Mindset: The New Psychology of Success [Book Review]

Last Updated on 29 April 2023

The concept of fixed/growth mindsets is sound, but the arguments for it in this book are stretched too thin at times (like a simple blog post being over-extended into a book). Carol Dweck ended up devoting many pages describing the differences between “fixed mindset” and “growth mindset”, to the extent of attributing almost every corporate failures in the history of business to the fixed mindset of executives. However, to say that Enron's failure was a result of the fixed mindset of its executives is an oversimplification. It's as though Dweck is desperately trying to pin everything down on her theory of mindsets. (Can that be considered a fixed mindset on the part of the author?)

The tone of her writing also sounds remarkably condescending when she discusses her subject matters, as if she cannot tolerate the slightest hint of (perceived) fixed mindset. Just read how she disses John McEnroe in many instances – it's like she has an axe to grind against the former tennis brat.

Stephen Yeo

Proud father of two lovely kids, who at times pushed me to seriously consider editing out the word “lovely” from this sentence. (I am not alone in this.)