Rookie Smarts - Why Learning Beats Knowing in the New Game of Work

APPENDIX B: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

THE RESEARCH

Q: Is rookie smarts another name for beginner’s mind?

Rookie smarts is much broader than what is typically meant by beginner’s mind (or beginner’s luck). I’ve joked with friends and family members that anyone who referred to my research as “the beginner’s mind project” was getting taken off the Christmas list! Let me explain: Beginner’s mind, a concept from Zen Buddhism, refers to having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject, even when studying at an advanced level, just as a beginner in that subject would.¹ Beginner’s mind focuses on being mentally unencumbered (one critical element of the Backpacker mode), but this is just ...