The Attributes

25 Hidden Drivers of Optimal Performance

By: Rich Diviney

Narrated by: Rich Diviney

Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's Summary

Do you have what it takes to succeed in any situation? According to a retired commander who ran training for Navy SEALs, true optimal performance goes beyond just skill. It’s all about The Attributes.

“Diviney’s incredible book explains why some people thrive - even when things get hard.” (Charles Duhigg, New York Times best-selling author of The Power of Habit) 

During his 20 years as a Navy officer and SEAL, Rich Diviney was intimately involved in a specialized SEAL selection process, which whittled a group of hundreds of extraordinary candidates down to a handful of the most elite performers. Diviney was often surprised by which candidates washed out and which succeeded. Some could have all the right skills and still fail, while others he might have initially dismissed would prove to be top performers. The seemingly objective criteria weren’t telling him what he most needed to know: Who would succeed in one of the world’s toughest military assignments? 

It is similarly hard to predict success in the real world. It happens often enough that underdog students accomplish exceptional achievements while highly skilled, motivated employees fail to meet expectations. Dark-horse companies pull away from the pack while dream teams flush with talent and capital go under. In working with and selecting top special operators for decades, Diviney saw that beneath obvious skills are hidden drivers of performance, surprising core attributes - including cunning, adaptability, courage, even narcissism - that determine how resilient or perseverant we are, how situationally aware and how conscientious. These attributes explain how we perform as individuals and as part of a team. The same methodology that Diviney used in the military can be applied by anyone in their personal and professional lives, and understanding these attributes can allow listeners and their teams to perform optimally, at any time, in any situation. 

Diviney defines the core attributes in fresh and practical ways and shares stories from the military, business, sports, relationships, and even parenting to show how understanding your own attributes and those of the people around you can create optimal performance in all areas of your life. 

©2021 Rich Diviney (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic Reviews

“So much of what I know about trust I learned from Rich Diviney. I’m so glad he wrote The Attributes. It’s the go-to reference for anyone looking to improve the quality of trust and performance across their team.” (Simon Sinek, optimist and New York Times best-selling author of Start with Why and The Infinite Game)

“What is greatness made of? How do you grow into the best version of yourself? Many have explored these questions, and none have succeeded in answering them as brilliantly as Diviney in this terrific, perspective-shifting book. The Attributes provides a powerful new model for achieving high performance - and, even better, a tool kit for reflection, assessment, and continual improvement. If you care about getting better, you need to buy this book.” (Daniel Coyle, New York Times best selling author of The Culture Code)

“If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that things can go sideways at any moment. Diviney’s incredible book, The Attributes, explains why some people thrive - even when things get hard. It’s about where grit, mental agility, drive, and leadership come from. Mastering skills on its own doesn’t deliver success. Understanding how to cultivate your attributes is the key.” (Charles Duhigg, New York Times best-selling author of The Power of Habit)

Understand your skills

There is more than meets the eye when looking for people to perform at work. Learn the attributes and how to develop them to achieve optimal performance.

Go Out and Perform Optimally

Rich Diviney does a wonderful job explaining the 25 attributes and how they differ from skills. A must read!

Grit meets Science

Excellent narration by the author. Stories are well told and relevant. Content is in depth but accessible and useful to anyone with an interest in understanding self and others. Diviney’s work with Andrew Huberman helps make this book more than just another book written by highly trained and accomplished SEAL. Thankfully absent are inspirational slogans / “just do it” messaging yet the message is both inspirational and motivational. This is my new gift-for-everyone book!

Great framework for analysing individuals and team

I think the analysis of underlying attributes or character traits is great. I need to interact with the material more in order to fully understand and implement into my life. I'm going to complete the trait assessments on the website and I might do better with a hardcopy of the text for visual reference.

Much more than Vet leadership book

Rich uses his stories as a Navy seal, as a dad, as a husband, as a researcher, and as a human to connect with the reader. I was drawn into the book and forgot that I was actually developing myself while listening to his stories. This is a must read for anyone working in a team.

really good!

So much to unpack and learn from here. Looking at myself a little different. Love the way the information is presented and the fixes if you find you need them.

Unexpected Diamond

There are a lot of books that want to tell us what to do and what to be cautious about when leading others or even ourselves. Most of those books focus on specific situations and scenarios. The Attributes by Rich Diviney gives us tools to handle ANY scenario. Instead of a magnifying glass focused on specific ways we interact, this book reveals hidden drivers of WHY we behave in those ways (and why others may behave differently). I would highly recommend this book for any leader of an organization or even the everyday person who wants to understand their behaviors on a deeper level and how to use a “dimmer switch” to engage the attributes they possess up or down.

This book may speak more to certain personality types, the stories may not relate to all, but if you can understand the goal of revealing greater insight into our behaviors it is well worth the read!

Amazing book, new information

I read lots of books, and thankfully I found Rich on Ed Myletts podcast. I’ve shared this book with many of my friends. If you are a Goggins or Jocko fan this is different information closer to science based if you will.

Anyways thanks Rich for making this book. Read it at the perfect time in life

Excellent book

Well researched and written. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in becoming a better leader and/or building a high performing team!

A must read

Excellent! I wish I had this when I became a Registered Nurse in 1969. Referred it yo both of my adult daughters