Book Notes #78: Smarter, Faster, Better by Charles Duhigg

Title: Smarter Faster Better: The Transformative Power of Real Productivity
Author: Charles Duhigg
Year: 2017
Pages: 400

Have you ever wondered why some people achieve incredible success while others, despite working tirelessly, seem to stay stuck in place?

In his compelling book, Smarter, Faster, Better, Charles Duhigg dives into this puzzle, revealing that success isn’t just about effort—it’s about understanding how our minds work and making subtle yet powerful changes to our mental habits.

Through engaging stories, from high-stakes poker games to Disney’s creative breakthroughs, Duhigg offers practical insights that reshape our view of productivity, motivation, teamwork, and decision-making.

It’s not about doing more; it’s about thinking differently.

As a result, I gave this book a rating of 9.5/10.

For me, a book with a note 10 is one I consider reading again every year. Among the books I rank with 10, for example, are How to Win Friends and Influence People and Factfulness.

3 Reasons to Read Smarter, Faster, Better

Book Overview

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by endless to-do lists, constant interruptions, or the frustration of knowing you could achieve more—but somehow don’t?

If so, Charles Duhigg’s book, Smarter, Faster, Better, might just feel like a life-changing conversation.

Duhigg doesn’t promise quick fixes or superficial hacks. Instead, he dives into the heart of why we struggle to reach our potential and offers insights grounded in stories, research, and real-world examples that help us rethink how we live, work, and make decisions.

At its core, Smarter, Faster, Better argues that productivity and effectiveness aren’t just about working harder or longer.

Instead, they’re about reshaping how we think. From finding motivation to mastering teamwork, staying focused, setting meaningful goals, and even sparking innovation, each chapter takes us on a journey through compelling stories that redefine what it means to be productive and successful.

Take motivation, for example. Duhigg introduces us to fascinating cases like Marines surviving boot camp or seniors thriving in nursing homes.

These stories reveal that motivation doesn’t depend on a personality trait or sheer willpower. It’s about feeling in control and finding meaning.

When people believe their choices matter—even small, seemingly insignificant ones—they feel empowered and driven. Suddenly, waking up early or tackling tough tasks isn’t a battle; it’s a choice we make with intention and purpose.

Then there’s the idea of teamwork. We tend to think that successful teams need the brightest stars or the strongest leaders, but Duhigg challenges this notion through Google’s groundbreaking research.

It turns out the best-performing teams aren’t defined by talent alone, but by psychological safety—the ability for team members to openly share ideas, admit mistakes, and support one another.

Imagine your workplace where everyone’s voice matters, and creativity thrives simply because people trust each other enough to be vulnerable. It’s not an idealistic fantasy; it’s a practical, achievable reality.

As we move deeper into the book, Duhigg pushes us to reconsider how we set goals. Most of us have heard of SMART goals—specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.

Yet, Duhigg argues, while these can help us stay focused, they might also limit us from dreaming big enough to achieve transformative success.

He introduces the power of stretch goals—ambitious, seemingly impossible objectives—that challenge us to innovate and push beyond comfort zones.

Combining the ambitious vision of stretch goals with the practical steps of SMART goals might be the key to finally achieving what once felt impossible.

Another powerful lesson revolves around decision-making. Duhigg shares gripping insights from professional poker player Annie Duke and research into probabilistic thinking.

It turns out the best decision-makers aren’t always certain; rather, they’re comfortable with uncertainty. They think in terms of odds, adjust their assumptions based on new information, and continuously refine their choices.

Whether making personal decisions or strategic business moves, adopting this flexible mindset can significantly improve our outcomes and reduce our fear of getting things wrong.

Innovation, too, is demystified. Through the creation of Disney’s hit movie Frozen, we see innovation isn’t about genius striking out of nowhere. It’s about connecting existing ideas differently and using personal experience and creativity—even moments of desperation—to unlock breakthroughs.

Creativity isn’t reserved for artists or inventors; it’s available to anyone who dares to recombine familiar ideas in new ways and takes the risk of stepping into the unknown.

Finally, Duhigg tackles our modern challenge of information overload. We have more data at our fingertips than ever before, yet we often feel paralyzed or fail to learn from it.

Why? Because true knowledge comes from actively engaging with information—writing it down, testing it, questioning it—not passively absorbing endless facts.

Schools that transformed test scores and employees who became more effective weren’t those with the most data, but those who learned how to interact meaningfully with the information they already had.

Smarter, Faster, Better isn’t just a book about productivity; it’s an invitation to rethink how we approach our lives and work.

It challenges common wisdom about success, offering a richer, deeper understanding of what truly makes people and organizations effective.

Instead of chasing quick tips or superficial strategies, Duhigg encourages us to change our mental habits—one story, one insight, and one decision at a time.

So the next time you feel stuck or overwhelmed, remember: productivity isn’t about rushing faster or pushing harder.

It’s about understanding the subtle ways our minds work and using that knowledge to make smarter choices.

After reading Smarter, Faster, Better, you might just discover that achieving more isn’t as complicated as you once thought—it’s simply about knowing where to start.

Smarter, Faster, Better by Charles Duhigg presents several compelling cases and stories to illustrate its key concepts. Here are some notable examples:

The story of the focus and productivity of the film crew at Disney Animation: Duhigg explores how the film crew behind Disney’s hit movie “Frozen” adopted a system called “the power of 10x thinking” to enhance their productivity. By setting ambitious goals and embracing stretch targets, the team challenged themselves to achieve more, resulting in significant improvements in creativity and efficiency.

The transformative power of mental models at General Motors (GM): Duhigg shares the story of how a group of employees at GM used mental models to revolutionize the company’s manufacturing process. By embracing the “Five Whys” mental model—asking “why” five times to get to the root cause of a problem—they were able to identify and address underlying issues, leading to substantial improvements in productivity and quality.

The role of teamwork and psychological safety in Google’s Project Aristotle: Duhigg delves into Google’s extensive research on what makes effective teams. He shares the story of Project Aristotle, where Google studied various teams and found that psychological safety—creating an environment where team members feel safe to take risks and express their opinions—was the most crucial factor for team success.

The tragic plane crash investigation of Flight 447: Duhigg examines the investigation into the Air France Flight 447 crash and how it highlights the importance of decision-making processes and effective communication in high-stress situations. The case emphasizes the significance of clear protocols, teamwork, and managing cognitive biases for preventing errors and ensuring safety.

The use of SMART goals at GE Capital: Duhigg explores how GE Capital implemented SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals to drive productivity and employee engagement. By breaking down broad goals into specific and achievable targets, employees were able to focus their efforts, measure progress, and experience a greater sense of accomplishment.

Chapter by Chapter

Chapter 1 – Motivation

The author argues that motivation isn’t something you’re born with—it’s something you can learn.

It’s not about personality or willpower; it’s about creating the conditions where motivation can grow.

This chapter dives deep into why we sometimes lose our drive and what we can do to get it back, even in the most difficult circumstances.

Apathy Without Sadness

The chapter begins with the strange story of Robert Philippe, a successful businessman who suddenly became passive and indifferent after a vacation in South America. He wasn’t sad or sick—just uninterested in life.

Doctors couldn’t find anything physically wrong, but his motivation had vanished. Over time, they discovered a tiny area of damage in his brain’s striatum, the part responsible for translating decisions into action and regulating mood.

Other similar cases followed, with people who were mentally and physically fine but had lost all drive. They weren’t depressed; they just didn’t care anymore.

What’s fascinating is that these people could still function—they just didn’t initiate anything themselves. Their brains had lost the ability to feel the emotional push behind decisions. Motivation hadn’t disappeared—it was just turned off.

Motivation Lives in Choice

This leads to Mauricio Delgado’s experiment, where people played a dull guessing game inside an fMRI machine. What lit up their brains wasn’t whether they won or lost—it was the act of choosing. When participants made their own guesses, their striatum lit up with excitement and anticipation. But when the computer made the choices for them, their brains went quiet.

Delgado’s insight? Motivation surges when we feel in control. Even meaningless choices make us feel more engaged. It’s not the outcome that matters—it’s that we had a say.

That sense of autonomy changes everything.

Control is a Biological Need

Modern life demands self-motivation more than ever. With fewer traditional job paths and more flexible work, people need to know how to manage their time, energy, and goals.

And here’s the key insight: motivation is a skill, not a personality trait. We can train it. And at the heart of that training is the feeling that we are in control of our actions.

Even babies resist being spoon-fed once they learn to feed themselves. This need to choose is deeply wired. In fact, any choice—no matter how small—reinforces our belief in control and self-efficacy.

That’s why small decisions, like choosing how to reply to emails or where to start a task, can spark motivation. The act of choosing helps our brain say, “I’m in charge.”

The Power of the Locus of Control

The chapter then zooms in on the internal locus of control—a belief that your actions shape your outcomes. People with this mindset take responsibility for success and failure. They don’t blame bad luck or external events. And they tend to be happier, healthier, and more successful overall.

The Marines figured this out, too. General Charles Krulak redesigned boot camp not just to toughen up recruits, but to teach them how to make decisions and feel ownership.

By creating environments where young people had to choose and lead, the Marines were building self-motivation into their training.

There’s a striking moment when a drill instructor praises the shyest recruit for deciding where to store the ketchup. It sounds silly—but that praise was for making a decision.

These small moments taught recruits that taking control felt good. And once they felt that, they wanted more of it.

Linking Choices to Meaning

One of the most powerful tools in Marine boot camp is asking recruits to reflect on “why.”

Why are you here?

Why are you doing this hard thing? When they link their actions to personal values—like building a better life for their family—suddenly, motivation kicks in.

During a brutal challenge called the Crucible, one exhausted recruit reminded himself, “To become a Marine and build a better life for my family.” That answer became fuel to keep going.

The takeaway? When we can connect our decisions to something bigger—something meaningful—motivation becomes stronger. It’s not just about control; it’s about purpose.

Subversive Choices in Nursing Homes

The same lesson shows up in a totally different setting: nursing homes. Researchers found that seniors who broke small rules—like trading food or moving their furniture—were healthier and lived longer.

They called these residents “subversives” because they refused to give up control over their lives.

These acts weren’t huge rebellions, but they mattered. Choosing what to eat or how to decorate reminded them they were still in charge. That small feeling of control had big ripple effects.

How to Reignite Motivation

Back to Robert Philippe. His wife, Viola, decided not to give up on him. She started peppering him with questions—what to eat, where to sit, what music to play. At first, it seemed pointless.

But then, slowly, Robert began to come back. When he had to make decisions, even small ones, he seemed more alive. It didn’t happen overnight, but over time, he reconnected with that part of himself that liked being in charge.

His story shows that motivation isn’t lost forever—it can be rebuilt by helping someone feel in control again.

The Lesson

To motivate ourselves and others, we need two things: a sense of control and a connection to something meaningful. We need to make decisions that feel like they matter and tie those decisions to our values.

That’s why asking “why” is such a powerful trick. It turns a boring task into a personal choice. It reminds us that we’re doing this for a reason. The email isn’t just an email—it’s part of a bigger career. The chore isn’t just a chore—it’s a step toward something we care about.

In the end, motivation isn’t magic—it’s a habit. A habit of choosing, and a habit of connecting. And just like any habit, it gets easier the more we practice.

This chapter shows that motivation isn’t something we’re born with, but something we can build by creating a sense of control and purpose. When people make choices—even small ones—and link their actions to meaningful goals, their drive grows.

Whether it’s a Marine recruit pushing through boot camp or someone trying to get out of bed in the morning, what matters is feeling in charge and knowing why you’re doing something.

The key lesson is that motivation is a skill, and we can strengthen it by choosing to act and connecting that choice to what matters most to us.

Chapter 2 – Teams

The author explains that how teams work together matters more than who’s on the team.

It’s not just about gathering smart, talented people.

What really makes a difference are the norms a team develops—the unwritten rules for how people interact, listen, speak, and support one another.

The Study Group vs. the Case Team

The chapter begins with Julia Rozovsky’s experience at Yale. She joined a study group expecting it to be supportive and collaborative, but it turned out to be full of subtle power struggles and passive-aggressive competition.

Everyone seemed more focused on proving themselves than helping each other.

So she joined a case competition team instead—and everything changed. The new group was made up of people from totally different backgrounds. Yet the vibe was supportive, creative, and fun.

They didn’t shoot down ideas, even when they were silly. Instead, they built on each other’s energy. They worked hard, won competitions, and stayed close even after graduation.

Julia couldn’t figure out why two groups, full of similarly smart people, could feel so different—until she joined Google’s People Analytics group.

Google’s Project Aristotle

At Google, Julia became part of Project Aristotle, a massive effort to figure out what makes a team successful. They studied 180 teams and collected tons of data: personalities, gender balance, work habits, social behaviors, even whether people hung out outside of work.

But none of the usual factors explained why some teams thrived and others struggled. It didn’t matter how smart people were or how similar their backgrounds were. The “who” didn’t seem to matter.

What started making sense, though, was the “how.” Specifically, the norms each team followed. Were people allowed to interrupt? Did everyone speak up? Did teammates show emotional awareness and support?

Eventually, it became clear: group norms shaped everything.

Psychological Safety

To understand these norms better, the team turned to the research of Amy Edmondson from Harvard.

She had studied hospitals and found a surprising pattern: the best teams—those that worked together closely and trusted one another—reported more errors. But not because they made more mistakes. They simply felt safe enough to admit them.

This is what Edmondson called psychological safety. It’s the belief that a team is a safe space for taking risks and being vulnerable. People can speak up, admit mistakes, ask questions, or share a wild idea without fear of embarrassment or punishment.

That was the missing ingredient. Google’s best teams weren’t perfect—they just had norms that made everyone feel secure enough to participate fully.

The Power of Norms

The chapter then brings in the example of Saturday Night Live. You’d think SNL worked because everyone got along, but actually, the early cast was full of egos, rivalries, and clashing styles.

What made it work was that despite the chaos, everyone felt like they had a voice. Lorne Michaels, the show’s creator, was intentional about this. He made sure everyone could pitch ideas, speak up, and feel heard.

Even when people disagreed or pushed back, there was a culture of respect.

They could argue, but still trust one another. That balance of honesty and care is what allowed the team to stay creative and deliver results under intense pressure.

That’s psychological safety in action.

Team A or Team B?

The author shares a great mental exercise: imagine two teams. Team A is composed of polite, accomplished professionals who speak in turn and stick to the agenda.

Team B is messier—people interrupt, go off-topic, and joke around. But if you test for empathy, Team B scores higher. They notice when someone is left out or upset.

Turns out, Team B performs better. Not because they’re smarter, but because they share the conversation equally and have high social sensitivity.

These are the two key norms that lead to what researchers call collective intelligence—the ability of a group to solve problems well together, even better than individuals.

Teaching Psychological Safety

So how do you build this into a team? That’s what Project Aristotle wanted to answer. They developed checklists and tools to help team leaders create psychological safety:

• Don’t interrupt.
• Make sure everyone speaks.
• Acknowledge emotions.
• Admit mistakes.
• Summarize what others say to show you’re listening.
• Resolve conflict openly, not behind closed doors.

It’s not about being nice all the time. It’s about creating space where people feel free to contribute.

Why It Matters

One of the biggest insights from this chapter is that we don’t need teams full of superstars to do great work. We need teams that know how to listen to each other, support one another, and create space for honest conversation. That’s what makes people more effective together than they would be alone.

And it all starts with the leader. The leader sets the tone for whether people feel safe. But every member plays a role by listening, noticing how others feel, and giving everyone a voice.

In the end, the author makes a powerful point: motivation gives us individual drive, but psychological safety is what allows that drive to flourish in a group. It’s how control, trust, and collaboration come together. When people feel safe, teams thrive.

The success of a team doesn’t come from having the smartest individuals—it comes from how members treat one another. Google’s research revealed that psychological safety, where people feel safe to speak up, share ideas, and admit mistakes, is what makes teams thrive.

Two core habits drive this: making sure everyone gets to talk and being sensitive to how people are feeling. Teams that listen, respect, and create space for everyone outperform those that are merely polite or filled with experts.

Trust, not talent alone, is what fuels great teamwork.

Chapter 3 – Focus

The author explains that managing our attention is more important than ever.

With so much automation in our lives, from autopilots to smartphones, we tend to rely on our cognitive systems to handle repetitive tasks.

But this automation can also cause us to lose focus when we face a crisis or a sudden change.

This chapter delves into the concept of mental models—tools that help us focus our attention and navigate chaos effectively.

Cognitive Tunneling and the Tragedy of Flight 447

The chapter begins by recounting the tragic story of Air France Flight 447, which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009. While the plane’s technology was state-of-the-art and designed to reduce human error, it wasn’t a mechanical failure that caused the crash. It was a failure of attention.

The pilots, relying heavily on automation, didn’t know where to focus when the system failed.

The pitot tubes, which measure airspeed, froze over, causing the autopilot to disengage. The pilots became disoriented and entered what is known as cognitive tunneling.

This happens when the brain, suddenly forced to shift from relaxed, automated attention to urgent focus, becomes fixated on a single, often irrelevant, detail.

In this case, the pilots focused on the plane’s flight display, which showed a slight tilt, instead of recognizing the more critical problem of the plane’s altitude.

The story of Flight 447 highlights the dangers of cognitive tunneling. When faced with an emergency, instead of broadening their focus, the pilots became fixated on something unimportant.

This fixation led them to ignore the critical information that could have saved their lives.

The Role of Mental Models

A key concept in this chapter is the idea of mental models—essentially, how we structure our knowledge to make sense of the world.

Mental models act like a framework for our attention. Instead of reacting to every detail in an overwhelming situation, we use these models to decide what’s most important and where to focus our energy.

The author explains that we all have mental models, whether we realize it or not. For example, experienced pilots, nurses, and firefighters develop robust mental models through practice and repetition.

These models help them focus on what matters most in a crisis. The pilots in the Air France crash lacked strong mental models for the situation they faced, leading to confusion and disaster.

The Power of Forecasting and Storytelling

One of the most fascinating parts of this chapter is the research on how people create mental models. The author describes how people like nurses or emergency responders build models by imagining how things should look or unfold.

This process of “forecasting” is a habit of telling stories about what we expect to happen.

In a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), for example, experienced nurses develop a mental picture of what a healthy baby should look like. When something deviates from that picture, they become alert to small changes that others might miss.

This ability to create vivid mental models is what helps people like Darlene, the nurse in the story, detect early signs of illness that others overlook.

Similarly, in the business world, highly productive people—referred to as “superstars”—constantly build mental models. They visualize what a project will look like, how a meeting will unfold, and anticipate potential challenges.

This constant mental rehearsal allows them to stay focused on what really matters, even when new, unexpected information arises.

Reactive Thinking vs. Mental Models

While mental models help us focus and navigate the unexpected, they’re often challenged by reactive thinking. Reactive thinking happens when we default to automatic, habitual responses without fully considering the situation. For example, when we’re startled by an unexpected email or a crisis at work, we might automatically react without pausing to think critically.

The author argues that reactive thinking is useful in some cases, like when athletes need to react quickly in a game.

However, when it comes to complex, high-stakes situations, like an airplane emergency or a critical business decision, mental models are more valuable because they help us prioritize and think through the problem instead of merely reacting.

The Importance of Pre-Planning

To avoid cognitive tunneling and reactive thinking, the author emphasizes the importance of pre-planning and creating mental models before a crisis happens. This is something Captain Richard de Crespigny of Qantas Flight 32 did well.

Before every flight, he made it a habit to walk through potential emergencies in his mind, visualizing what he would do in case of problems. This preparation allowed him to focus on the essential actions when an engine explosion occurred mid-flight.

This chapter ends with a powerful takeaway: to manage our attention effectively, we need to be proactive in creating mental models. Whether it’s visualizing a meeting, anticipating challenges, or practicing what to do in an emergency, the more we prepare mentally, the more we can focus on what really matters when it counts.

In short, this chapter argues that mental models are the key to managing focus in a world full of distractions and automation. Instead of relying on reactive thinking, we can use storytelling and mental rehearsal to navigate challenges, stay focused, and make better decisions.

In a world full of distractions and automation, staying focused means building mental models—stories in our heads about what we expect to happen.

These models help us stay oriented when things go wrong, like pilots handling emergencies or professionals managing chaos.

When people lack these models, they can fall into cognitive tunneling—focusing on the wrong detail while missing the bigger picture.

The core insight is that attention isn’t passive; it’s something we shape by imagining outcomes, rehearsing mentally, and constantly updating our sense of what matters most.

Chapter 4 – Goal Setting

The author explains that goal setting plays a huge role in motivation and success.

We often think of goals as simple markers of achievement, but they’re much more than that.

They shape how we think, how we plan, and how we push ourselves to do better.

In this chapter, the focus is on two key types of goals: SMART goals and stretch goals, and how they affect both personal and organizational success.

The Yom Kippur War and Smart Goal Setting

The chapter begins with the story of Eli Zeira, Israel’s military intelligence chief during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Zeira was known for his disciplined approach to intelligence, using a strict formula for assessing threats, which became a cornerstone of his leadership.

His goal was to prevent unnecessary panic by being decisive and clear, setting concrete goals for his department to follow.

However, his approach, while structured, was also rigid. When a military intelligence officer warned of unusual movements at the border, Zeira dismissed the threat, sticking to his predetermined conclusions.

This adherence to his original goal, without allowing room for rethinking, contributed to Israel’s unpreparedness for the surprise attack.

SMART Goals vs. Stretch Goals

The chapter contrasts two different types of goal-setting systems: SMART goals, which are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely, and stretch goals, which push individuals or organizations to aim for the seemingly impossible.

Zeira’s reliance on SMART-like goals made him confident but ultimately blind to the warning signs, as he didn’t allow for flexibility.

In contrast, stretch goals, exemplified by the story of General Electric (GE) and its shift to more ambitious objectives, are intended to push boundaries and encourage innovative thinking.

At GE, CEO Jack Welch introduced stretch goals, which were designed to drive employees to think bigger and aim for objectives they didn’t yet know how to achieve.

These stretch goals, when paired with SMART thinking, led to massive improvements in productivity and innovation.

The Power of Stretch Goals

Stretch goals are bold and audacious, often challenging the status quo. But they can also trigger panic or demotivate if they’re perceived as too unrealistic.

The key, the author argues, is pairing stretch goals with a disciplined approach to breaking them down into manageable tasks.

For instance, in GE’s case, manufacturing divisions were asked to reduce defects by 70%. While this seemed impossible, it sparked a complete overhaul of processes, resulting in huge improvements.

The chapter highlights research that shows stretch goals can lead to innovative breakthroughs, as they force people to think outside the box. However, if these goals are too daunting without a plan, they can backfire.

SMART goals help break these large ambitions into achievable steps, allowing individuals and teams to move from one milestone to the next.

Why SMART Goals Can Be Limiting

Despite their widespread use, SMART goals can have limitations. They focus on achieving short-term, measurable outcomes, often neglecting bigger, more aspirational goals.

The chapter gives the example of GE’s nuclear factory and jet engine plant, where employees were so focused on SMART objectives that they overlooked the bigger picture.

The factory workers spent so much time achieving minor goals, like ordering supplies or improving security, that they missed the opportunity to innovate and improve their core processes.

This highlights the danger of focusing too much on achievable, specific goals without considering whether those goals are truly meaningful or capable of driving real change.

In other words, while SMART goals can give a sense of accomplishment, they can also encourage people to focus on the wrong things—tasks that are easy to check off rather than the bigger, more difficult challenges.

Balancing SMART and Stretch Goals

The solution, according to the author, is to combine SMART goals with stretch goals. The idea is to set ambitious, even unachievable goals that inspire big thinking, but then break them down into smaller, actionable steps.

This combination allows you to remain focused on concrete progress while also pushing yourself to achieve something truly extraordinary.

The chapter concludes with the idea that balance is key. Having a clear vision of your stretch goals motivates you to aim higher, while SMART goals provide a concrete path to making those aspirations a reality.

Together, they create a system that allows you to think big and act practically—turning bold ambitions into concrete achievements.

Effective goals are what drive action, but not all goals are created equal. This chapter explains the power of combining stretch goals—big, ambitious dreams—with SMART goals—clear, practical steps.

Stretch goals inspire innovation and big thinking, but they can feel overwhelming unless broken into smaller, achievable parts.

The lesson is that it’s not about choosing one or the other. If you want to get better, you need both: a bold vision to chase and a realistic path to follow.

Chapter 5 – Managing Others

The author argues that empowering others is key to driving success and solving complex problems.

One of the most fascinating ideas in this chapter is how leadership isn’t just about giving orders, but about creating an environment where everyone feels responsible for the outcome.

The chapter highlights a powerful example of how lean and agile thinking, combined with a culture of trust, can solve even the most dangerous and chaotic situations.

Solving a Kidnapping with Lean and Agile Thinking

The chapter opens with an intense, real-world example of a kidnapping that was solved using principles from lean and agile thinking.

Frank Janssen, a national security consultant, was kidnapped as part of a gang retaliation against his daughter, a district attorney.

The investigation, involving a complex web of phone records, burner phones, and ambiguous threats, seemed like it was spinning its wheels. But the breakthrough came when the FBI embraced a culture of decentralizing decision-making.

The Power of Lean and Agile Thinking

The FBI’s new mindset, inspired by lean management and agile techniques, allowed junior agents to make decisions and follow up on leads they thought were important.

This decentralized approach, which mirrors Toyota’s “lean manufacturing” system, focuses on the people closest to the problem.

The idea is simple: those closest to the issue are the best equipped to solve it, rather than waiting for orders from the top. It’s about trusting employees to use their expertise and intuition to drive results.

The NUMMI Example

The author illustrates this with the example of the NUMMI (New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc.) factory, which had been a failing GM plant before Toyota implemented its lean systems.

The NUMMI plant transformed because Toyota gave workers the power to stop the assembly line and make decisions about the production process. This empowerment created a culture of commitment and trust, where workers felt responsible for the company’s success.

The impact of this shift was dramatic. Workers stopped sabotaging cars and became genuinely invested in producing quality vehicles. The plant’s productivity skyrocketed, and employee absenteeism dropped from 25% to just 3%. The lesson here is clear: when employees are trusted to make decisions, they are more engaged and committed to the organization’s goals.

The Importance of Trust and Autonomy

The author then shifts to discuss how trust and autonomy are crucial for managing teams effectively. Trust is what allows people to take risks, share ideas, and feel empowered to act.

Whether it’s in a factory or a software development team, when workers are given the autonomy to make decisions, they take ownership of the results.

This approach was crucial in the development of the FBI’s Sentinel system. Instead of top-down management, the software development team was encouraged to experiment, make decisions on the fly, and even work with an agile mindset that focused on quick iterations and frequent testing.

The result was a dramatically improved system that helped the FBI solve crimes more efficiently.

Lessons for Effective Management

The core takeaway from this chapter is that great management isn’t about control—it’s about empowerment. Managers who trust their teams, give them autonomy, and allow them to make decisions are more likely to see better results.

The success of NUMMI and the FBI’s agile approach show that when employees feel trusted and responsible, they become more invested in their work.

It’s about creating a culture of commitment, where everyone is aligned with the company’s goals and empowered to make decisions that move the organization forward.

This doesn’t mean abandoning oversight, but rather shifting from micromanagement to coaching, where leaders support and guide rather than dictate every move.

In the end, the chapter argues that trust and empowerment are the most powerful tools a manager can wield.

These principles don’t just apply to solving crimes or manufacturing cars—they can transform any team, whether in business, healthcare, or any other field. By fostering a culture where everyone feels like a critical part of the team’s success, you unlock their full potential.

Great management isn’t about micromanaging or issuing orders—it’s about giving people control and responsibility.

Drawing from Toyota’s lean philosophy and FBI case studies, the chapter shows that when people feel trusted to make decisions, they work harder, take more initiative, and feel more committed.

Leaders who decentralize authority and encourage experimentation unlock problem-solving and creativity across their teams. Empowerment isn’t soft leadership—it’s what drives performance in complex, fast-changing environments.

Chapter 6 – Decision Making

The author explains that the key to making good decisions is learning to think probabilistically.

Life is full of uncertainty, and whether we’re making financial decisions, choosing a career path, or even playing poker, we often rely on predicting the future.

However, the ability to forecast accurately isn’t about finding certainty; it’s about embracing uncertainty and making informed guesses about the odds of various outcomes.

Annie Duke and Poker as a Decision-Making Model

The chapter opens with a tense poker moment involving Annie Duke during the 2004 Tournament of Champions. Annie, a professional poker player, faces a critical decision where the stakes are enormous. She’s holding a pair of tens, but another player, the FossilMan, raises the stakes even higher by pushing all his chips into the pot. This moment captures the essence of decision-making: She doesn’t know for sure what the outcome will be, but she needs to make a decision based on probabilities.

This situation draws on the concept of probabilistic thinking—the practice of considering multiple possible futures and calculating the likelihood of each one. Annie faces a difficult moment of uncertainty. Should she fold and walk away, or take the risk and call the bet? The decision isn’t about certainty but about evaluating the odds and choosing the best possible move based on those odds.

The Power of Forecasting and Bayesian Thinking

The author takes us deeper into the concept of Bayesian thinking, which is about learning from past experiences and adjusting our forecasts accordingly. Annie Duke’s success in poker comes from this very ability. Instead of relying on luck or emotions, she uses her knowledge of odds to make decisions.

This method of thinking, which comes from Bayes’ rule in probability theory, is about adjusting our predictions based on new information as it becomes available. For instance, if you are predicting the outcome of a situation, you start with an initial belief, and as you gather more data, you update your forecast.

It’s not about knowing the answer for sure, but about refining your guesses and adjusting them as you go.

Annie’s ability to think probabilistically has been honed through years of practice, where she learned not just the mathematical odds, but how to read people, assess risks, and push her limits when necessary.

She learned that embracing uncertainty and refining her assumptions allowed her to make better decisions over time.

The Good Judgment Project and Forecasting the Future

The chapter also brings in the Good Judgment Project (GJP), an experiment that aimed to improve forecasting accuracy by training ordinary people in probabilistic thinking.

Instead of relying solely on experts, the GJP gathered a diverse group of people and taught them to forecast future events by assessing multiple possible outcomes.

This project proved that even with minimal information, people could make better predictions if they were taught to think probabilistically.

The project found that people who were trained to think in terms of probabilities made much more accurate predictions about future events than those who didn’t receive this training.

This method involves considering all the possible outcomes, evaluating their likelihood, and adjusting your assumptions based on new information.

The idea is to stop thinking about the future as a single, inevitable outcome and start viewing it as a range of possible scenarios, each with different odds.

In practice, this kind of thinking improves decision-making by making it less about certainty and more about optimizing the best possible outcome based on available information.

Why Knowing What You Don’t Know is Critical

One of the key insights from the chapter is the idea that acknowledging what we don’t know is as important as knowing what we do. In poker, as in life, uncertainty is inevitable.

But rather than trying to eliminate that uncertainty, we need to learn to manage it. Elite decision-makers are those who can live with the unknowns and make decisions anyway.

They don’t waste time looking for certainty; instead, they focus on gathering the best possible information, weighing the odds, and making the best call given what they know.

Annie Duke, for example, is comfortable with uncertainty. She doesn’t panic when the future is unclear. Instead, she makes educated decisions based on probabilities, adapting and refining her strategies as the game evolves.

Learning to Think Probabilistically in Life

This mindset isn’t just for poker players—it can transform how we make decisions in our everyday lives. Whether deciding on investments, choosing a career, or predicting the outcome of a relationship, adopting a probabilistic outlook can significantly improve decision-making.

Instead of obsessing over whether a decision will work out perfectly, we learn to think in terms of likely outcomes and adjust our expectations accordingly.

The chapter wraps up by emphasizing that good decision-making relies on training ourselves to consider multiple future outcomes. It’s not about predicting the future with certainty, but about understanding what’s likely to happen and adjusting our decisions as new information becomes available.

The key is to embrace uncertainty, use probabilities to inform your decisions, and be comfortable with the fact that you can never fully predict the future.

Good decision-makers don’t seek certainty—they think in probabilities. Inspired by poker champion Annie Duke and research on forecasting, this chapter explores how people improve decisions by estimating outcomes, adjusting beliefs, and updating predictions as new information emerges.

This mindset, known as probabilistic or Bayesian thinking, helps us navigate uncertainty better than rigid plans ever could. The big lesson is that success comes from embracing what we don’t know and learning how to make informed bets instead of waiting for perfect clarity.

Chapter 7 – Innovation

The author argues that innovation doesn’t come from pure genius, but from the ability to combine old ideas in new ways.

In this chapter, we see how creativity thrives in environments where different perspectives collide, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

The focus is on idea brokers, individuals who connect different ideas from diverse fields to spark innovation, and how their role in creativity is central to solving tough problems.

How Creative Desperation Saved Disney’s Frozen

The chapter begins with the development of Disney’s Frozen and its tumultuous journey. The movie started with big ambitions but faced numerous creative roadblocks.

The team struggled to make the characters of Anna and Elsa relatable and compelling, and the film went through many iterations—none of which seemed to work.

However, it wasn’t until the team embraced the concept of creative desperation that the breakthrough came.

The Frozen team’s struggles parallel a key point in the chapter: creative desperation—the idea that stress and pressure can lead to unexpected and insightful breakthroughs.

The movie had to say something different about relationships, particularly how true love is not about a prince rescuing a princess, but rather about self-empowerment and the bond between sisters.

This shift in focus came after the team used their own personal frustrations and emotions as the creative fuel for Elsa’s character.

The breakthrough occurred when the songwriters, Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, connected their own experiences of feeling judged and imperfect to Elsa’s struggle with her powers.

This emotional connection led to the creation of the iconic song “Let It Go,” which captured Elsa’s internal conflict. As soon as the team heard the song, they knew they had found the heart of the movie.

Innovation through Combining Old Ideas

The author then shifts focus to the concept of combining old ideas in new ways to drive innovation. The example of West Side Story illustrates this principle. Choreographer Jerome Robbins and his collaborators, Leonard Bernstein and Arthur Laurents, wanted to create a new type of musical.

But instead of reinventing the wheel, they mixed existing elements—ballet, opera, jazz, and contemporary theater—into something entirely fresh. Their success didn’t come from creating something completely original, but from juxtaposing familiar ideas in unique ways.

This approach is consistent across various fields. A study of academic papers found that highly creative works were often built on well-known concepts, but they combined them in unconventional ways. Innovation brokers, who connect disparate ideas from different disciplines, play a crucial role in this process.

Whether in science, business, or art, they find creative solutions by crossing boundaries and bringing together diverse concepts.

The Role of Disturbances in Creativity

A surprising lesson from the chapter is the idea that small disturbances—similar to the concept of “intermediate disturbances” in biology—can spark creativity.

Just as nature thrives with moderate disruptions that create space for new species to emerge, human creativity flourishes when there’s some level of tension or disruption.

Too little disturbance and creativity stagnates; too much, and it becomes overwhelming. The right amount of disturbance allows new ideas to take root.

This is particularly evident in the Frozen production process. After some creative tension among the team, they finally found their vision for the movie by embracing the “disturbance” of switching creative control dynamics—appointing a second director and shaking up team roles. This shift allowed the team to break free from their earlier thinking and find the movie’s emotional core.

The Power of Personal Experience

A critical insight from this chapter is that innovation often comes from personal experience.

By drawing on their own emotions, frustrations, and backgrounds, creators can develop ideas that feel authentic and resonate with others. The Frozen team, by channeling their personal experiences of love, fear, and family, were able to craft a movie that felt deeply real, despite being set in a fantastical world.

The movie’s success was grounded in the idea that creativity can be sparked by looking inward and applying those personal insights to the problem at hand.

Key Takeaways

In short, this chapter teaches us that creativity is not magic. It’s a process that can be broken down into steps. Anyone can become an innovation broker by drawing on their experiences and applying them in new contexts. It’s about finding the right balance of tension, trusting your instincts, and using disturbances—big or small—to shift your thinking and unlock new possibilities.

This chapter provides a roadmap for fostering creativity not just in filmmaking, but in all areas of life. By combining existing ideas, embracing tension, and using our personal experiences as creative material, we can all become more innovative.

Innovation often looks like brilliance, but it’s really about connecting the dots differently.

Drawing from the making of Frozen and the story of West Side Story, the chapter shows how breakthroughs happen when people recombine old ideas in fresh ways—especially when they draw from personal experience or different fields.

Innovation is more likely when we’re under pressure or feeling stuck, and when we create the right amount of tension to spark new thinking. The takeaway is that anyone can be creative by being curious, combining ideas, and using disruption as fuel for invention.

Chapter 8 – Absorbing Data

The author explains that turning information into real knowledge requires effort, interaction, and meaning-making.

It’s not enough to just collect data—we need to engage with it in ways that help us understand it deeply.

This chapter tells powerful stories about how schools, companies, and individuals learned to transform raw information into insights that changed outcomes.

The key concept here is disfluency—the idea that making information harder to process at first can actually help us learn more from it.

How South Avondale Turned It Around

The story begins with South Avondale Elementary School in Cincinnati, once one of the worst-performing schools in Ohio. Despite millions of dollars in resources—tutors, tech, dashboards tracking every student’s progress—the school kept failing.

The reason? Teachers weren’t engaging with the data. The dashboards were there, but no one used them.

That changed with the Elementary Initiative (EI). Instead of giving teachers more tools, EI made them interact with the data in a more hands-on way.

Teachers had to write test scores on index cards, group students into piles, draw charts by hand, and track experiments manually. It was tedious. But this forced engagement made the information “stick.” It became meaningful.

Teachers began seeing patterns they hadn’t noticed before. They grouped kids based on who got similar questions wrong, or who lived in the same neighborhood, or who showed specific progress over time. From these patterns, real change began. By 2010–2011, South Avondale’s test scores had skyrocketed.

A school once labeled an “academic emergency” became a model of reform—not because of more data, but because teachers finally understood how to use it.

Why More Data Isn’t Always Better

We’re surrounded by information—calorie counts, steps walked, bank balances, weather predictions, app notifications. But the more we have, the harder it becomes to use any of it effectively. This leads to information blindness—where so much data overwhelms us that we end up ignoring it altogether.

One example in the chapter shows how people enrolled in retirement plans when offered 2 or 25 options. But when offered 60, participation dropped sharply. Too many options created paralysis.

Our brains handle information best when we can break it down into smaller, manageable pieces. This process is called scaffolding, like putting facts into mental folders. We make fast decisions—like which wine to order—by quickly eliminating categories.

But when we don’t know how to begin or can’t organize the data, we freeze.

The author emphasizes that we need to create disfluency—doing something active with the information. That could mean writing things down, drawing charts, asking questions, or running little experiments. This kind of effort helps us retain knowledge and apply it meaningfully.

How a Debt Collection Team Outperformed Everyone Else

The story shifts to Chase Manhattan Bank, where one debt collection team in Tampa was outperforming all others. Their secret? Manager Charlotte Fludd didn’t just feed her team stats—she encouraged them to form hunches, test them, track results, and talk about what worked.

They didn’t just read memos. They ran experiments. Try calling women in the morning. Try reaching lonely customers at dinner. They wrote things down, adjusted strategies, and became more tuned in to subtle signals, like background noise or tone of voice.

Through this process, they became smarter, more aware, and more successful. Even without realizing it, they were applying the scientific method—and it worked.

Teaching with Data (Not Just About It)

Nancy Johnson, a fourth-grade teacher in Cincinnati, described how she ignored data for years because it was overwhelming. But the Elementary Initiative forced her to engage.

At first, she hated the index cards and color-coded piles. But eventually, she started using them to organize her classroom in new ways—grouping students by needs, creating better lesson plans, and catching patterns across classrooms. Her class’s test scores nearly doubled within a year.

This part of the chapter makes a strong case that knowledge doesn’t come from access to information—it comes from interaction with it. Teachers knew their students better, not because of high-tech dashboards, but because they touched and tested the data themselves.

Learning to Think Differently with Systems

The final story is about Delia, a high school student dealing with extreme poverty. She learned how to apply the engineering design process to decisions in her own life—breaking big problems into steps, finding patterns, and testing options.

When her family asked her to babysit full-time, she used what she’d learned in class to evaluate the long-term impact. She realized that helping in the short-term might derail her future, and she found a way to say no. That moment of decision changed her life.

Delia’s story shows how a formal system—like a flowchart—can help us reframe decisions, push past emotion, and access the data in our own experiences. This kind of thinking helped her become valedictorian, win 17 scholarships, and go to college despite enormous challenges.

Why Disfluency Matters

The chapter ends by reinforcing the power of doing something with data. A study found that students who took notes by hand—an inefficient and harder method—learned more than those who typed.

Because they had to slow down and process the material, they retained it better.

That’s the essence of this chapter: If you want to learn something, make it harder.

Engage with the material. Ask questions. Draw it out. Talk it through. Test your assumptions. Learning is not about absorbing—it’s about interacting.

Whether it’s in school, at work, or in life, every choice is an experiment.

And every day is an opportunity to take data and make it real. If we’re willing to slow down and do the work, the lessons will stick—and that’s how real learning happens.

We live in a world overflowing with information, but knowledge only comes when we engage with it actively.

This chapter reveals that true learning happens through disfluency—the effort of doing something with the data, like writing it down, asking questions, or running experiments.

From failing schools to successful debt collection teams, the common thread is that people learn and grow when they slow down and process information meaningfully.

The key insight is simple but powerful: don’t just look at data—work with it. That’s how insights stick and lead to smarter decisions.

4 Key Ideas from Smarter, Faster, Better

6 Main Lessons from Smarter, Faster, Better

My Book Highlights & Quotes

Every choice we make in life is an experiment

The choices that are most powerful in generating motivation, in other words, are decisions that do two things: They convince us we’re in control and they endow our actions with larger meaning

When people believe they are in control, they tend to work harder and push themselves more. They are, on average, more confident and overcome setbacks faster

A sense of control can fuel motivation, but for that drive to produce insights and innovations, people need to know their suggestions won’t be ignored, that their mistakes won’t be held against them. And they need to know that everyone else has their back

People who believe they have authority over themselves often live longer than their peers. This instinct for control is so central to how our brains develop that infants, once they learn to feed themselves, will resist adults’ attempts at control even if submission is more likely to get food into their mouths

No one can predict tomorrow with absolute confidence. But the mistake some people make is trying to avoid making any predictions because their thirst for certainty is so strong and their fear of doubt too overwhelming

Productivity is about recognizing choices that other people often overlook

The act of making a decision, even a small one, can create a sense of engagement or empowerment

Innovation becomes more likely when old ideas are mixed in new ways

Conclusion

Ultimately, Smarter, Faster, Better challenges us to reconsider what productivity truly means. It’s not about cramming our schedules or blindly following routines, but about reshaping our mental habits and focusing our energy in smarter ways.

By learning how to motivate ourselves, build better teams, set meaningful goals, embrace uncertainty, and spark innovation, we gain tools that don’t just boost performance—they transform how we approach life itself.

In a world overloaded with information and endless distractions, this book is a reminder that true productivity starts with clarity, purpose, and the courage to think differently.

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