Adam Grant
is one of the popular writers of our time. In this book, he focuses on Originals who are some kind of
non-conformists (perhaps from the stand point of widely accepted world views) that
are changing the world.
Incredibly,
he dedicates one full chapter in this book to Procrastination. He claims that
this commonly hated vice is useful when it comes to the question of creativity albeit it is a sworn enemy of
productivity. Actually, I did follow
the prescription by delaying this post for more than a quarter :-).
He is a
master in introducing terms which are relatively unused in interesting ways, for
example,Vujade (opposite of Dejavu) which means look at the familiar
situation in a new light and so on.
The points
he adduces are also equally compelling. Couple of examples.
1. When parents encourage their children to
develop strong values, they effectively limit their influence: When Winstead went public with her rebellion
political views, her father quipped: "I messed it up. I raised you to have
an opinion and I forgot to tell you that, it was supposed to be mine!".
2.
"Appeal to the Character rather than behavior”. For example, instead of
saying "Please don't cheat" say, “Please
don't be a cheater". When the emphasis shifts from behavior to
character, people evaluate their choices differently. Instead of asking if the
behavior will achieve the results they want, they take the action because that
is the right thing to do. It is like if somebody is drowning, you don't ask
which god but tend to just jump and save.
He cites,
more diversified the exposure, greater the chance of better idea(s) selection
in future. Gives examples of Edison, Galileo kind of luminaries -
chronologically , they are far too much in the rear view mirror to be germane for us, yet I will take the examples with more than a pinch
of salt. I personally think we are in "deep dive" era where
occasionally lateral exposures would come handy and perhaps make a good story.
Interestingly, he gives examples of how artistic hobby and correlates to of
winning Nobel Prize. Music (2x),
Drawing, Painting (7x), Modelling, Mechanics (12x), Performing arts, Magic (22x).
For example, someone who is practicing magic is 22 times more likely to win the
Nobel assuming he/she also focused on the main job!
Sure enough,
no management book can escape one matrix (usually 2x2). Here, he discusses four options (1) Exit (2) Voice (3)
Neglect (4) Persistence based on change/maintain the situation (Vector-1) and
Beneficial/Detrimental to the organization (Vector-2). The discussions thereof
are very good.
In the long
run, we always regret the errors of omission rather than commission. If we were
to run our lives again, he strongly feels we would censor less. I tend to agree
with him on opportunities but not sure about people interactions or let us say
spirituality - anyway, we get the message.
This book
with all the wonderful snippets, gives us a good approximation of the ORIGINALS
and how they are only subtly
different from the rest - not vastly different. It is a warm and comfy feeling.
Scot Adams
famously said, "Creativity is
allowing yourself to make mistakes - Art is knowing which ones to keep".
So, with many examples, you need to artistically navigate to decide which ones
to keep.
Thanks for
reading this far.
regards,
madhu
Ref:
1. TED Talks
by Adam Grant.
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vuja_De
