stretch

A Rice University social scientist teaches you to rethink what you need to succeed, and do more with what you already have, in this counterintuitive, evidence-based guide to changing the way you work and live.

Stretch identifies key ways for people and organizations to work beyond their resources to achieve higher performance. Based on in-depth research in psychology and management, Scott Sonenshein shows how to accomplish goals, find professional and personal success, and live a richer life.

Two different mindsets drive achievement, creativity, and innovation: “stretching” and “chasing”. Stretchers embrace what they have, finding unconventional ways to use resources already at hand. A competitor is someone who improves your own work; a floundering brand becomes trendy; and forgotten workers become star employees. Chasers get trapped in convention. They mindlessly accept other people’s definitions of resources and often feel they are missing what they need to succeed. Sonenshein teaches a four-part framework that activates the stretching potential we all have but may not fully recognize:

• Diversify experiences.
• Act immediately without over planning.
• Expect the positive.
• Build unique combinations.

Sonenshein reveals that while we rarely have all we think we need, we usually have more than we imagine. Whether leading organizations, launching careers, or raising families, Stretch teaches us how to achieve more by acting resourcefully at work and beyond.