This is a visual book summary of Smartcuts by Shane Snow. This book answers the question: Why some people and companies achieve success in relatively short time frame? The answer is “Smartcuts ” – a framework for working hard and smart to shorten, leverage and soar your way into success.

Visual Book Summary Of Smartcuts By Shane Snow (Infographic)

Book Summary of Smartcuts by Shane Snow

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Here are some of my insights from the infographic visual book summary of Smartcuts by Shane Snow:

01 – Shorten

The first part is about how some people think like hackers to shorten their path to success through these 3 ways discussed below.

1. Hacking The Ladder

The first way to shorten your path to success is by hacking the ladder.

Climbing the ladder of success through hard work and perseverance i.e. paying your dues is a common success mantra. But is it really true?

A study of US Presidents show that most of them ditch the traditional ladder climbing by creating their own ladder. They parlay their credibility and experience from various fields by trading sideways into something bigger or better.

Hacking the ladder is a mindset. To be successful think like a hacker and act like an entrepreneur.

2. Training With Masters

The second way to shorten your path to success is by training with masters.

Research shows formal mentoring does not really work.

But access to an emotionally connected in-person mentor helps shorten the path to success significantly. The key is to be vested in each other’s lives.

In reality, not everyone is fortunate enough to find an emotionally connected and caring mentor but mentors can be found in books, videos, Internet, etc…

The key is to be a first-class noticer to be able to learn and apply the lessons effectively.

3. Rapid Feedback

The third way to shorten your path to success is via rapid feedback.

The key is to always seek out rapid feedback but not to take it personally. Learn and move forward.

Humans have the tendency to attribute failure to external factors. In order to shorten the path to success, do not shift the blame for failure to external factors.

02 – Leverage

The second part is about how successful people use leverage to get more mileage for their effort via these 3 ways discussed below.

1. Platforms

The first way to leverage your efforts is via platforms.

Platforms are tools, technology or environments that can be used as a foundation to build upon so that your efforts are amplified.

Some examples of platforms:

  • Ruby on Rails: A computer coding platform that simplifies and/or eliminates the coding of common functions like sign-ups and database names.
  • Finnish Schools: Finland transformed their education system to be the best in the world by leveraging on depth and not breadth of study by hiring highly qualified teachers.
  • Games: An app like Daisy the Dinosaur teaches kids programming through game play.

2. Catching Waves

The second way to leverage your efforts is by catching waves.

It seems like catching waves depends heavily on luck but the best way to catch a wave is through pattern recognition. You need to be in the water to study and observe wave patterns in order to leverage them.

Studying and observing waves is not enough. It is best to allocate time for experimentation. This decreases the likelihood of being blind-sided and disrupted.

For smooth waves, the 1st mover has the advantage.

For choppy waves, the 1st follower has the advantage.

3. Superconnectors

The third way to leverage your efforts is by harnessing the power of superconnectors.

Giving value is the main way to harness the power of superconnectors. For example, Mint, a financial services company published useful content for superconnectors and their networks.

03 – Soar

The third part is about how successful people soar using the 3 ways discussed below.

1. Momentum

The first way to soar is by using momentum.

It is known that lack of momentum is a cause for depression. To overcome, we need to feel that we are moving forward as humans have an innate need for progress.

The best way to harness momentum is to build up potential energy to capitalise when success strikes. Example: Michelle Phan built a backlog of quality content consistently so when Buzzfeed featured one of her posts, she was able to harness momentum to win and retain her new audience.

2. Simplicity

The second way to soar is by via simplicity.

Focus on the essential and ignore the rest.

Hackers strip the unnecessary from their lives. They zero in on what matters.

Shane Snow

Creativity often flourishes within constraints.

3. 10X Thinking

The third way to soar is by 10X thinking.

This is the art of an extremely big swing to build momentum. It requires radically different thinking.

This kind of thinking galvanises fervent support as well as motivates us to perform at our peak performance.

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