:

1. Ask naive questions – ask basic questions that simplify and clarify.
2. Wipe the slate – get a fresh start.
3. Let go of the monkey trap – release your resources.

Chapter 3: Hunter-Gatherers: Finding Expertise

Hunter-Gatherers lack the knowledge and expertise they need and are forced into a sense-making mode that causes them to reach out to others for guidance.

Local Guides are confident and operate in an environment that they understand, so they stay close to what they know and dole out advice rather than seeking out learning.

Rookie Smart mode vs Veteran Comfort Zone mode

	Hunter-Gatherers	Local Guides
Circumstance	Rookies are new to the terrain, disoriented, and lack the knowledge and expertise they need.	Veterans have experience and knowledge of the terrain, which gives them confidence.
Mindset	Because they need information and knowledge, Hunter-Gatherers operate in a state of high alert, keenly aware of their surroundings.	Confident in their environment, Local Guides think like an adviser, guiding and directing others.
Practices	Hunter-Gatherers tend to: 1) Scan the environment 2) Seek out expertise 3) Mobilize ideas and resources	Local Guides tend to: 1) Look for data that confirms what they already know 2) Entrench within their tribes 3) Disseminate their knowledge
Result	As a result, they learn quickly by tapping into a network of smart, capable, willing collaborators.	As a result, they maintain their existing beliefs.

How to cultivate Hunter-gatherer mindset:

1. Teleport yourself – rediscover your newcomer, rookie state. Remember how you felt, what you did, and how you approached the work.
2. Multiply your expertise – build an expert network by seeking expert advise. A simple statement like, “I’d like to learn from you” signals humility, respect, understanding, and curiosity.
3. Reverse the mentoring – ask a junior colleague to mentor you. Allow them to teach you new approaches or technologies.
4. Talk to strangers – expand your network and perspective
5. Make a Map – map your terrain. Map out: Who are the players? What are the rules of the game? What is valued in this culture? Who can I align with? Where are the customers? Who are the experts who can guide me when I get stuck?
6. Borrow a job – swap jobs for a day. Identify a colleague in an adjacent area and swap jobs for a time period and use this to gain new insights and to formulate the naive questions that a newcomer might ask.

Chapter 4: Firewalkers: Moving Cautiously but Quickly

Firewalkers lack confidence and operate cautiously but quickly, seeking feedback to calibrate their performance and close the gap.

Marathoners feel capable and confident and operate at a steady pace, often forgetting to check in with stakeholders along the way.

Rookie Smart mode vs Veteran Comfort Zone mode

	Firewalkers	Marathoners
Circumstance	Rookies lack situational confidence.	Veterans have proved themselves and have received accolades and validation.
Mindset	Because they are eager to prove themselves in a given situation, Firewalkers operate with a sense of urgency and with a cautious but quick mentality.	Because they are confident, Marathoners tend to pace themselves and have a “steady as she goes” mentality.
Practices	Firewalkers tend to: 1) Take small, calculated steps 2) Deliver quickly 3) Seek feedback and coaching	Marathoners tend to: 1) Take big steps 2) Move at a steady, comfortable pace 3) Assume they are still doing a great job
Result	As a result, they stay on track with their stakeholders.	As a result, they can veer off track and do their own thing.

How to cultivate Firewalker mindset:

1. Risk and iterate – Remove risk as a blocker by defining a space for experimentation.
2. Get your hands dirty – Get close to the action.

Chapter 5: Pioneers: Forging Ahead

Pioneers are traversing uncharted and often uncomfortable territory, so they work to survive, improvising and working tirelessly to provide for basic needs.

Settlers are in established territory and have access to more resources, so they tend to follow protocols and do what is more comfortable.

Rookie Smart mode vs Veteran Comfort Zone mode

	Pioneers	Settlers
Circumstance	Rookies are in uncharted territory and lack the resources that they need.	Veterans are working within the establishment and have their basic needs met.
Mindset	Because they need to forge through the unknown, Pioneers work tirelessly with a hungry, slightly desperate mentality.	Because their needs are met, Settlers are oriented to maintain comfort and create ease.
Practices	Pioneers tend to: 1) Build new tools and structures 2) Improvise 3) Work relentlessly	Settlers tend to: 1) Rely on what’s available 2) Follow protocol 3) Stay in the comfort zone
Result	As a result, they push boundaries, take responsibility, and are creators of new value.	As a result, they use the resources that are readily available and become consumers, not builders.

How to cultivate Pioneer mindset:

1. Disqualify yourself – move into your discomfort zone by taking on a job you aren’t qualified for.
2. Become a half expert – see how fast you can get halfway up the learning curve.
3. Staple yourself to a problem – attach yourself to a complex problem and let it drag you to a new space.

Part 2: Cultivating Rookie Smarts

Chapter 6: The Perpetual Rookie

The Perpetual Rookie is a professional or a leader who, despite years of experience and success, maintains a rookie mindset. They have the ff. traits:

1. Curious – having a strong desire to learn something
2. Humble – a belief that we are not elevated over others a state of ind in which we are teachable and able to understand and learn from everyone around us
3. Playful – a belief that work is play, not just bringing play into our work environment
4. Deliberate – approaching one’s work with high levels of intentionality, being mindful of what we are doing and why we are doing it.

How to rekindle rookie smarts

1. Try to get fired – instead of playing it safe, just play
2. Throw away your notes – toss out your best practices and develop new practices
3. Surf with the amateurs – get inspired by the young and the young at heart

Chapter 7: Rookie Revival

Revival Strategies

1. Shift from Leader to Learner by trying any of the ff.
   1. Keep an “I don’t know” list
   2. Announce your ignorance
   3. Dump your assumptions
   4. Reverse the mentoring
   5. Borrow a job
   6. Ask naive questions
2. Step into a Discomfort zone by
   1. Taking a job you aren’t qualified for
   2. Move to the edge of the frontier
3. Take small steps to avoid overreaching and creating a knowledge gap that is too big which causes us to break.
4. Create rituals for renewal by doing any of the exercises in the book.

Chapter 8: The Rookie Organization

How to lead individuals taking on rookie assignments?

1. Provide freedom with direction – Provide space but set clear direction on what needs to be accomplished and why and then direct them to experts who can guide them.
2. Provide a constructive challenge – Offer a stretch goal, but don’t overwhelm them. Right-size the challenge so they contribute quickly and build confidence. Along with the challenge, provide them with feedback in small doses and quick bursts so that they can correct course and stay on track. Sometimes, when the risks are too high, it might not be a good idea to let rookies take the lead. However, this high-risks situations does not occur for majority of the time. Take a different leadership approach for high-risk and low-risk situations.
3. Provide a tightrope and a safety net – Give them a challenge that puts them on a tightrope, but make sure someone is there to catch them if they fall. Leaders must assign a “safety net” for the times when rookies fall and make mistakes. The best safety net are senior colleagues and project managers who oversee the client engagements rather than directly manage staff. Leaders must also popularize the term “safety net” across the company so that it can be seen as a service rather than a punishment. Those “safety nets” are also recommended to have large areas of control so they can coach more people while not giving enough time for them to micromanage the junior talent. The rookie also have obligations. The rookie must be willing to step outside of their comfort zone, ask for help, learn quickly, not underestimate their own ability, resize the challenge if it is too big, seek out experts, seek feedback, not take themselves too seriously, and be willing to lead even if from the back of the pack.

How to Build Powerful Teams?

1. The Ground and the Spark
   In this duo, the veteran provides clarity, purpose, and ground to reality. The rookie brings new energy and determination.
   Example: Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi on Captain Phillips (movie).
2. The Talent Scout and the New Talent
   In this duo, the rookie provides novel ideas and innovative work, while the veteran sees and pushes the promise and potential of their work.
   Example: Maya Lin and Harry Weese (a renowned architect from Chicago) on designing and selecting the monument for Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
3. The Adviser and the Entrepreneur
   The veteran knows how the world works and guides the entrepreneur who want to change the world.
4. A Hetero-Genius Team
   Combination of people from diverse backgrounds