Quiet

This book opened my eyes to see introversion as a strength rather than a weakness. But more so, it gave me the permission to question how things that we took as “just the way things are” might have been positioned incorrectly from the start.

If it wasn’t true that introversion is inherently worse than extroversion, what else might popular culture and mainstream workplace practices have gotten wrong? I felt seen by the book and hopeful of what more honest conversations about how people are wired might both reveal and help heal. 

The title alone is a grabber. As an introvert, I learned much about myself, thus maximizing my strengths as I interact with others. 

The author packs the book with fascinating studies and examples to prove the fact that introverts are the creative ones and make better leaders. Fellow introverts, we now have the ammunition needed to get a private cubicle at work or even bow out of committee meetings.

Extroverts can learn much from the book, too, since their strengths are highlighted.

This book starts with an interesting premise, that the U.S. is a society that favors Extroverts over Introverts. 

The author cites academic research and data from her own experiences to demonstrate how we moved from a society that valued character over personality, to one that lauds the Extroversion Ideal…at school, at work, and other public venues. This book made me think hard about how my perceptions of others might be influenced by my assumptions about what Extroverts and Introverts bring to the table.

I really liked this book, mainly because I finally felt seen and understood.

I’m not your typical introvert, which has always made me feel a little bit at odds. But this book has also been an eye opener for me regarding organizational cultures and the workplaces we create (starting already in business schools), that favor extraverts and a certain way of acting and being.

It highlights yet another form of diversity that is generally overlooked, even though, ironically, highly successful leaders in the business world often don’t even fit the mold themselves.  

If you’re a strong, silent type who wants to feel understood, affirmed, and—most important—capable of leadership, you can’t do better than Quiet. With a psychologist’s insight into human character and a storyteller’s panache, Susan Cain demonstrates just how (quietly) effective we introverts can be. I loved her opening story of a reserved young lawyer who wins the day in a fierce negotiation; also her debunking of myths about this oft-overlooked third of the population. Weak? Antisocial? Timid followers? No way. Introverts rule.

I felt like this book peered into my soul. I count myself among the 70 percent of highly sensitive people who are also introverted. That means I need time to think before I act and more space to adjust to changes. I tend to be more reflective, serious, and dislike being observed and being the center of attention. Before reading Quiet, I assumed that these qualities were character faults. But now I understand that they are not only part of my wiring, but that they can also be my greatest superpowers. I love Cain’s use of engaging stories and… show more.

My doctor and therapist, a clinical Psychologist, recommended I read this book. Because she thought it would help me understand people who are fundamentally different from me - introverts. She was right. This book opened my eyes to an entirely novel way of experiencing the environment. I am an extrovert.

I have been called "pig-headed, arrogant, narcissistic, [and] just like your father." This, by a woman I once loved. Okay, by more than one. My doctor doesn’t disagree.

Susan Cain's book is important. She wrote it to empower introverts. However, I think extroverts should also read it. Quiet could be… show more.

I’m sure Susan’s book, Quiet, has shown up on other lists. It probably deserves to be on all of the lists. Am I an introvert? Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to become friends with Susan, and she would joke that I’m not an introvert… just socially awkward. Putting our friendship aside, this book helped to ground me, my work, my process, and how to be at peace with content creation (which is mostly a lonely and isolated experience). Great work comes from digging deep… knowing who you really are (and finding acceptance in that) is a huge… show more.

What re-charges extroverts, drains introverts, and vice versa. Extroverts like to “talk” about problems – often over and over as they process their thoughts. Introverts like to “think” about problems and then talk about them – once. An understanding AND appreciation of individual differences are foundational to building a healthy family. In Quiet, Susan Cain provides readers with practical tools for negotiating differences and effective teaching strategies to empower introverted children to thrive in an extroverted world. I love her strength-based approach!

I write letters mostly to dead guys who aren’t about to answer any time soon (but then I wait for years before sending my love letter to André Aciman, who is alive and willing to answer)? I swim wearing my glasses and a hat. I don’t step on a plane without my Magic Flying Shirt and “I am calm” socks. Am I an introvert? Or just offbeat?

This book is helping me understand many things about myself, others, and how the world is organized so that the loudest mouths are too often considered the best leaders even though their ideas… show more.