The World's Best Book Summaries
What is mastery? What roles do experience, intuition, and practice play when it comes to mastering a discipline? Robert Greene describes mastery as creative power and excellence that shows you’ve fully grasped your discipline. It involves technical proficiency and social know-how. He believes that you achieve mastery when you bring those skills together with reason, intuition, and experience. Here’s Greene’s take on what mastery means.
What’s Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s social contract theory? How is it different from the social contract theories of other philosophers? Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s theory of the social contract is similar to theories used by other enlightenment scholars such as Thomas Hobbes (Leviathan) and John Locke (Two Treatises of Government). However, there are a few major differences that determine each philosopher’s conclusion as to what makes a state legitimate. Keep reading to learn about Rousseau’s social contract theory and how it’s different.
What does organizational culture mean? It is something the employees say or something they do? The title of the book, What You Do Is Who You Are, stresses that actions define a culture. Author Ben Horowitz explains how leaders shape organizational culture, and he offers insights into what culture is not. Keep reading to understand Horowitz’s definition of organizational culture.
What’s the path to excellence? What are the different levels of mastery? In Mastery, Robert Greene argues that there is a clear path anyone can follow to achieve mastery, the highest level of creative excellence. He explains the three levels of mastery, and he argues that pursuing it yields a fulfilling life and great creative power. Keep reading to learn about these three levels of mastery.
How has the book What You Do Is Who You Are been received? What’s the book’s context and approach? What You Do Is Who You Are, published in 2019 by HarperCollins Publishers, is an exploration of four unique historical models of leaders who designed successful cultures that supported their vision and strategy. Author Ben Horowitz extracts techniques that modern-day leaders can apply to their own culture-building. Keep reading for a What You Do Is Who You Are review.
How should we understand the “state of nature” in the context of political philosophy? What was Rousseau’s view on the subject? In a state of nature, people live according to the laws of human nature, especially the law of self-preservation. In his classic work The Social Contract, Jean-Jacques Rousseau discusses the state of nature in the context of society and the state. Read more to understand Rousseau on the state of nature.
What are some of the best quotes from the book Mastery? What can you apply to your own life to become a master in your discipline? In Mastery, Robert Greene, famous for The 48 Laws of Power, argues that there is a clear path anyone can follow to achieve mastery, the highest level of creative excellence. He explains the three stages of mastery, and he argues that pursuing it yields a fulfilling life and great creative power. Here are a few Mastery quotes that will give you insight into the book’s principles and inspire you to excellence.
What’s an intentional culture? What can you learn from historical cultures to apply to your own workplace? Ben Horowitz’s What You Do Is Who You Are argues that culture is the way employees make decisions and act based on their perception of underlying premises and shared beliefs. Culture derives from what leaders state explicitly and also what they enforce implicitly by example and through the organization’s incentive structure. Leaders’ actions and messaging inform employees’ behavior. Therefore, Horowitz argues that it’s important to be intentional about the culture you’re designing. If you’re not intentional in shaping your culture, your employees will
What are the principles put forth in the book Mastery? What can you apply to your life to become a master in your field? Mastery is a self-help guide that describes the path to intellectual and creative excellence. Robert Greene explains how to achieve such mastery in three stages, and he argues that pursuing it yields a fulfilling life and great creative power. Here’s an overview of Mastery by Greene.
Can there be a legitimate society? If so, what would it look like? These are the questions that Jean-Jacques Rousseau attempts to answer in The Social Contract. In this classic work, the 18th-century Swiss philosopher discusses political legitimacy, or the ethical right to exercise political authority by creating and enforcing laws. Continue reading for a brief overview of The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau.