Cultures of Growth: How the New Science of Mindset Can Transform Individuals, Teams, and Organizations by Mary C. Murphy
Cultures of Growth
Subtitle: How the New Science of Mindset Can Transform Individuals, Teams, and Organizations
Author: Mary C. Murphy
Genre: Business, Leadership, Nonfiction
Format: Physical ARC from Publisher (Simon & Schuster)
Publish Date: March 2024
Read: March 2024
Favorite Quote: Companies are often faced with a predicament about whether to play it safe and maximize their resources (known as exploitation) or look to new products, areas, or partnerships for growth (known as exploration).
Synopsis: In Cultures of Growth, Mary C. Murphy explores how an organization’s culture influences the mindset of its individual employees. Murphy’s mentor, Carol Dweck, authored the 2006 book Mindset to help illustrate how people can shape their realities through how they approach challenges and opportunities. Murphy extends this research by examining how companies foster learning and taking on challenges (Culture of Growth) or how companies discourage failure and challenges (Culture of Genius).
The book is easy to read, and Murphy shares many anecdotes from her time consulting with worldwide firms. I believe this book will be the beginning of more like this and, hopefully, a follow-up with more research and data behind the anecdotes.
Why does this book beguile? I was so excited to receive Cultures of Growth from Simon & Schuster as an advanced reader copy - this is exactly the type of business/leadership book that I love. Mindset by Carol Dweck (and the author’s mentor) uses great science and research to back up how people’s mindset can affect their reality. Cultures of Growth goes a step further: rather than placing the onus exclusively on the individual, this book looks at the external forces that help shape our mindset depending on circumstances.
I read many books in this genre, and I liked this book, but I didn’t love it. The first 25% - 50% is excellent, then the knowledge tapers off, and you read more examples of the author’s work with other companies. This is a good book for any employee of a company looking to make a positive impact on their organization’s culture.
Rating: 4/5
If you’re interested in this, read*: Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown