Published on Feb 28, 2017
Conventional wisdom says that the more resources we have—bigger budgets, larger teams, or more experience—the more we can do. In this talk, Scott Sonenshein challenges this belief with over a decade of original research, spanning everything from Fortune 500 companies to budding entrepreneurial ventures. The key to building more successful organizations, he argues, doesn’t come from pursuing more. It comes from expanding the value of existing resources. Using studies and stories, Sonenshein shows that organizations that survive and thrive have one thing in common: they act resourcefully, taking however little, or even how much, they have, and creating even greater value with it.
Stretch: Unlock the Power of Less -and Achieve More Than You Ever Imagined
A groundbreaking approach to succeeding in business and life, using the science of resourcefulness.
We often think the key to success and satisfaction is to get more: more money, time, and possessions; bigger budgets, job titles, and teams; and additional resources for our professional and personal goals. It turns out we’re wrong.
Using captivating stories to illustrate research in psychology and management, Rice University professor Scott Sonenshein examines why some people and organizations succeed with so little, while others fail with so much.
People and organizations approach resources in two different ways: “chasing” and “stretching.” When chasing, we exhaust ourselves in the pursuit of more. When stretching, we embrace the resources we already have. This frees us to find creative and productive ways to solve problems, innovate, and engage our work and lives more fully.
Stretch shows why everyone—from executives to entrepreneurs, professionals to parents, athletes to artists—performs better with constraints; why seeking too many resources undermines our work and well-being; and why even those with a lot benefit from making the most out of a little.
Drawing from examples in business, education, sports, medicine, and history, Scott Sonenshein advocates a powerful framework of resourcefulness that allows anybody to work and live better.
