Book Review – Originals

I picked this book from the Blossom’s bookstore in Bangalore as it looked interesting. “Originals – How non-conformists change the world” it read. It had reviews from prominent personalities, and it was about changing the world, so why not! I didn’t expect much though, maybe the same rhetoric about inspired individuals? Hard work and discipline to get to wherever they got, I imagined. But this book didn’t turn out to be the standard self-help books, it didn’t profess the rigorous routine to success. It rather brought out the human aspect of lot of our superheroes, their self-doubts, their worries and of course their originality. Brilliant takeaways for aspiring entrepreneurs and leaders, here I list some of the interesting lessons that I learnt.

Who are Originals? As Adam writes, originals are the ones who take the road less traveled, champion a set of novel ideas that go against the grain but ultimately make things better. Like Michaelangelo, Steve Jobs, Martin Luther King Jr, Leonardo Da Vinci, Mark Twain, Edwin Land, etc. Originals are people who take the initiative to make their visions a reality. The other route to achievement is conformity, where most of us fit in – following the crowd down conventional paths and maintaining the status quo. This book was about how we can all become more original.

Originals get out of the default mode: In the chapter “Creative Destruction“, Adam starts by pointing that the choice of web browser used gives a clue about our originality. Folks using the Firefox and Chrome were better performers on every metric. The difference was not about being tech savvy, rather how they obtained the browser. Internet explorer comes bundled in Windows, and Safari comes pre-installed on apple products. Instead of accepting the default, originals would take initiative to seek out an option that might be better. The initiative is a window into what you do at work, he writes. Employees who took the initiative to change their browsers approached their jobs differently, compared to others who accepted the defaults. The hallmark of originality is rejecting the default and exploring whether a better option exists, he writes. He coins a word Vuja De (we face something similar, but we see it with fresh perspective), the opposite of Deja vu (we encounter something new, but it feels as if we’ve seen it before). Originals pursue the Vuja De factor, and see how to make the world a better place.

Originals are not the self-starters that we assume them to be: Originals do have their self-doubt and reservations. When they get nudged by the people they trust, it’s when their self-start button turns on. Adam brings up a term called Achievement motivation – the drive to succeed and achieve. Interestingly, the more we achieve, the more we dread failure. This has held back some of the greatest creators and change agents in history. Interestingly, although they possessed the qualities of natural leaders, they have been lifted by followers and peers. He puts up a story of Nicolaus Copernicus who refused to publish his original discovery, until a major cardinal learned of his work after 22 years and encouraged Copernicus to publish it, finally getting published 4 years later. Economists Joseph Schumpeter famously observed, originality is an act of creative destruction. Advocating new systems often requires demolishing the old way of doing things, and we hold back for fear of rocking the boat.

Originals are risk averse: Adam cites several examples where originals have kept their backup plans just in case the Plan A fails. Interestingly he mentions “If you’re risk averse and have some doubts about the feasibility of your ideas, it’s likely your business will be built to last. If you’re a freewheeling gambler, your startup is far more fragile“. Phil Knight (Nike) kept working as an accountant until 1969, while he sold running shoes out of his car trunk. Steve Wozniak continued working full time at HP until 1977 even starting Apple with Steve Jobs. Bill Gates, interestingly, didn’t drop out of college – he took absence leave while his parents bankrolled him. “Managing a balanced risk portfolio doesn’t mean constantly hovering in the middle of the spectrum by taking moderate risks. Instead, successful originals take extreme risks in one arena and offset them with extreme caution in another“.

Originals deal differently with unhappy job, marriage or government: Adam points out that there are four options to deal with unhappy job, marriage or government: Exit, Voice, Persistence, and neglect. Exit means removing yourself from the situation altogether: quitting a miserable job, ending an abusive marriage, or leaving an oppressive country. Voice involves actively trying to improve the situation: approaching your boss with ideas for enriching your job, encouraging your spouse to seek counselling, or becoming a political activist to elect a less corrupt government. Persistence is gritting your teeth and bearing it: working hard even though your job is stifling, sticking by your spouse, or supporting your government even though you disagree with it. Neglect entails staying in the current situation but reducing your effort: doing just enough at work not to get fired, choosing new hobbies that keep you away from your spouse, or refusing to vote. He further writes “In the quest for originality, neglect isn’t an option. Persistence is a temporary route to earning the right to speak up. But in the long run, like neglect, persistence maintains the status quo and falls short of resolving your dissatisfaction. To change the situation, exit and voice are the only viable alternatives“.

Originals do procrastinate: This was something I really didn’t expect to be part of a self-help book. Adam writes that procrastination can be as much of a virtue as it is a vice. In the aptly named chapter “Fools Rush In”, he cites examples of legendary originals delaying their masterpieces till the last minute. Martin Luther King, Jr, did not write his speech until after 10pm the night before the march. Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa on and off starting from 1503 and didn’t complete it until 1519. Explanation offered is when something is on the back burner, we buy time to engage in divergent thinking rather than foreclosing a particular idea. There is also a notion that that work is in “pending” so subconsciously we continue to dwell on it, and there is possibility of better ideas. Once we complete the activity, it moves to completed state, and we don’t think of it as much.

Originals have different innovating styles: Vinod Khosla said “People under 35 are the people who make change happen. People over 45 basically die in terms of new ideas“. Albert Einstein said, “A person who has not made his great contribution to science before the age of 30 will never do so“. However, what Adam writes is “The time at which we reach our heights of originality, and how long they last, depends on our styles of thinking“. There are two types of innovators: Conceptual and Experimental. Conceptual innovators formulate a big idea and set out to execute it. Experimental innovators solve problem through trial and error, learning and evolving as they go along. Young genius are typically conceptual innovators, while the old master requires the patience and time to take the experimental approach. Point being, it’s never too late to become original.

Originals are mostly younger siblings: The physician and psychotherapist Alfred Adler argues that because firstborn children start life as only children, they initially identify with their parents. When a younger sibling arrives, firstborns respond by emulating their parents: they enforce rules and assert their authority, this sets the stage for the younger child to rebel. The mindset changes to choose a different way to stand out from the older sibling. Another reason he cites is that the parents start out as strict disciplinarians with firstborns and become increasingly flexible with laterborns. And with more freedom, they tend to be original.

Originals had unique parenting: Giving children freedom seems to be the point above, albeit keeping their rebellious side in check. There is a style of parenting that can have greater impact on their kids to bring out their originality. Whether it’s enforcing a rule, or turning down requests, providing a reasonable explanation to kids helps them to rationalize things. Maybe a feeling that they have been talked to rather than simply instructed. There is a greater tendency for these kids to use this approach when growing up, in different situations. Case in hand he provides are the holocaust rescuers, where their parents explained why behaviors are inappropriate, often with reference to their consequences for others. “Why? Because I said so” is a mean and disrespectful way of parenting, or even leadership. Point to be taken is that reasoning communicates a message of respect.

Originals don’t bank on just one killer idea: Adam writes that originals come up with large number of ideas. On average, not qualitatively better, but produce a greater volume of work, giving them more variation and a higher chance of originality. Shakespeare produced 37 plays, but only 5 most popular works. Mozart composed 600 pieces, but only a handful are masterpieces. Edison filed 1093 patents, but the number of truly superlative creative achievement are only few. Don’t obsess over perfection, he writes. Generate as much ideas as possible, and there is high chance that a novel idea comes along.

Originals covet the admiration of their peers: Adam cites the example of comedians who say that the highest badge of honor is to make a fellow comic laugh. Likewise, the magicians live to baffle their brethren. It’s not about acceptance, rather an opportunity to show some unusual possibilities, with no investment in their ideas and enough distance to offer an honest appraisal. The point is that the artists themselves are more open to novelty. The idea or the act itself gets evaluated, with not much thought put into if it will succeed or not.

Originals can get doomed with group thinking: Adam writes that the tendency to seek consensus instead of fostering dissent is what caused the downfall of Polaroid company. Nobody at Polaroid challenged their strong bias of instant photography to digital photography when sony came calling, this is when they missed the bus. Adam writes “Groupthink is the enemy of originality; people feel pressured to conform to be the dominant, default views instead of championing diversity of thought“. Although cohesion is good for group in general, there is a fine line between having a strong culture and operating like a cult. He suggests having folks play the devil’s advocate to contest the group thinking.

Originals have a think-different culture: In a poll, the vote for the strongest culture in an organization was won by Bridgewater Associates, investment company led by their billionaire founder, Ray Dalio. The strong commitment culture starts from Dalio, with an emphasis to promote the expression of original ideas. They prevent group think by inviting dissenting opinions from every employee in the company. Although dubbed as the Steve Jobs of investing, employees don’t communicate with him as if he’s anyone special. Dalio looks for independent thinkers to enrich the company culture. By holding them accountable for dissenting, the way people make decisions has greatly changed.

All in all, another fascinating book that I would recommend to everyone. There is more to this book than the points I highlighted above, do grab a copy and enjoy reading!