The Performance Paradox

Turning the Power of Mindset into Action

By: Eduardo Briceño

Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins, Eduardo Briceño

Discover how to balance learning and performing to bolster personal and team success with this revolutionary guide from a world-renowned expert on growth mindset.

“An essential read for fostering learning, performance, and a growth mindset . . . I wholeheartedly recommend it.”—Carol Dweck, bestselling author of Mindset

To succeed in a fast-changing world, individuals and companies know they must create a culture of growth, where experimentation and feedback are encouraged, and learning is integrated into the everyday. Yet we often get stuck in a well-worn pattern of habits that don’t move us forward. Why?

Because many of us get trapped in the Performance Paradox: the counterintuitive phenomenon that if we focus only on performing, our performance suffers.

How can we give ourselves the space to experiment and grow while also delivering high-level results?

Fostering growth mindset to elevate performance is Eduardo Briceño’s specialty. As CEO of Mindset Works and in his work with Fortune 500 companies, he discovered that mastering growth—personal, organizational, and financial—hinges on navigating the crucial balance between learning and performing.

In The Performance Paradox, Briceño reveals how to

• avoid falling into the chronic performance trap that stagnates growth

• identify when and how to unlock the power of mistakes

• integrate learning into daily habits in ways that stick

• lead teams that constantly improve and outperform their targets

• grow your skill level and output simultaneously and for the long term

We can achieve more tomorrow than we do today if we develop the belief that we can change and the competence for how to change. With Briceño’s innovative and refreshing framework of balancing learning and performing, individuals and companies can reach their boldest aspirations.

*Includes a downloadable PDF of illustrations and resources from the book

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Eduardo Briceño (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“The Performance Paradox is an essential read for fostering learning, performance, and a growth mindset. It skillfully shows you how to put your mindset into action as an individual and as an organization. This book will guide your journey toward building world-class competencies, resilience, and impact.”—Carol Dweck, bestselling author of Mindset

“More than anyone I know, Eduardo Briceño has devoted himself to bringing academic research on mindsets into the everyday lives of learners of all ages. His passion and optimism are contagious, and in every interaction, I come away inspired.”—Angela Duckworth, New York Times bestselling author of Grit

“A go-to playbook for developing thriving workplaces and lives . . . Whether you’re starting your career, a contributing manager, or a senior executive, this book will equip you and your organization to write your story in a world of constant change.”—Chip Conley, bestselling author of Wisdom at Work

Great book

I think this is the perfect complement of the book mindset. What a great book full of insights, tools, questions. I really enjoyed it.

Practical Toolkit for Learning AND Performing

After over two decades as senior leader and executive at Vanguard, I know first hand the pressure to “execute flawlessly.” The responsibility to care for trillions of dollars is colossal. I am also an ultra runner who regularly completes runs of over 26.2 miles, often in remote and rugged terrain. Both of these activities do not lend themselves to simply showing up and doing. Being the hands-on learner that I am, I began to leverage my work on the trails to help me gain mastery over skills critical to succeed as an executive in Corporate America.

One of the most important skills that emerged from this deliberate approach is to know the difference between preparing for an activity and then performing at the top of your ability when it matters most. To give you an example of what I mean, consider that the actual distance and time required to complete an event is approximately 5% of the total time I will spend training and preparing for it. Think about that. Ninety-five percent of my effort to successfully complete a significant task will be focused on preparation.

How much you prepare for any task will of course depend on many variables but this is too often left to chance or worse yet, not even considered in the first place. Do you truly understand the difference between preparing for and executing a task? Is the time you invest preparing for an important event or activity proportional to its complexity, difficulty, or risk? Does your preparation focus on highly concrete activities correlated to successful execution? How do you regulate this effort based on the urgency of a particular situation?

For a thorough and highly practical introduction to the concept of spending time in a “learning zone” distinct from the “performance zone” in any circumstance read this book - The Performance Paradox, written by my friend Eduardo Briceño. Eduardo has dedicated his life to this subject both as a highly successful practitioner in Wall Street and Silicon Valley, and as a coach and leadership consultant to some of the largest and most impactful organizations on the planet. His book shares highly relatable anecdotes that help us understand the difference between learning/preparing and performing, breaks the myth that we must always choose between learning and doing with compelling and pointed examples, and arms you with a practical and powerful toolbox you can leverage at work, in the community, and throughout every aspect of your life.

the pursuit of growth

art is never finished, only abandoned. we must all contunie to grow and work on ourselves, our projects, our passions and pick up on the uncompleted work of those before use