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Book review
Originals by Adam Grant
How non-conformist change the world
orig.i.nal, n A
thing of singular* or unique character; a person who is different from other
people in an appealing or interesting way; a person of fresh initiative or
inventive capacity
*Sherlock Holmes fans know our most beloved detective regularly used this word: singular. Why this crossed my mind now, have no idea, but come to think of it Holmes was quite Original, don’t you think?
To put it quite simply, the hallmark of originality is
rejecting the default and exploring whether a better option exists, because
paradoxically people who suffer the most from a given state of affairs are the
least likely to question, challenge, reject or change it – you have witnessed
this many time over, I’ll bet.
Years ago, physiologists discovered that there are two routes
to achievement—conformity and originality. The former means following the crowd
[you know if one always prefers to go
to the packed restaurants, where everybody
else go] and maintain the status quo. Originals, tend to take the road less traveled,
but hello do not automatically assume all of these people are great risk
takers. Since, this sounds somewhat contradictory, read Adam Grant’s book, as
he really takes an effort to explain this.
And make no mistake, you don’t have to be born creative to
be an original, although majority of people connect creativity exclusively with
arts. But being creative is so much more: re-arranging flowers in the vase,
thinking about new ways of improving a business process, making up stories for
your children on the fly. But also the truth is those interested in the
arts—entrepreneurs, inventors, eminent scientists—have greater curiosity and
aptitude.
We tend to assume that the people who change the world were
either child prodigies from an early age, or bold risk takers who were not
afraid to pursue their dreams. Both assumptions are wrong. Child prodigies are
rarely the ones who go on to change the world. They don’t learn to be original
and only a fraction of them go on to become revolutionary adult creators. Nor
does originality require extreme risk taking. Studies of entrepreneurs show that those who
were more cautious, staying in their day jobs while pursuing their new idea
on the side, had 33% LOWER odds of
failure than those who quit their day jobs to focus on the new venture full
time. Here is an example. The famous JUST DO IT founder, yes Phil Knight,
founder of Nike, started selling shoes out of the trunk of his car in 1964 but
kept his day job as an accountant until 1969. The most successful originals
don’t leap off a cliff without looking—they tiptoe to the edge, triple-check
their parachutes, and make sure there’s a safety net at the bottom, just in
case. Also, judging from my own experience, you can develop such a
trait. After I have fallen down sooooo many times because I was jumping off the
cliff very confidently (it is actually not my fault, I am AriesJ), this is what I do
today: triple check my options all the time, make sure I have at least 3 safety
nets at bottom (Option A, Option B and Option C – side note, love all of the
options, no matter the outcome) and then elegantly fly with the wind.
Seriously, the book will shutter your prejudices about what
non-conformist actually mean, and I bet you some of you will actually discover
you can start calling yourself The
Original. Well helloooo, fellow Original, nice to meet you and welcome to
the gang.
Here is one of the stories that quite nicely samples the
whole book:
Why do some customer service agents stay in their jobs
longer than others? Economist Michael Housman tried to find out by looking at
data from over 30,000 employees who handled customer service phone calls across
a range of industries. The one surprising correlation he found was that
employees who used Firefox or Chrome as their internet browser remained in
their jobs 15% longer than those who used Explorer or Safari. Further digging
revealed the reason why: Explorer is the default browser for Windows, and
Safari is the default for Mac users. Employees who accept the default browser
treat their jobs the same way, accepting the job descriptions as fixed. When
they are unhappy at work, they quit. But, employees who use Firefox or Chrome
have taken the initiative to download a different browser. They tend to be more
resourceful at work, looking for ways to do things better; and as a result,
they stay in the job longer.
Perhaps Malcom Gladwell summarized it best [shameless copying
his review: it seems he has a better way with words than meJ]
“Reading Originals made me feel
like I was seated across from Adam Grant at a dinner party, as one of my
favorite thinkers thrilled me with his insights and his wonderfully new take on
the world.” —Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers and The
Tipping Point.
And I would like to finish with this quote in the book (by
the way, it is filled with quotes, thoughts and research of other people, all neatly
presented in the footnotes, which allows further research. By now you have
learned Originals tend to do that). So, Mellody Hobson, renowned American
businesswoman has said: “There are so few originals in life, because people are
afraid to speak up and stand out”.
Perhaps this book can encourage and inspire more people to
think of themselves as Originals and do the necessary.
Link on Amazon, where you Originals Kindle version:
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About V.S. Radeljich (Vee) She is a highly successful entrepreneur, corporate executive and management consultant, with more than 25 years of professional experience cultivated at the global scene. Now, she is bringing her expertise to you.
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