Adam Grant – Originals (2016)
Inmiddels het derde boek van deze auteur blijkt een feest van herkenning. Over originaliteit in engere zin, en welke factoren er voor zorgen dat men toch besluit te conformeren. Een impliciet betoog om maling te hebben aan status en ‘groupthink’.
In adulthood, many child prodigies become experts in their fields. […] They apply their extraordinary abilities in ordinary ways, mastering their jobs without questioning defaults and without making waves. Only a fraction of gifted children become revolutionary creators that remake a domain. […] Child prodigies are hindered by achievement motivation.
Kleptomnesia: accidentally remembering the ideas of others as our own.
Originality is an act of creative destruction. Advocating for new systems often requires demolishing the old way of doing things, and we hold back for fear of rocking the boat.
“On matters of style, swim with the current; on matters of principle, stand like a rock.”
The benefit of a balanced risk portfolio: Having a sense of security in one realm gives us the freedom to be original in another.
“Original thinkers will come up with many ideas that are strange mutations, dead ends, and utter failures. The cost is worthwhile because they also generate a larger pool of ideas – especially novel ideas.”
The unique combination of broad and deep experience is critical for creativity.
When people sought to exert influence/power (i.e., speaking up with suggestions) but lacked respect, others perceived them as difficult, coercive, and self-serving.
Idiosyncrasy credits: the latitude to deviate from the group’s expectations. They accrue through respect, not rank, and are based on contributions.
When people present the drawbacks or disadvantages of their idea, they create allies. Instead of pitching a sale, they present a problem to solve.
Zeigarnik effect: people have a better memory for incomplete than complete tasks. Once a task is finished, we stop thinking about it. But when it is interrupted and left undone, it stays active in our minds.
“The greatest tragedy of mankind comes from the inability of people to have thoughtful disagreement to find out what’s true.”
When we use the logic of consequence, we can always find reasons not to take risks. The logic of appropriateness frees us up. We think less about what will guarantee the outcome we want, and act more on a visceral sense of what someone like us ought to do.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
The paradox of encouraging children to develop strong values is that parents effectively limit their own influence. Parents can nurture the impulse to be original, but at some point, kids need to find their own role models.
The greatest communicators start by establishing what is, the status quo. Then they compare that to what could be, making that gap as big as possible.