Think Big by Grace Lordan

Read the book

Dr Grace Lordan looks at the small steps people can take to make big changes overall, as well as the behaviours that hold people back, drawing on research from behavioural science.

Think Big cover_unsized

Think Big: Take Small Steps and Build the Future You Want by Dr Grace Lordan (published 25 March 2021) is a practical guide to help people make small, measurable changes to their behaviour to help achieve larger, long-term goals. The book focusses on six key areas: goals, time, inside, outside, environment and resilience.

The book utilises Lordan’s extensive experience and research from the field of behavioural science in areas of inclusion, diversity and decision-making, to provide an easily implementable behavioural change framework to allow for big changes. In the book, Lordan highlights some of the key behavioural challenges that individuals face that prevent them from getting ahead:

  • Halo effect.
  • Confirmation bias.
  • Planning Fallacy. 
  • Compromise Effect. 
  • Loss Aversion. 
  • Compromise Effect. 
  • Affect Heuristic.
  • Ostrich Effect.
  • Spotlight Effect. 
  • Risk Preference.

 

My research seeks to understand why people choose the jobs they do, and why some people have more success than others in getting to where they want to go. My findings demonstrate clearly that while some factors on our career journey are not within our control, so many others are. This has led me to advise many business leaders, helping them find ways to level the playing field for their employees, to ensure they are rewarded based on ability, skills and talent alone. This book, though, looks at the problem from the other way around. It is about empowering individuals to think bigger, and enabling them to build the future they want through taking regular small steps. Happy reading!

Resources

  • Join the free LSE virtual event on 25 March, 6pm to 7pm (GMT): Hear Dr Grace Lordan in conversation with Professor Paul Dolan, talking about new book Think Big: Take Small Steps and Build the Future You Want. Register here.
  • Find out more about the book (published 25 March 2021) via Grace Lordan's website here.
  • Listen to a podcast from Beyond Busy where Grace Lordan speaks more about her book and issues around diversity and taking risks in career advancement. Listen on Beyond Busy here.
  • Watch this video from LSE and hear Grace talk about the inspiration behind the book. Watch on YouTube here.
  • Find out more about The Inclusion Initiative (TII) a research centre at LSE that aims to bring behavioural insights to firms to enhance inclusion of all talent.

About Grace Lordan

Dr Grace Lordan is Associate Professor in Behavioural Science in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at LSE, and the Founding Director of The Inclusion Initiative (TII).  Grace is an expert on the UK governments skills and advisory board. Grace’s research focusses on why some people succeed and why others do not, beyond explanations that relate to skills, talent and ability, including how these are filtered down through organisational structures.

Praise for the book

"A practical and accessible guide to using behavioural science in your career" Caroline Criado Perez, author of Invisible Women

“Drawing on her knowledge of behavioral economics and psychology, Grace Lordan shares a host of perceptive, practical tips for getting out of your own way and making progress toward your career goals.”  Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of THINK AGAIN and ORIGINALS, and host of the TED podcast WorkLife

“A practical and compelling treatise on leveraging big insights from behavioural science to enable big upgrades to your career.” Cal Newport, author of A World Without Email