The Mosaic Principle

The pressures of modern society have pushed us toward deeper specialization in our lives and careers. Our narrow expertise means we are increasingly isolated from those different from us, which fosters tension and conflict—think of business people and government officials who distrust each other, or police officers who struggle to operate in minority communities. We’ve been pushed into self-defining cocoons from which it is difficult to break out, and we lack the coping skills for succeeding in an ever-changing, more complex, and diverse world.

Nick Lovegrove conveys both a compelling vision and a pragmatic path out of this contemporary trap. Through vivid portraits of those who get it right, such as Paul Farmer, the physician whose broad-minded approach brings health and hope to the world’s poorest people, and those who get it deeply wrong, such as Jeffrey Skilling, whose narrow focus brought down Enron, he provides a simple blueprint of six skills—a developed moral compass, a prepared mind, an intellectual thread, an integrated network, contextual intelligence, and transferable skills—that will enable personal and professional success.

Taken together, these dimensions enable us to build our lives as mosaics, full of purpose, meaning, happiness, and success