Hidden Potential by Adam Grant review: the science of success
A psychologist argues that you too can be a winner, if you only ‘build your character’ and learn from making dozens of mistakes every day
The Raging Rooks team stood out at the 1991 national junior high chess championship. Most competitors were from elite American schools and were chess prodigies who had been hot-housed from kindergarten. The Raging Rooks came from the low-income neighbourhood of Harlem and had been learning the game together for only two years; one of their team had been introduced to chess by the local drug dealer. Nor were the Raging Rooks picked for their extraordinary talent, they were B-grade high school kids who were merely available and interested. And yet the Raging Rooks won.
Their story feels ripe for a Hollywood film and makes for a great introduction to the psychologist Adam Grant’s very American self-help book, Hidden Potential. The Raging Rooks’ secret weapon
