The authors show the different kinds of plateaus that can hold you back and how they can be overcome. Using case studies of both success and failure -- including Derek Jeter, Blockbuster, and Google -- they identify how to avoid pitfalls and to incorporate the peak behaviors that place breakthroughs within anyone's grasp. If you've ever given more and more to a broken relationship, a weight-loss regimen, or a stalled career -- only to get less and less in return -- Getting Unstuck will change your life.

Part One. The science: -- Three Forces -- 1.Do the Math -- Uncovering the Forces That Drive the Plateau Effect -- 2.Going Flat -- The First Plateau Force -- 3.The Greedy Algorithm -- The Second Plateau Force -- 4.Bad Timing -- The Third Plateau Force -- Part two. The engine: -- Building Your Approach -- 5.Flow Mechanisms -- Step Functions, Choke Points, and Mystery Ingredients -- 6.Distortion Mechanisms -- Navigating Bad Data and Other Tricks of the Plateau -- Part three. The achievement: -- Peak Behaviors -- 7.Attention -- The First Action -- 8.Agility -- The Second Action -- 9.Application -- The Third Action.