Quiet

Sean Tsang leant me a book written by Susan Cain titled Quiet:  The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.  The book was a quick read that captured and held my attention to the end.  Susan Cain discusses how the culture in the US has evolved to value extroverts at the expense of what introverts bring to the table.

Because the extrovert is more outspoken, he or she often overshadows any unique and important contributions introverts attempt to make.  The housing bubble that burst in the last ten years is a great example.  Banks valued employees who were willing to take big risks and promoted those individuals over the introverts who tried to caution their employers against such risky decisions to the point where extroverts willing to take big risks basically exclusively held all management positions.

That is contrasted by a few rare examples of companies led by introverts that flourished during the crash of 2008, one of which was Seth Klarman, president of a hedge fund called Baupost Group.  He is an introvert that is known for being more conservative than the others but still outperforming other companies.  This was true even more so after the economic downturn in our country of the late 2000s.

Susan Cain strongly advocates for introverts who are needed to balance the extroverts that dominate our culture.  She also argues that in certain situations introverts can be a stronger leader than an extrovert (in other situations an extrovert would be more successful).

Another topic Ms. Cain discusses is collaborative work, which really hit home as a former teacher who was educated in the importance of collaborative learning.  Collaborative work online has been highly successful.  Some examples include the development of Linux and Wikepedia.  Because of their success, we have tried to bring that to face-to-face work which has not been very successful.  Introverts are less likely to feel comfortable contributing in a large group and thus less likely to get their often very good ideas heard.

Furthermore, in general, creative work is most efficiently and successfully done independently with no/less distractions, irregardless of whether the individual is an introvert or an extrovert.  Brainstorming sessions are not good sources of good ideas.  Studies show that a system where individuals work independently and submit their ideas online results in significantly more and better contributions.

That is not to say collaborative work should never be done but perhaps it should include independent portions and especially when it includes introverts, should be done in small groups of 2 or 3 where an introvert will feel more comfortable contributing.  I wish I had read this book while I was a teacher as I would have integrated collaborative learning into my classroom in a way that would have better reached all of my students.

One take-away from the book is that even though we can't change whether we are an introvert or an extrovert we can make small changes for specific situations where it would be beneficial to be more introverted or extroverted.  So there are times an introvert should push him or herself to be a little more extroverted to get an important idea across or to give a speech on a topic that is important to the speaker.  And there are times an extrovert should sit back and listen a little more and talk a little less so that an important contribution or point isn't missed or too risky of a decision isn't made.

Introverts play an important role and we need to find ways to ensure that they are not overshadowed by extroverts.  Susan Cain writes, "Without introverts, the world would be devoid of:
the theory of gravity
the theory of relativity
Yeats's "The Second Coming"
Chipin's nocturnes
Proust's In Search of Lost Time
Peter Pan
Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm
The Cat in the Hat
Charlie Brown
Schindler's List, E.T., and Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Google
Harry Potter"

I recommend this book for introverts and extroverts alike.  It will help the reader better understand their own personality as well as the opposite personality and how to achieve a better balance in interacting with others.

Nicolas Spark's memoir

I realize this isn't all that related to the focus of my blog but I felt the need to share this book with all my readers. I just finished Three Weeks with My Brother written by Nicolas and Micah Sparks.  The title of this post is linked to the book's description on Nicolas Spark's website.  This was a book that I could not put down because it was written in a way that made you become a part of the Sparks family.  It showed the challenges faced by the Sparks and how they overcame them and how those challenges affected the people they became.  The book is also full of life's lessons and a reminder that we should live each day to it's fullest and seek balance in our lives.  I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

The Spanish Bow by Andromeda Romano-Lax

I just finished reading The Spanish Bow by Andromeda Romano-Lax (title linked to the author's website) and I enjoyed it so much I felt I should blog about it. In this book we follow the life of a fictional cello player in Europe who lived during both World Wars and the Spanish Civil War in between. The historical details this author incorporates along with well developed characters make the story so real that I sometimes forgot I was reading a book of fiction.