Decoding Greatness

How the Best in the World Reverse Engineer Success

By: Ron Friedman

Narrated by: Ron Friedman

National Bestseller

For readers of Outliers, Atomic Habits, and Deep Work, comes a game-changing approach to unlocking your greatness, using a secret strategy that’s vaulted business titans and creative geniuses to the top of their profession.

We’ve long been taught there are two ways to succeed—either talent or practice. In Decoding Greatness, award-winning social psychologist Ron Friedman illuminates a powerful third path—one that has launched icons in a wide range of fields, from artists, writers, and chefs, to athletes, inventors, and entrepreneurs: reverse engineering.

To reverse engineer is to look beyond what is evident on the surface and find a hidden structure. It’s the ability to taste an intoxicating dish and deduce its recipe, to listen to a beautiful song and discern its chord progression, to watch your favorite film and grasp its narrative arc.

“Clear, concise, and backed by science” (Daniel Pink, author of When), Decoding Greatness marries “alluring stories and illuminating studies” (Adam Grant, author of Think Again) of top performers—from Agatha Christie to Andy Warhol, Barack Obama, to Serena Williams—with groundbreaking research on pattern recognition and skill acquisition. You’ll learn how to take apart acheivements you admire, pinpoint precisely what makes them work, and apply that knowledge to develop novel ideas and products that are uniquely your own.

Bursting with unforgettable stories and actionable strategies, Decoding Greatness is an indispensable guide to learning from the best, upgrading your skills, and sparking breakthrough ideas.

Critic reviews

"Author/narrator Ron Friedman draws from music, cuisine, writing, sports, politics, art, and business to decode success stories and draw signifcant lessons from them. Listeners are provided with actionable tools to apply to their own circumstances, including a pdf with outlines of steps referred to in the audiobook. Friedman's fast-paced, enthusiastic narration will keep listeners totally engaged throughout this treasure trove of "aha moments." Listeners might conclude that in writing and performing this outstanding audiobook, Friedman demonstrates the very tools he recommends."

Pattern recognition and unpacking great ideas are super powers

Admittedly I read this with others who found it dry and hard to get into. The concept of pattern recognition and living between ability and vision spoke to me powerfully. The author is passionate about the topic and his enthusiasm shines through. This is a brilliant how to book when it comes to personal growth and those who are driven to deep dive into ideas. It was a delicious and fascinating read.

Being GREATful to be great!

In each of the examples were stories of people who appreciated the opportunity to practice and present what they enjoyed doing.

Excellent book for anyone who wants to be great

As a full time performance neurology coach, I really appreciated this book...I got so hooked on it that I started the book a few nights ago and ended up buying the audiobook so I could keep “reading” while driving for a few hours the next day.

There are very few books that have taken this approach of reverse engineering greatness and simplifying the neurology, psychology, and physiology to where anyone can appreciate, digest, and immediately apply the lessons.

Applicable across disciplines

I think anybody in any industry can use this book book to help overcome performance obstacles.
I also think the stories used to demonstrate principles make the topics palatable And the skills transferable.
I think if I use this method to assist someone who works for me with a perceived deficiency the hardest part would be connecting them with good good examples that they can model

Fantastic!!!

Makes one of the top spots on my best ever list. it was perfect.