TheEndofAverageHowWeSucceedinaWorldTh

Areyouaboveaverage?IsyourchildanAstudent?Isyouremployeeanintrovertoranextrovert?Everydaywearemeasuredagainsttheyardstickofaverages，judgedaccordingtohowcloselywecometoitorhowfarwedeviatefromit.TheassumptionthatmetricscomparingustoanaveragelikeGPAs，personalitytestresults，andperformancereviewratingsrevealsomethingmeaningfulaboutourpotentialissoingrainedinourconsciousnessthatwedon’tevenquestionit.Thatassumption，saysHarvard’sToddRose，isspectacularlyandscientificallywrong.InTheEndofAverage，Rose，arisingstarinthenewfieldofthescienceoftheindividualshowsthatnooneisaverage.Notyou.Notyourkids.Notyouremployees.Thisisn’thollowsloganeeringit’samathematicalfactwithenormouspracticalconsequences.Butwhileweknowpeoplelearnanddevelopindistinctiveways，theseuniquepatternsofbehaviorsarelostinourschoolsandbusinesseswhichhavebeendesignedaroundthemythicalaverageperson.Thisaverage-size-fits-allmodelignoresourdifferencesandfailsatrecognizingtalent.It’stimetochangeit.Weavingscience，history，andhispersonalexperiencesasahighschooldropout，Roseoffersapowerfulalternativetounderstandingindividualsthroughaverages：thethreeprinciplesofindividuality.Thejaggednessprinciple(talentisalwaysjagged)，thecontextprinciple(traitsareamyth)，andthepathwaysprinciple(weallwalktheroadlesstraveled)helpusunderstandourtrueuniquenessandthatofothersandhowtotakefulladvantageofindividualitytogainanedgeinlife.ReadthispowerfulmanifestointheranksofDrive，Quiet，andMindsetandyouwon’tseeaveragesortalentinthesamewayagain.