April 2018 | Issue 3
“ You cannot be what you cannot see ”

Children of top 1% earners are more likely to be innovators due to early exposure. “If kids grow up around innovation, they grow up hearing people talk about innovation, and begin thinking they can be inventors.” While innovation has slowed in the U.S., the opportunity to grow it could be quadrupled if we expose children of all backgrounds at an early age.
Featured Blog
“ How is it we become better at thinking? ”

Shane Parrish shares his guiding principles in his “Thinking about Thinking” blog: 1) Go to bed smarter than when you woke up; 2) Master the best of what other people have already figured out; and 3) Ego should be toward the outcome, not toward being right.
Featured Study
“ The research of locus of control...concludes a statistically significant relationship between an individual’s locus of control expectancy and the level of happiness of an individual. ”

Locus of control, an individual’s perceived control over their environment, impacts their level of happiness. Individuals with an internal locus of control tend to be happier in their jobs, absent less frequently, and more involved in their work. This study highlights the importance of recognizing an individual’s own ability to influence his/her life and the environment. 
Featured Talk
“ The secret to high performance isn’t rewards and punishments, but that unseen intrinsic drive - the drive to do things for their own sake. The drive to do things because they matter. ”

Rewards can dull thinking and block creativity in the workplace. Listen to Dan Pink’s TEDTalk examining the puzzle of motivation and how traditional rewards are not effective in the workplace. In a boxing match, autonomy, mastery, and purpose will knock out carrots and sticks every time.
Featured Book
“ Who would have thought that play could be turned into work by rewarding people for what they like to do? ”

In Punished by Rewards, Alfie Kohn shares how providing rewards may seem to work in the short run, but they ultimately fail and can do lasting harm. When incentives are used to motivate people, they are more likely to lose interest in the task assigned. This book offers practical strategies to move beyond the use of carrots and sticks in the workplace, classrooms, and homes.

Top of Mind is ELI's favorite entrepreneurial mindset studies, articles, papers, books, and talks.

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