The surest route to a happier, more productive life and future Most of us want to succeed. And most of us want to do the right thing. But we often forget that the way tosucceed is by doing the right thing, as Barry Schwartz and Kenneth Sharpe remind us in Practical Wisdom:The Right Way to Do the Right Thing. When the institutions that shape our society need to change, the peoplein them typically either make more rules or offer smarter incentives. But there is a better way, and in thislively and provocative book, Schwartz and Sharpe explore the essential principle of problem solving that cantransform our lives: practical wisdom. A concept that Aristotle identified millennia ago and that new scientific research reveals is as crucial todayas it was in ancient Greece, practical wisdom is the essential human quality that combines the fruits of ourindividual experiences with our empathy and intellect. It’s how we learn to be a good friend or parent or doctoror soldier or citizen or statesman. It’s how we come to understand, as the authors write, “the right way to dothe right thing in a particular circumstance, with a particular person, at a particular time.”In Practical Wisdom, Schwartz and Sharpe explain the importance of wisdom in our daily lives and show howto combat work situations that squeeze it out of our practices. They introduce us to what they call the “cannyoutlaws,” people with the wisdom to work around the calcified conventions of business as usual to achieveinspiring and satisfying results in daily life. And they identify System Changers, people who are building new,more rewarding, and ultimately more effective ways to work. The result is a book that helps us understandthat wisdom is above all a practical idea. What the world needs now is more people with practical wisdom and more institutions that allow them todisplay it. And this is the book to teach us how to identify and cultivate it.
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"Great explanation on how incentives and rules are crowding out wisdom and how wisdom is developed. This book goes beyond the book How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer and explains how we decide to do the right thing. " — Zacho (5 out of 5 stars)
"Great explanation on how incentives and rules are crowding out wisdom and how wisdom is developed. This book goes beyond the book How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer and explains how we decide to do the right thing. "
“Valid, thoughtfulIt’s comforting to know that smart people at Swarthmore worry about such things.”
“This highly recommended and important book offers an antidote to the mistrust that plagues the morale both in the workplace and beyond.”
“What makes this an engrossing (and socially significant) read is not the nod to the ancient Greeks but, rather, the numerous examples of people in all facets of American life who seek wisdom in their professional and personal choices…As surprising as it is convincing, this thoughtful work will long stay with readers, as will the many people who are profiled on its pages.”
“More in-depth and nuanced than most…a call for decency…An earnest, didactic manual on doing the right thing, a topic that remains tricky to teach.”
" Some good ideas, but this could have been a much shorter book. It has the feeling of an overlong PowerPoint presentation or journal article. "
Barry Schwartz is the author of the bestselling book The Paradox of Choice and several other titles in his fields of psychology and sociology. A frequent lecturer at conferences around the world, he is a Dorwin Cartwright Professor at Swarthmore College.
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