Want to learn the ideas in Learn Or Die better than ever? Read the world’s #1 book summary of Learn Or Die by Edward Hess here.

Read a brief 1-Page Summary or watch video summaries curated by our expert team. Note: this book guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher or author, and we always encourage you to purchase and read the full book.

Video Summaries of Learn Or Die

We’ve scoured the Internet for the very best videos on Learn Or Die, from high-quality videos summaries to interviews or commentary by Edward Hess.

1-Page Summary of Learn Or Die

Overview

Established business leaders know that learning is a key to success. This means improving and growing your skills, so you can stay ahead of the pack.

It’s important for organizations to keep learning, as that is how they stay ahead of the competition. The author has learned a lot about how people learn, and he will share some of his insights with you in this article.

The following passage was written by an academic who published it on her university website:

A good organization is built on how the human mind works. This book will help you understand your employees and competitors better, as well as yourself. You’ll learn that Toyota deals with employee mistakes by making them feel comfortable, while a firefighter thinks quickly in order to save lives.

Big Idea #1: System 1 thinking says keep the status quo. System 2 thinking says shake it up; we can do better.

We learn through past experiences. When we see dark clouds, for example, we know that it may rain.

Our learning systems are like computer operating systems. We use them to understand the world around us, and over time we develop our own interpretations of that world. Those interpretations become a way for us to interpret new situations or information. However, it takes great effort to change those interpretations because they’re so deeply ingrained in our minds. That’s why it’s important for us to be able to recognize when we’re using our old ways of thinking and then try different approaches in order to learn more effectively.

This mode is called System 1. It’s the voice that keeps you from yelling at people, based on lessons learned as a kid.

System 1 thinking can sometimes lead you to make wrong decisions. For example, when you’re trying to figure out why a competitor’s product is doing better than yours in the market, you need to use System 2 thinking.

The ultimate goal of a learning organization is to overcome System 1 thinking by helping employees learn how to process information.

System 1 thinking is a problem when you’re trying to come up with new ideas. It’s good for basic things, but it can hold you back in business because it won’t let you see opportunities or trends.

System 2 thinking is the opposite of System 1 thinking. It helps you reject automatic responses and consider new options when solving problems. One way to get in the habit of using System 2 thinking is to reflect on how you’ve solved problems during the day. This will help you identify critical moments where System 2 thinking could have helped.

Throughout the process, keep in mind that mistakes are opportunities for learning.

Big Idea #2: Don’t deny your emotions, as they’re necessary for thinking. Spock should not be your hero.

We often think of our minds as separate entities. We believe that we have a rational mind and an emotional mind, but they are not connected. However, thinking is impossible without emotion because the two parts of your brain are closely linked. Star Trek’s Spock might be logical in fiction, but there’s no such thing in reality. In fact, you can’t even think rationally unless you’re feeling something first.

Emotions can affect how you remember things. Gut feelings are more of a mixture of emotions and thoughts.

Your mind, brain and body are all connected. Whatever affects one of them will affect the others as well. When you’re hurt or stressed, for example, it can also affect your ability to think clearly and learn effectively.

It’s not that easy to control your thinking. Some emotions can disrupt thinking, but others enhance it. For example, positive emotions help you learn and improve your brain function by increasing awareness, exploration and creativity. However, managing these emotions is difficult because negative emotions limit comprehension and trigger a fear response in the brain that impedes learning through different perspectives or behaviors.