The new book from today’s guest is one of my favorite to come along in a while. I honestly had no idea I would enjoy it as much as I did.

It wasn’t until after I’d read Smartcuts: How Hackers, Innovators and Icons Accelerate Success, the first but most certainly not the last book from Shane Snow, that I realized I was far from alone. Bestselling author Adam Grant calls it, “One of the most entertaining and thought-provoking books of the year.”

David Carr of the New York Times calls Shane, “A clear, beautiful writer who does not succumb to aphorism and business gobbledygook.”

In short, this is a narrative adventure that bucks common sense about success. Like computer hackers, a handful of innovators in every era use lateral thinking to find better routes to stunning accomplishments. Shane tells the stories of innovators who dared to work differently and lays out practical takeaways for the rest of us.

If you’re ready to “make a dent in the universe” and buck the norms doing it, this is  your book.

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In today’s episode, Shane and I chat about:

• Why the old mantra – if you work hard something good will eventually happen – is a delusion
• The role of mentors and what the research says about formal versus informal mentoring
• What Shane believes is wrong with the idea of “fail fast, fail often”
• And much more!

Announcing – Blinkist 3 Now with Audio Summaries [Sponsor]

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With Blinkist 3, they’ve added audio versions of many of their written summaries, with new ones being added each week. Plus, sync your highlights to Evernote and send unlimited summaries to your Kindle.

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Shane Snow’s Latest Book

You can order your copy of Smartcuts: How Hackers, Innovators and Icons Accelerate Success right now!

Shane Snow in Action

Books Shane Recommends

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin

So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed and other works by Jon Ronson

The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human by Jonathan Gottschall

Shane Snow Resources

The best place to find out more about Shane is on his Shane Snow Website.

Here, Shane provides more information about his latest book.

You might consider hiring Shane to speak at your next event.

Follow Shane on Twitter: @ShaneSnow

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