Smarts: Are We Hardwired For Success?

Author: Chuck Martin

Reviewed by Andrew Clancy, Senior Editor
Soundview Executive Book Summaries

When was the last time a business book told its readers, "You aren’t perfect"? While there may be a number of books that make this claim at some point, the majority do all but imply that a quick turn of the page can erase any fault that prevents unattained success. Many authors churn out tome after tome of what amount to "Do It Yourself" repair kits for the reader’s career path. What separates Chuck Martin’s Smarts: Are We Hardwired For Success? from the competition is its argument that there are certain imperfections that cannot be corrected. In fact, trying to do so is a complete waste of your time.

Co-authored with Peg Dawson and Richard Guare, psychologists from the New Hampshire-based Center for Learning and Attention Disorders, Martin brings a level of efficiency to the task of self-improvement. All too often people are seeking the human equivalent of what is referred to in the automotive world as a "frame up" restoration. Smarts makes the distinction that it is not beneficial for individuals to take their behavioral processes down to the bare bones for the sake of making improvements. This is due in large part to the way in which the mind develops over the course of a person’s life. Everyone is aware of the incredible capacity of the brain to accumulate information during an individual’s formative years. What is often neglected is the brevity of time during which this window is open. In a few short years of adolescence, many of the tendencies that will dictate a person’s success in the work environment are developed and solidified.

Martin refers to this key set of behaviors as "Executive Skills." It is important for readers to note that although Smarts is indeed a business book, its use of the word "executive" differs from its use in other media, such as the title of this review, for instance. "These skills are called Executive Skills," Martin writes, "because they help you execute tasks. Executive Skills help you make decisions about what information you should focus on — both what’s worth dealing with and what should be ignored — and they help you independently manage your own behavior."

There are 12 skills discussed in Smarts, each of which can be deemed essential to continued success in the workplace. Martin’s core argument revolves around the notion that no individual can be the master of all 12 skills. Therefore, the reader’s challenge is to identify which of the 12 skills are his or her best and which one or two skills are the person’s absolute worst. From here, Smarts helps readers to match themselves to tasks that maximize the skills they deem their best. Martin admits that looking to promote a person’s strengths while downplaying his or her weaknesses goes against the philosophy of most corporate psychologists. Generally, the formula for improvement is to improve one’s weaknesses while continuing to rely on one’s strengths. Smarts turns the tables by helping workers and their employers get the most out of the employee. Rather than putting a person in a static position and forcing him or her to struggle with matching skill sets to job description, Martin argues that a worker should be matched to tasks that require the very best of his or her Executive Skills.

Smarts goes even further to overturn accepted business logic when it comes to its approach to weaknesses. While working on the one or two executive skills deemed weakest is a mission given to readers, Martin reminds them to not work too hard on the task. He argues that it is virtually impossible to change the worst of our hardwired Executive Skills. "Otherwise," he notes, "you’ll be spending much time on effortful tasks — your weaknesses — and losing sight of using and leveraging your greatest strengths, the real opportunity." Martin’s suggestions may lead some to brand his philosophies "lazy," but in truth, his advice is time-saving and reduces a great deal of the busy work that frustrates readers of other business titles.

The book requires a great deal of honesty on the part of the reader for Smarts to be truly effective. The self-evaluations required to complete the book force readers to be forthright about their weaknesses. However, the results are too important for pride to get in the way. Executives will find the book particularly useful because of its two-fold recommendations for maximizing personal performance as well as targeting employees strengths for company-wide success. By the conclusion of Smarts, readers will be grateful to Martin for freeing them from the fruitless labor of poor self-improvement techniques. Never before have so many been so glad to be so imperfect.

Smarts: Are We Hardwired For Success? by Chuck Martin is published by AMACOM. It is under consideration by Soundview Executive Book Summaries. If you'd like to subscribe to Soundview Executive Book Summaries, please click here.

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