Synopses & Reviews
The Plateau Effect is a powerful law of nature that affects everyone. Learn to identify plateaus and break through any stagnancy in your life — from diet and exercise, to work, to relationships.
The Plateau Effect shows how athletes, scientists, therapists, companies, and musicians around the world are learning to break through their plateaus — to turn off the forces that cause people to “get used to” things — and turn on human potential and happiness in ways that seemed impossible. The book identifies three key flattening forces that generate plateaus, two principles to guide readers in engineering a plateau’s destruction, and three actions to take to achieve peak behavior. It helps us to stop wasting time on things that are no longer of value and to focus on the things that leverage our time and energy in spectacular ways.
Anything you want to do better — play guitar, make friends, communicate with your children, run a business — you can accomplish faster by understanding the plateau effect.
Review
"Many readers will be fascinated by their descriptions of such underlying matters as acclimation, flow and distortion mechanisms...well-written and entertaining." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"The authors write in clear, engaging and sometimes irreverent prose as they dart across case studies from Amazon to Zappos...a stimulating read, offering some inventive theories and solutions." Financial Times
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“Sullivan and Thompson have identified a phenomenon that plagues us all, robbing us of energy, delight, and successful results. Poignant stories, intriguing information, and insightful advice make this a must-read for any of us that want easier ways to keep the important fires lit. Warning: they've nailed stuff close to home for all of us!” David Allen, author of Getting Things Done
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“Uncovering forces like The Greedy Algorithm that create plateaus in our lives is a great service, but Bob Sullivan and Hugh Thompson go much further. Their book is an entertaining and valuable guide that will show you how to quit the struggle and get up off the ground.” Daniel H. Pink, author of A Whole New Mind
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“The science behind how we can learn to excel at almost anything we care about by retraining our brains. A stimulating and useful handbook.” Daniel J. Levitin, author of This Is Your Brain on Music
Review
“You already know what the plateau effect is. No matter what the endeavor, we've all experienced that feeling of diminishing returns from our efforts. Now Bob Sullivan and Hugh Thompson present the definitive guide for those who believe things can get a lot better and want to rise above their plateaus. Turn your back on the daily grind for good. Read this book now.” Ori Brafman, coauthor of Sway
Review
“The Plateau Effect is smart, bracing, and eye-opening with genuine pay-offs for accomplishing your dreams. It's also cheerful, funny and greatly entertaining. Use it!” Amy Chua, author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
About the Author
BOBand#160;SULLIVAN and
HUGHand#160;THOMPSON are entrepreneurial analysts with 40 years of experience between them researching, writing, and analyzing systems and human nature.and#160; Bob is an investigative journalist for NBC News and MSNBC.com and the bestselling author of
Gotcha Capitalism and
Stop Getting Ripped Off.and#160; Hugh is a mathematics and computer science professor and speaker who teaches executives how to protect themselves from 21st Century hazards.