Get Better at Anything: 12 Maxims for Mastery

Scott H. Young. Harper Business, $32 (288p) ISBN 978-0-06-325667-5

Young (Ultralearning) presents advice on how readers can better pick up new skills in this competent manual. The core of the process involves observation, practice, and feedback, he contends, outlining how to approach each step. “Creativity begins with copying,” Young posits, explaining that Italian Renaissance painters learned their trade through apprenticeships in which they imitated a master’s techniques. To that end, Young recommends readers study “the methods of those who came before us.” Noting that Thomas Edison patented 1,093 inventions in his lifetime, he argues that “the world’s most successful scientists, artists, and innovators are also the most prolific.” To boost one’s output, he encourages streamlining production by routinizing noncreative aspects of the process (a scientist might develop a system “for writing grants and submitting papers” so she can “devote more time to her lab work”). Young’s intention to show how to improve at any conceivable skill keeps the guidance relatively broad, but it’s not always broad enough. For instance, it’s not clear how someone learning to paint would benefit from the suggestion to rely on statistical models, rather than intuition, to make decisions. Still, Young brings a generalist’s flair, providing wideranging discussions on what counting cards in poker, overcoming writer’s block, and improvising jazz solos can teach readers about learning. The result is a worthy complement to Adam Grant’s Hidden Potential. Agent: Laurie Abkemeier, DeFiore & Co. (May)