The Click Moment

Starred review from August 13, 2012
We like to think that we have control; we can plan, analyze, and determine our success. Unfortunately, as Johansson argues, "success is random." Johansson (The Medici Effect) examines how success exists at the intersection of skill and luck. Logic might pay off at times, but in general, success means "somewhere, at some point, someone got lucky." This message may make readers uncomfortable, but Johansson provides three steps to cope with randomness. First, we must increase the randomness in our lives. Second, we must increase the number of bets we make. And third, we must recognize and harness the complex forces that are always at play. Johansson engages us from the start, drawing us in with tales from Serena Williams and Twilight as well as Google and Starbucks. Using numerous studies and ample research, Johansson offers an engaging and powerful read. Randomness looms large and change is all around, yet "we are truly reluctant to actively court randomness in our lives." This book should help us change that. Agent: Kim Witherspoon, Inkwell Management.

Starred review from September 15, 2012
Consider this book the millennial response to carpe diem, along with pretty explicit instructions on taking advantage of Lady Luck. Johansson actually borrows some techniques and tools from the creative world, especially following one's curiosity to spotting momentum and intensity. He sets the stage for reader endorsements of his principles through tales of random successes, for instance Obama's rapid rise after his keynote at the 2004 Democratic National Convention and Stephenie Meyer's evolution of a dream into the Twilight saga. Their properties are simple to describe: they occur when two separate concepts, ideas, or people meet; they're impossible to predict; and they elicit an emotional response, like awe or excitement. Creating them? Ah, that's the focus of this book; a far more resonant subtitle might be How to Harness Purposeful Bets. It's so not in the luck of the draw, Johansson asserts; it's maximizing the world around you. A bit of science, a lot of psychology, a touch of wannabe Malcolm Gladwell, and the courage to click. Designed to become a best-seller.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)