James explains that many young professionals struggle to distinguish between obvious observations and the insights that those observations provide. For example, Nike observed many Chinese basketball players playing outside, and this is what James calls an obvious observation. But, outdoor courts are very different in the way a shoe interacts with hardwood floors in comparison to concrete, and so the insight that Nike came up with was that the Chinese players needed more durability in the outsole of their product. This insight has helped Nike establish itself as the top basketball brand within China. James then applies this idea of “looking beyond the obvious” to job searching and interviewing. For example, he suggests that students can utilize a class project for something more than just a grade. He recommends that students tailor the project to something that could be offered as business experience during an interview. He recommends that we move past the dejected feeling of not having enough work experience to utilizing all the things in our life and applying them to better ourselves in the job search process. We have to be willing to take an honest and critical look at ourselves and need people around us that will give valuable feedback. His suggestion is that these people must be a balance between people we like and people who will give us the advice that is hard to hear.

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