Are you an Original?

There are two routes to achievements: Conformity and Originality. 

Conformity means following the crowd down conventional paths and maintaining the status quo.

Originals take the road less traveled, championing a set of novel and useful ideas that go against the grain but ultimately make things better. Originals don't stop with ideas, they take the initiative to make them a reality.

The hallmark of originality is rejecting the default and exploring whether better options exist. It starts with curiosity. 

Is originality only for gifted people? 

No. Gifted people often apply their extraordinary abilities in ordinary ways, mastering the existing without questioning status quo. Practice makes perfect, but it doesn't make new.

The biggest barrier to originality is not idea generation - it's shortage of people who excel at choosing the right ones. 

When you have an idea, don't run straight to your manager. Run your pitches by peers – they are poised to spot the potential and the possibilities.

I am a person that prefers to dive into tasks early and finish them ahead of schedule. From the childhood we have been taught not to wait until the last minute. 

Originals procrastinate, i.e., intentionally delaying work that needs to be done. Be quick to start, but slow to finish. Wait for best idea, not the first one.

Being original doesn't require being first, it just means being different and better. By taking a break in your work you are more likely to engage in divergent thinking and give ideas time to incubate.

Groupthink is the enemy of originality; people feel pressured to conform to the dominant, default views instead of championing diversity of thought. Social bonds don't drive groupthink; the culprits are overconfidence and reputational concerns.

The easiest way to encourage non-conformity is to introduce a single dissenter. Disrupting consensus encourages the group members to engage in divergent thinking. Dissenting opinions are useful even when they are wrong.

The first follower is what transforms a lone nut into a leader. Find one person who believes in your vision, and begin tackling the problem together.

To become original, you have to try something new, which means accepting some measure of risk. Choosing to challenge the status quo is an uphill battle, and there are bound to be failures, barriers, and setbacks along the way. 

Having a sense of security in one domain gives us the freedom to be original in another.

Originals operate differently when making decisions. Rather than a logic of consequence trying to predict the outcome, they turn inward to their identity. They base the decision on who they are or who they want to be.

We all have ideas for improving our workplace, schools and communities. Sadly, many of us hesitate to take action to promote them. 

What will you do with your idea next time?

"Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World" by Adam Grant.

The Trillion Dollar Coach

What do Steve Jobs, Sheryl Sandberg, Sundar Pichai, Jeff Bezos, Sergey Brin, Eric Schmidt, Donna Dubinsky, Shellye Archambeau and the boys and girls flag football teams at Sacred Hearth have in common?

They, and many others, had Bill Campbell, that passed away April 18, 2016, as a coach, mentor and perhaps most importantly, as a friend.

He was Silicon Valley's best-kept secret.

Without Bill, Google would not be where it is today. After Bill passed away, Google started teaching his principles via internal seminars to emerging leaders.

He worked side by side with Steve Jobs to build Apple from near bankruptcy.

Spending his first decade of the career coaching football, Bill learned that great teams need to work together, and he learned how to make it happen. Being a good coach is essential to being a good manager and leader.

Bill taught business leaders that the path to success in a fast-moving, highly competitive, technology-driven business world is to form high-performing teams and give them the resources and freedom to do great things.

The book is loaded with his lessons and simple, yet powerful, practices and principles. 

Here are some of my favorites.

"It's the people!"

"It's the people" he said. People are the foundation of any company's success, and the primary job of each manager is to help people be more effective in their job and to grow and develop.

Make people flourish through support, respect, and trust. Leading teams become a lot more joyful when you know and care about the people. Believe in people more than they believe in themselves.

Structured 1:1 meetings

Have a structure for your 1:1 meetings and come prepared. Start with a brief small talk, then move to performance: 

  1. What are you working on?
  2. How is it going?
  3. How can I help?

Bill also included peer feedback and relationships, teams and innovation on the agenda. For him, the 1:1 meetings were the best way to help people grow.

Strive for the best idea, not consensus

Get all authentic opinions and ideas on the table for the group to discuss. Sit down with individuals before the meeting to find out what they are thinking.

Failure to make a decision can be as damaging as a wrong decision. If you have the right conversation, then eight out of ten times people will reach the best conclusion on their own. But the other two times you need to make the hard decision and expect everyone to not only accept, but to commit.

Listen

Listen to people with your full and undivided attention. Don't think ahead to what you are going to say next, and ask questions to get to the real issue.

"Don't stick it in their ear"

... he said. Don't tell people what to do, tell them stories about why they are doing it. When people understand the story, they can connect to it and figure out what to do.