Just Finished Reading: Originals – How Non-Conformists Change the World by Adam Grant (FP: 2016)

What make someone want to change the world rather than adapt to it? What’s the difference being a pioneer and a settler? Why are there so few originals around the world and throughout history? These are questions that the author tries to address looking at the case studies of original thinkers and original movers and shakers in a variety of business, political and artistic niches.

Creating something new is incredibly risky. There’s a reason that most new enterprises fail – breaking the mould is hard. It takes not only originality but effort and not a little blood, sweat and tears. In many ways having the original idea is the easy part. Most of us have come up with a handful across our lives. But it’s what we do then that really counts. Do we take the idea forward? Do we let obstacles get in our way? Do we get back up again when adversity knocks us down or the idea, no matter how original, simply fails? Do we have another idea in reserve…. And then another if that fails? The image of the genius inventor hides a great many things. They might be highly and successfully inventive and may have indeed thought up, built and put into production world changing ideas or technology. But what often is forgotten are the many, many ideas they had which failed, crashed and burnt before, between and after the world shattering ideas. Original thinkers do not simply produce the odd paradigm shifting idea and bring that one (or if they’re lucky two or three) to fruition. No, they have 2, 3, 5 ideas a day. They might have one good idea a week and one brilliant idea each and every month. They certainly don’t produce one great idea in a lifetime and then sit on it for 30 years until it hatches.

There is also the importance of timing. Do you rush to publication or production the moment the prototype proves itself – or before? Do you need to beat the competition to the punch and get ahead of the field? Or should you wait until the idea or product is perfected, when the ground has already been broken and the teething problems solved. Is being a settler a safer bet than being a pioneer (yes, actually. There seems to be a distinct advantage of being late to the party).

Can you create creative people or are they just born that way? There does seem to be a distinct step change in originality between first born and late comer siblings (although not always the case). Is it a case that the first born has already filled the choice position and subsequent children need to strike out into new territory or is it a case that first born children grow up in the company of adults where late comers grow up with other children? Or maybe it’s just a case that parents either improve their skills with each subsequent child (or rather perversely don’t have the time or energy to stifle the natural creativity or later children).

This book is chocked full of interesting ideas and observations regarding creativity and originality most of which, the author happily points out, are counter intuitive or counter cultural. Much of our thoughts (the author maintains) on originality is simply wrong because of the many misunderstandings and myths surrounding originality. Looked at in different ways originality can flow through future generations in greater abundance than ever before – just at the time that we need it most. We just have to be original about it. This is a very interesting read with much food for thought and would, I suspect, reward multiple readings to get the most out of the impressive number of ideas floated throughout its pages. Impressive and recommended.