Friday, January 30, 2009

Book Review: The Vigorous Mind

I've just recently finished reading The Vigorous Mind by Ingrid Cummings as part of the TLC Book Tour.

I was interested in this book because of its connection to Kaizen, which I have had some informal interaction with in the past, working for one of the original Western Kaizen authors and advocates (but that's a whole different post for another day). Kaizen, in a nutshell, is an Eastern philosophy that says, basically, that great changes are accomplished in small steps. If you want to make a great improvement overall, it's the little things you change that will get you there. This resonates with me because big change? I don't embrace big change. The prospect of big change makes me pull the covers up over my head. But baby steps? I can handle that.

I have wholeheartedly embraced the notion of being a Renaissance woman my entire life. (That's code for being slightly ADD and flitting from one hobby or interest to the next.) My problem is, as soon as I get inspired by a pursuit (knitting, for example), I tend to want to specialize in it, be the best at it, devote my life to it and join the craft fair circuit, etc. ... thus going from gaining a general knowledge about something and turning it into a specialization. (Side Note: but then the slight ADD tendencies kick in and I abandon the pursuit for the next shiny object that catches my eye.)

Ingrid classifies people as generalists or specialists. Most of us are, by necessity, specialists in our careers. We learn to do something, then we hone the skill so that we do it well, because making a living may depend on being the best at what we do. Her contention is that if we can "cross train our brains" to be more of a generalist, by knowing a little something about a lot of things, as opposed to knowing "everything" about one thing, we'll have a more vigorous mind, a greater ability to be productive and be the definition of a "well rounded" individual.

Unfortunately, our society really wants us to specialize. My 10-year-old daughter, for example, is involved in the following: violin, concert band, soccer, basketball, volleyball, choir and occasionally drama. I've been told that she's getting "too old" for all of these things and if I want her to be "really good" at anything, she needs to focus on just one pursuit, just one sport. I think this is sad (but true in our society) and I hope that I can encourage her to continue being a Renaissance kid for at least a few more years.

I am amazed at the amount of research the author did in writing this book. She truly practices what she preaches and has an amazingly vast base of knowledge. I would imagine that she is the type of person who can speak to any issue that you throw out at her and would be a lot of fun to grab a drink with and talk about everything from European politics to shoe shopping.

When I received "The Vigorous Mind" as my assigned book, I won't lie. I was a little bit disappointed. Self help? I wanted a murder mystery! But I'm happy to say that I am well rounded enough to appreciate having a little self help tossed into my predominantly fiction reading list and I'm truly glad this book came my way. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking to expand their horizons or shake up their current routine.

Available at Barnes & Noble.

7 comments:

Keetha said...

I am all about the self-help book. I will check this one out.

chiara said...

At my last employer, we had this a "Kaizen Event" thing run by our Six Sigma group that was a whole slew of boring meetings aimed at trying to improve the project we were working on (and none of the project mgrs ever followed through with their action plan).

I would hope this book is not as boring as a Kazien Event.

Cat said...

Shana, I knew I was drawn to you for a reason, and now I know it is our slight ADD that bonds us. Oh, the things I've flitted to and fro from in my lifetime. Maybe this Kazien thing will help me contain some of the ADD while keeping the enthusiasm for learning.

Unknown said...

so glad you liked my book! I myself was slightly . . . what . . . surprised, we'll say, to find myself writing a self-help book. But I was and am so drawn to the generalist/specialist tension and to kaizen, that it just spilled out of my fingertips.

And I do wonder how Six Sigma uses kaizen.

Yours in beneficial ADD,
Ingrid Cummings, author of The Vigorous Mind

Fantastic Forrest said...

Holy Cow! I just read the comments before I posted. So now I have to revise my plans.

I have to confess I didn't click on the TLC Book Tour link. So I wasn't hip to the fact that of course the author knew you were reviewing her book. Now I've backtracked. How cool is that as a way to promote one's book? Icy! Or as Will Ferrell/Chas Michael Michaels would say "What's colder than dry ice? Oksana." It is that cool.

I was going to say you don't need Ingrid to catch a drink with and talk European politics because you could call me. But one of your commenters is Ingrid. So I'll bet she's gonna go drink with you and I'll have to sit home. That is so uncool. It's as uncooler than - oh, never mind.


Keep hugging your Renaissance child and encouraging her to pursue her various interests. It's cool to be Renaissance-y. Oksana cool.

Barrie said...

What a great review! I generally don't read self-help books (not that I don't need them!!). But you've convinced me to check this one out. Thank you for joining in!

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