Originals: How Non-Conformists Move The World by Adam Grant
Viking, 2016
How can we originate new ideas, policies, and practices without risking it all? Using studies and stories spanning business, politics, sports, and entertainment, Adam Grant explores how to recognize a good idea, speak up without getting silenced, build a coalition of allies, choose the right time to act, and manage fear and doubt.
In Originals, Adam Grant gives examples of contemporary people who made a difference by thinking and acting differently—people who went against the grain, recognized the value of an off-track idea, spoke the truth, managed negative emotions, and more.
Grant also offers practical suggestions for unleashing our own originality, including:
- Question the defaults. Instead of taking the status quo for granted, asks why it exists in the first place.
- Unleash creativity. The best way to boost originality is to produce more ideas.
- Immerse yourself in a new domain. Learn a new craft, try a job rotation, learn about a different culture.
- Procrastinate, but strategically. This allows time for divergent thinking and lets ideas incubate.
- Seek feedback from peers first. They are positioned to spot potential and possibilities.
Originals is for readers who recognize that they are not in the majority—or who want the courage to leave the majority. The only question now is, how can we encourage each other to be original today?
(Interested in reading more by Adam Grant? Read my review of Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know.)
