Smarter Faster Better

The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business

By: Charles Duhigg

Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain

Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's Summary

New York Times best seller

From the author of The Power of Habit comes a fascinating book that explores the science of productivity, and why managing how you think is more important than what you think - with an appendix of real-world lessons to apply to your life. At the core of Smarter Faster Better are eight key productivity concepts - from motivation and goal setting to focus and decision making - that explain why some people and companies get so much done. 

Drawing on the latest findings in neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral economics - as well as the experiences of CEOs, educational reformers, four-star generals, FBI agents, airplane pilots, and Broadway songwriters - this painstakingly researched book explains that the most productive people, companies, and organizations don’t merely act differently. They view the world, and their choices, in profoundly different ways.

A young woman drops out of a PhD program and starts playing poker. By training herself to envision contradictory futures, she learns to anticipate her opponents’ missteps - and becomes one of the most successful players in the world. A group of data scientists at Google embark on a four-year study of how the best teams function, and find that how a group interacts is more important than who is in the group - a principle, it turns out, that also helps explain why Saturday Night Live became a hit. A Marine Corps general, faced with low morale among recruits, reimagines boot camp - and discovers that instilling a “bias toward action” can turn even the most directionless teenagers into self-motivating achievers.

The filmmakers behind Disney’s Frozen are nearly out of time and on the brink of catastrophe - until they shake up their team in just the right way, spurring a creative breakthrough that leads to one of the highest-grossing movies of all time. What do these people have in common? They know that productivity relies on making certain choices.

The way we frame our daily decisions; the big ambitions we embrace and the easy goals we ignore; the cultures we establish as leaders to drive innovation; the way we interact with data: These are the things that separate the merely busy from the genuinely productive. In The Power of Habit, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charles Duhigg explained why we do what we do. 

In Smarter Faster Better, he applies the same relentless curiosity, deep reporting, and rich storytelling to explain how we can improve at the things we do. It’s a groundbreaking exploration of the science of productivity, one that can help anyone learn to succeed with less stress and struggle, and to get more done without sacrificing what we care about most - to become smarter, faster, and better at everything we do.

©2015 Charles Duhigg (P)2015 Random House Audio

Read the last chapter first

The book provided useful information on being productive. However, it's not structured well so that the reader can easily grasp the concepts. The chapters start with long narratives sometimes leading to a point, sometimes not. It may diverge into another narrative before finally making a point. It's best to read the last chapter to get a summary of the key concepts and then start at the beginning of the book. I was disappointed with one chapter about SMART goals. That concept has been around for decades, and there are plenty of books about goal setting.

Good but could be better

This book has a lot of useful insights and examples that can improve individual and team effectiveness in many situations. It's written in the typical style that journalists use, (the Malcolm Gladwell approach) and so it's engaging, interesting, at times even riveting. Where I think it falls short is in the application department. There is a short chapter at the end where the author briefly explains how he applied what he learned writing the book to how he actually works. Mostly, the listener is left to work out the application of the principles for themselves. This would have been a much more effective book if the author had paused at the end of each chapter and taken the time to suggest how the principle covered in the chapter could be applied to individuals and teams with practical examples instead of story examples.

I think it's worth a read and full of useful material, but I feel that the author failed to complete the last lap.

Worth every penny

I liked Charles Duhigg's first book, so I read this second one with enthusiasm. What called my attention is that the book is very practical and useful.
What worked for him, to write this book, works for virtually everyone.
Here are his key concepts to become more productive and work smarter, faster and better:
First: prove to yourself you are in control (when answering to e-mails, write short sentences then fill in).
Second- ask Why you are doing this (marines)- affirmations of our deeper values and goals.
Third- two kinds of aims: stretch goals (to spark big ambitions) and a smart goal - to form a concrete plan- write to do lists with overarching ambitions and subgoals (plans) and timeline- did you do in a week what you planned? If not, change plans
Fourth- maintain focus- what to expect to see (envision once a week or every day)- mental model of what to ignore or go after (a story inside his head)
Fith: decision making, when confronted with the unexpected- envision multiple futures beforehand- wiser decisions

Definitely a great book, worthy of listening to.

Long and drawn out

I really wanted to enjoy this book as the premise was initially very interesting: How to be Smarter, Faster, Better. With this genre of book, however, it's really important to cite interesting stories and examples, then provide actionable insights into how to apply the information we've just been given. This didn't end up happening until the appendix, which was the most interesting part of this book. With the exception of one or two eyebrow raising moments, most of the book dragged on. I found myself rolling my eyes after listening to what seemed like the same paragraph rephrased over and over. I know the author was trying to go for a Malcolm Gladwell type of book but it just wasn't as well written nor was the content that interesting.

The performance of the narrator was very clear, but felt that he wasn't being absorbed by the content either, resulting in dis-engaged, robotic storytelling.

Just a bunch of anecdotes, very little help

Any additional comments?

This book is just a string of anecdotes about people who are smarter, faster, better, but does very little to try to extract what makes them so and help you apply it in your life. It says "x people do x thing," as summary, then moves on to another really long and boring anecdote about jet pilots or CEOS or trainers of cross-eyed dolphins (made that last one up). I'm still as dumb, slow, and mediocre as I was before I listened to this one, sadly.

A disappointing follow-up to "Habits"

Was really hoping for a continuation to his book on habits but this just did not deliver for me. The stories were entertaining but at times all over the place making it difficult to actually ascertain the point. Did not take as much away from this book as I expected, hence the disappointment.

The appendix pulls the 8 themes together

Enjoyed the format of dramatic stories to explain the individual themes. The appendix pulls the eight themes together into an actionable strategy.

Not as insightful as 'power of habit'

Duhigg is a great writer, but this book did not fascinate me like his previous one. Some of the stories are interesting, but overall I am less impressed.
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No Takeaway

Lengthy stories with no clear sense of direction and no memorable takeaway. I don't feel like I have any clear sense of how to be ' better, faster, smarter.' Why did I listen all the way to the end?

Better than the First

Found this book was much more useful, than "The Power of Habit," when it came to describing how to get things done.