The Growth Mindset

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t—you’re right.”

- Henry Ford

Lee Iacocca got sick. The one-time head of Chrysler Motors initially turned the company around but then caught the dreaded CEO disease.

Under his leadership, the company released minor variations of last years’ car models that nobody bought. Japanese manufacturers clobbered them.

The right prescription for Iacocca was an innovation. Instead, he surrounded himself with sycophants and fired critics. He and Chrysler stopped growing.

This behavior is a textbook example of what Stanford University professor Carol Dweck calls a “fixed mindset.”

As a young researcher, Dr. Dweck was obsessed with knowing why some people cope with failure and others don’t. Like any good researcher, she experimented on 10-year-olds, giving them tough challenges to solve.

Most buckled, but some licked their chops, saying, “I love a good challenge.” What was up with those weirdos?

What did these outlier kids have that Lee Iacocca lacked?

The short version: They had adopted a “growth mindset.”