Author: Greg McKeown
Hi. Am Onsando and I normally write summaries and reviews on books in multiple genres. Today, let's talk Essentialism.
The essence of the whole book can be summarised as 'Saying Yes to many requests without thinking of the consequences.'
It is bizarre, especially in the corporate world, where employees equate the more responsibilities you take with the better you become. This makes them stretch themselves too thin and hence end up doing less and less at best or presenting a shoddy job.
The author goes on to give an example of the character Boxer from George Orwell's novel Animal Farm. Whenever he was given more responsibilities, his response was 'I will try harder'. We all know how that turned out.
''Some people major in minor activities''
What sets the essentialists apart from the non-essentialists is the fact that the essentialists take time to understand, explore, and listen to the problem at hand.
Some attributes the essentialists are good at are; Choosing, playing, and clarifying. For instance, on 'Play', McKeown gives examples of inventors and explorers that came across during 'play', for example, Newton, Colombus, and Watson & Crick
