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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
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The Outward Mindset summary
The Arbinger Institute
Seeing Beyond Ourselves: How to Change Lives & Transform Organizations
10 mins
Brief summary
"The Outward Mindset" by The Arbinger Institute is a leadership book that emphasizes the importance of shifting from a self-centered to an others-focused mindset. It teaches how to empathize, collaborate and achieve success by considering the needs and goals of others.
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The Outward Mindset
Summary of 4 key ideas
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Key idea 1 of 4
Making the right decisions in life means adopting the appropriate mindset.
Do you ever wonder what determines the actions you take? Many people think that the things they do are just products of their personality, but the truth is more straightforward.
It’s your mindset that controls your behavior. Basically, your mindset is the way you think of and see the world. It goes beyond your core beliefs about yourself to encompass the way you think about everything, including how you consider and treat others in society.
Because it’s so far-reaching, your mindset is hugely important. As a result, making even small changes to it can result in dramatic differences in behavior and actions.
Just take the Kansas City Police Department’s SWAT team. They had long been criticized by locals for their penchant for excessive violence. For example, many citizens had complained that the team would shoot pets during raids.
Confronted by their own poor reputation, the SWAT team had no choice but to change its mindset and begin focusing on the feelings of suspects as well as their relatives.
Suddenly the team began treating people with respect. Instead of acting aggressively, they strove for cooperation. In one example, before rushing off to question the suspects, the team took the time to calm a baby in the house. This new approach really paid off and actually improved the results of their crime fighting.
So, a change of mindset can transform behavior but – best of all – it doesn’t even require much effort. Just imagine a company that’s in dire financial straits. To keep themselves above water they’re micromanaging costs and firing people left and right while slashing employee benefits and customer service.
This mindset is based entirely on saving money, but is it really the right one for them?
Instead, they could focus on making money, which would mean making decisions that bring in revenue. They’d begin looking at developing markets and technological innovations that could potentially solve their financial problems while keeping both their employees and customers happy.
But why does so simple a change of mindset have such beneficial effects? You’ll find out in the next blink.
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What is The Outward Mindset about?
The Outward Mindset (2016) explains how changing your perspective can transform the world. These blinks discuss how a focus on personal needs obscures the needs of others and how, by identifying collective goals, people can make powerful collective changes in society.
Best quote from The Outward Mindset
Mindset drives and shapes all that we do – how we engage with others and how we behave in every moment and situation.
—The Arbinger Institute
Who should read The Outward Mindset?
- Anyone working in or managing a team
- People who seek greater collaboration
- Soldiers for social change
Categories with The Outward Mindset
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