I recently read Adam Grant’s Originals. It’s a thought-provoking book with hundreds of examples of how we can all be more creative and original.  The biggest example that Grant uses is Warby Parker which is an online seller of prescription glasses. Grant commented that he missed the opportunity to invest in Warby Parker because he was skeptical. When something is original there will likely be skepticism.  A big takeaway from the book for me is that you should be able to address the weaknesses first.  That seems like baring your soul before getting any buy in but if you think about it, people relax once you’ve addressed the weaknesses and are more open to listen to the upside or strengths once you’ve acknowledged the weaknesses.

Here are some ideas on how to be Original:

Quantity leads to quality.  Grant says, “It’s widely assumed that there’s a tradeoff between quantity and quality – if you want to do better work, you have to do less of it – but this turns out to be false.  In fact, when it comes to idea generation, quantity is the most predictable path to quality.” So, it pays to brainstorm lots of ideas before honing in on one or two to bring to fruition. I think there is a lot to be said for listening to many voices as well.  And when you select those voices, bring in different, varying perspectives.  If there are too many heads in the room nodding in agreement, it’s probably not a very original or creative idea.  Come up with lots of ideas with varying voices and it will be more innovative.  

When someone weighs in with their ideas, they feel heard especially when acknowledged.  It can be so powerful if a coworker or boss says, “So you think we should have pink balloons to acknowledge the cancer survivors.”  It’s so powerful that, even if your idea isn’t selected, the fact that it was acknowledged and/or appreciated, you feel heard and are therefore more on board with whichever direction the group takes.  So, create lots of ideas, acknowledge them and the quality will appear.

Strategic procrastination.  I have to say that I was skeptical of strategic procrastination as I read the book. I have coached hundreds of coaches on how to stop procrastinating.  I can see now that it dovetails nicely with Oliver Burkeman’s 4000 Weeks. Burkeman espouses serializing or setting apart 30 minutes a day for focus time and to just start a project knowing that you won’t finish it.  This is what’s so counterintuitive. Why start if you can’t finish? Well, we procrastinate because we can’t finish the 6 annual reviews, we have to write. So, we keep kicking the can down the road for the perfect day to completely begin and finish something.  Burkeman says to just start and acknowledge that you won’t finish.  This to me is strategic procrastination.  

As Grant wrote, “But surprisingly, as I’ve studied originals, I’ve learned that the advantages of acting quickly and being first are often outweighed by the disadvantages. It’s true that the early bird gets the worm, but we can’t forget that the early worm gets caught.” There is also the time between starting something and it’s floating around your unconscious.  So, when you are taking a shower or driving a car or walking the dog, suddenly you come up with the perfect conclusion to the project or how you represent the findings on a chart.  That’s where the magic is.  Your unconscious brain is hard at working pulling memories and diverse topics together to have an ah ha moment.  

So, start but make sure there are gaps to strategically procrastinate.

Exposure and repeating normalizes.  As written by Grant, “The mere exposure effect has been replicated many times—the more familiar a face, letter, number, sound, flavor, brand, or Chinese character becomes, the more we like it.” I think back when I was first planning my cross-country RV trip.  The first few times I spoke it out load (or even in my head), I was intimidated and anxious.  The more I started planning and seeing the path forward, the more doable it was.  When things are repeated and broken into smaller pieces like 350-mile chunks of the United States, it doesn’t seem so intimidating.  Now that I’m out here on the West Coast of the United States and I’ve been living in my RV for a month, it feels normal and completely accessible and certainly less novel.  My perception has changed over time; traveling cross country is status quo.

Common points of reference were shown through Grant’s book as well.  When the concept for Lion King was pitched to Disney it was a dark story.  When someone compared it to Hamlet, suddenly everyone was on board. So, in order to sell your idea, find common points of reference to make it more understandable.

I think realizing that being creative doesn’t mean you have to be first with an idea is very powerful.  I’ve had lots of thoughts in the past that if I wasn’t the first to do something, then I was last.  Being later to the party with an idea is actually an advantage. How will you be more creative?