Independent Book Reviews
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The 3 Secret Skills of Top Performers by Dr. Pete Andersen is a comprehensive guide on how to improve performance in less time for any purposeful job, task, skill, or relationship. These three skills are called the Triad Performance Improvement System or simply, The Triad. Dr. Andersen modeled it from top performers he has observed and studied for years. The principle of trial and error is good, but it takes a lot of time. In this book, the author talks about a more efficient approach to performance improvement.
The Triad includes Increase Awareness (being mindful when to apply the three skills), Enhance Self-Evaluation (encourages personal or intrinsic motivation than extrinsic motivation), and Connect Reward with Reinforcement (the practice of repeating satisfying behaviors). The author emphasizes that following The Triad does not guarantee 100% success, but you certainly increase the odds in your favor.
The book consists of 260 pages, divided into three parts. It opens with an author’s introduction; it elaborates on his background and credibility. This piece is like a textbook with concepts based on data, research, and real-life scenarios. The language is simple; the tone is conversational. The flow is seamless except for a few graphs and diagrams that are occasionally so complex they become tedious to study.
I like that this book suggests that your success doesn’t measure against someone else’s. It is a personal feeling. It is improving against a standard you have set for yourself. I equally like the author’s repetitive approach. A lot of his points frequently reappear in some lessons—a strategic approach to retain information. I could never forget about Einstein’s multi-sensory learning. When scientists studied Albert Einstein’s brain, they found a massive number of associational neurons derived from learning everything in multiple senses. For instance, if Einstein couldn’t recall a piece of information visually, he may have used olfactory or auditory perception to store the knowledge in his brain. Dr. Andersen argues that performers use this multi-sensory approach to make new information meaningful and relevant.
I give this book a solid 4 out of 4 stars. There is nothing I dislike about it. It is well-written. The editing is flawless. One thing I have noticed is that the author tends to subtly drop personal opinions relevant to societal and political matters that other people may or may not find agreeable. However, this aspect is not precisely a flaw to warrant a deduction of a star.