Unsafe Thinking

About the Author

Jonah Sachs is an accomplished author, speaker, and pioneer in the field of viral marketing. His innovative approaches to digital media have played a significant role in the values revolution of the 21st century, bringing social change ideals to the forefront of business and popular culture. Sachs is also known for his previous book, "Winning the Story Wars," and his work has been featured in prestigious outlets such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, FOX News, the Sundance Film Festival, NPR, and Fast Company.

Main Idea

"Unsafe Thinking: How to Be Nimble and Bold When You Need It Most" by Jonah Sachs challenges the notion of safe, conventional thinking, especially in a world that is constantly changing. Through compelling stories of trailblazers in various fields and decades of research on creativity and performance, Sachs provides insights on how to break out of the "safe thinking cycle" and embrace a more creative, high-performance approach to both work and life. The book emphasizes the importance of stepping out of comfort zones to achieve breakthroughs, recognizing and overcoming deep expertise blind spots, leveraging anxiety as a creative fuel, and fostering environments that embrace intelligent risks.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Mastering Motivation: How to Energize Yourself and Others to Stay on the Edge
3. Finding Your Source: Why We Need to Love the Challenges We Face
4. Unsafety in Numbers: How to Break Consensus and Infect Others with the Confidence to Take Risks
5. Rewarding the Nonobvious: How the Right Incentives Fuel Breakthrough Creative Teams
6. The Explorer’s Edge: How to Pursue Expertise Without Falling into the Expert’s Trap
7. Ego and Urgency: How to Tame the Urges That Keep Us From Exploring
8. The Safe Thinking Cycle: Why We Stick to Our Guns When We Know We Shouldn’t
9. Fear as Fuel: How to Embrace Anxiety and Break the Safe Thinking Cycle
10. When Wrong Is Right: Why Being Creative Means Sometimes Bending (or Breaking) the Rules
11. Creating With the Enemy: Why We Need Friends Who Look Like Foes
12. Conclusion

Introduction

In "Unsafe Thinking," Jonah Sachs sets the stage by explaining how humans are inherently creatures of habit, programmed by evolution to prefer the safe and familiar. This evolutionary bias, however, no longer serves us well in a rapidly changing world. Instead, safe thinking has become a dangerous trap. Sachs uses the term "unsafe thinking" to describe the ability to meet challenges with a willingness to depart from standard operating procedures, confront anxiety, tolerate criticism, take intelligent risks, and refute conventional wisdom to achieve breakthroughs.

Mastering Motivation: How to Energize Yourself and Others to Stay on the Edge

Motivation is a complex mix of intrinsic and extrinsic factors. While intrinsic motivation—doing something for its own sake—is often seen as the key to creativity and perseverance, extrinsic motivators like rewards and recognition also play a role. Jonah Sachs argues that when used wisely, extrinsic rewards can enhance intrinsic motivation rather than undermine it.

"When we understand that the two types of motivation and rewards are offered in an upfront way that doesn’t feel manipulative, we can make choices about how we respond to rewards. We come to treat them as fun, enjoyable bonuses rather than tools of control." - Jonah Sachs

Sachs gives the example of Intuit's "Unstructured Time" reward for top innovators, where high-performing employees receive significant chunks of time to explore their passions, blending intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to amplify energy and commitment.

Finding Your Source: Why We Need to Love the Challenges We Face

Intrinsic motivation often springs from what psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls "flow," a state of heightened focus, creativity, and determination that occurs when the level of challenge just barely exceeds the level of skill. Flow is achieved through clear goals, consistent feedback, and matching skills to challenges.