University of Minnesota - (CEMBA) UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Remarkable
Book

Remarkable

Proven Insights to Accelerate Your Career

David Kronfeld
Matt Holt Books, 2021
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Editorial Rating

6

getAbstract Rating

  • Analytical
  • Applicable
  • For Beginners

Recommendation

Blindly accepting common wisdom and working hard won’t get you ahead in the business world. The key lies in the details: learning to see what others miss. Wharton School MBA holder and business consultant David Kronfeld argues that honing your insightfulness – appreciating the nuances and subtleties of situations – will bring you more career success than any other skill. His guide breaks down how to look at problems with a keener eye and to use what others overlook to your advantage. Though some may find his tone a bit patronizing, Kronfield successfully shows the merits of thinking differently. 

Summary

Look for subtle nuances in the challenges you face.

When you strengthen your ability to observe subtleties, you can cultivate more success in your career. Learning to pay attention to and seek out the most relevant – rather than just the most obvious – factors affecting the challenges you face, will allow you to begin to make decisions based on sound logic and facts, and, therefore, to excel.

While most understand the concept of “insightfulness” and can identify it when they see it, people often find it difficult to explain how it works. However, you can break down the path of insight into four steps:

  1. Understand which specific obstacles to overcome – For example, your boss asks you to increase brand awareness. The vagueness of this statement makes determining which exact steps to take unclear. To help discern the true obstacles to overcome, ask yourself if the stated goal allows you to lay out clearly defined actions that will lead to a solution; if not, dig deeper.
  2. Break the problem down into manageable steps – 

About the Author

Author David Kronfeld is a Wharton MBA graduate and consultant.

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