Originals

It was my research on creativity that led me to study workplace abuse.

Surprisingly, there are remarkable similarities among targets of bullying; most salient, they tend to shake the status quo at work while exploring and offering novel solutions to institutionalized problems. Unfortunately, as Grant details in his research, instead of embracing these innovators as forecasters of the future, organizations attempt to silence and minimize their contributions.

However, creatives are not in it for the money or accolades, but for the love of the game and dedication to the mission, thus when they are forced to bow to tradition and… show more.

This book challenges conventional thinking about how we come up with original ideas. The author, Adam Grant believes that anyone can emerge with innovative, original ideas. You can learn to be a successful non-conformist. 

He writes about numerous fascinating examples from history, science, and entertainment. In one chapter we learn about suffragists  Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucy Stone who were so different in their personalities and approaches to the movement. Yet without their different voices we would not have seen women get the vote in 1920.

In another chapter about GroupThink, Grant demonstrates how successful companies make… show more.

Who would have thought that some of the world’s most original thinkers are procrastinators? Fail more often than most?  Aren’t highly motivated to achieve? Aren’t usually risk-takers?

Adam Grant dispels numerous myths about creative people. They aren’t usually high-wire risk-takers. Rather, they reduce their risk by observing those who are the first to produce something new, learn from their mistakes, and then offer their own, better version. What about procrastinating? A better word might be “incubating.” They ponder an idea and put it on the back burner of their minds, allowing the idea to develop over time. And, Grant points… show more.