Experience is at a premium in a stable, but when the world is changing quickly, experience becomes a curse and being new, naïve, and even clueless can be an asset. For knowledge workers facing an acceleration of demands and an explosion of information, learning is becoming more valuable than mastery. In Rookie Smarts , Liz Wiseman explains why this new mindset is necessary to succeed. By virtue of being new to something, rookies are unencumbered, with no baggage to weigh them down, no resources to burden them, and no track record to artificially limit their thinking or aspirations. They have a coarseness that puts them in a state of porous openness and a productive anxiety that drives them to establish themselves as players and peers. Her research has shown that the most successful rookies are alert and seeking (like hunters and gathers), cautious but quick (like hot coal walkers), and fearless (like frontiersmen). Some people maintain their rookie smarts and operate as "perpetual rookies." In studying rookies, a particular brand of rookie emerged: leaders who, despite the accumulation of experience and mastery, retained their rookie mindsets.

These leaders not only knew the most but surrounded themselves with experts and were constantly learning. Instead of clinging to a false sense of mastery, they chose a path of learning and live continuously on a steep but exhilarating learning curve. This is the kind of leader we should all aspire to be. Experienced professionals can provoke a rookie approach by putting themselves in situations that disorient and disqualify them. Organizations can adopt talent management practices that rotate talent, keep it fresh, and maintain a state of constructive challenge. Professionals can make attitudinal shifts and, with practice, cultivate the mindsets of rookies. Rookie Smarts addresses the questions every experienced professional faces: "Will my knowledge and skills become obsolete and irrelevant? Will a young, inexperienced newcomer upend my company or me? How can I keep up?" The answer is to stay fresh, keep learning, and always be a rookie.