Adversity Quotient: Turning Obstacles into Opportunities

PART ONE THRIVING IN THE AGE OF ADVERSITY

CHAPTER 1 A New View of Success 3

The Ascent—Redefining Success 5

The Fundamental Question of Human Effectiveness 5

What Is AQ? 6

The Mountain—Ascending toward Success 13

The Adversity Dilemma 27

The Tree of Success 29

Adversity Quotient 34

CHAPTER 2 The Age of Adversity 37

Three Levels of Adversity 38

How Did It Get So Bad? 44

Four Dangerous Forks in the Trail to the Top 46

A Safer Path 52

CHAPTER 3 The Science of AQ 53

The Three Building Blocks of Your AQ 53

PART TWO MEASURING AND UNDERSTANDING YOUR AQ

CHAPTER 4 The Adversity Response Profile™: Measuring Your AQ and Your Ability to Climb 87

Validity and Reliability 88

The Adversity Response Profile (ARP) Quick Take™ 88

CHAPTER 5 Interpreting Your Adversity Quotient and Your Power to Ascend 101

The AQ Continuum 104

Interpreting Your Overall AQ 104

The CO2RE Dimensions of Your AQ 106

Graphing Your CO2RE 125

Life in the Middle: A Moderate CO2RE Profile 137

Personalizing Your Profile 139

Your AQ and Taking Action 140

PART THREE IMPROVING AQ IN YOURSELF, OTHERS, AND YOUR ORGANIZATION

CHAPTER 6 LEAD: Improving Your AQ and Your Ability to Ascend 145

Hands-On Proof 147

Where Do These Skills Come From? 149

How and Why LEAD Works 151

Climbing Skills 153

Applying the LEAD Sequence 180

LEADing Yourself through Major Setbacks 183

The Overhang 185

CHAPTER 7 STOP! Catastrophizing 187

Wildfire in the Mind 189

Stoppers! and LEAD 199

CHAPTER 8 Improving Others’ AQs and Their Ability to Ascend 201

LEADing a Friend 202

The Guts of LEADing Others 209

Rethinking the Role of LEADer 213

LEADing a Colleague 214

The Teflon Kid: LEADing Your Child toward Accountability 222

The Hidden Benefits of LEADing Others 227

CHAPTER 9 The High AQ Organization: Creating the Climbing Culture 231

The Right Time for AQ 235

AQ and Change 235

Challenges You Face as a Leader 238

Organizational AQ 240

The Role of AQ in Any Organization’s Success 245

Roadblocks to Creating a High AQ

Organization 253

Life after the Seminar: What Goes Wrong? 259

The Climbing Organization 263

AQ at Work 274

CHAPTER 10 The Climber’s Habit 277

Why Most Learning Goes Down the Tubes: Howell’s Five Levels of Competence 278

Two Factors That Influence Your Success 281

What You Can Expect 281

Strengthen the Climber 283

AQ and the Greater Good 283

Appendix 289

Notes 301

Bibliography 307

Acknowledgments 319

Index 323