Decoding Greatness

The game-changing approach to success that will transform the way you master new skills and generate creative ideas. Learn how to work like top performers and use reverse engineering to unlock your full potential.

‘An eye-opening, fast-paced read that will transform the way you approach your next project.’ Shawn Achor

For generations, we've been taught there are two ways to succeed - either from talent or through practice. In Decoding Greatness, award-winning social psychologist Ron Friedman illuminates a powerful third path - one that has quietly launched icons in a wide range of fields, from artists, writers, and chefs, to athletes, inventors and entrepreneurs: reverse engineering.

To reverse engineer is to decode what works for others and learn how to apply those same methods and strategies to develop your own unique ideas and projects. Exploring what lies behind the success of top performers – from Agatha Christie to Andy Warhol, Barack Obama to Serena Williams, and many more – you will learn from the best. Combined with ground-breaking research on pattern recognition, skill acquisition, motivation, performance and creativity, this book is a practical guide to achieving success within any field.

Decoding Greatness provides a new way of thinking and working, and through unforgettable stories and strategies, you will learn how to improve your skills and spark break-through ideas. And once you have learned this formula, you can apply it to anything.

About the Author

Ron Friedman is an award-winning psychologist who has served on the faculty of the several prestigious colleges in the United States and has consulted for political leaders, nonprofits, and many of the world’s most recognized brands. Popular accounts of his research have appeared in major newspapers, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, the Globe and Mail, The Guardian, as well as magazines such as Harvard Business Review and Psychology Today.

Ron is the founder of ignite80, a learning and development company that translates research in neuroscience, human physiology and behavioral economics into practical strategies that help working professionals become healthier, happier and more productive. His first book, The Best Place to Work, was selected as an Inc. Magazine Best Business Book of the Year.