A book review of Originals by Adam Grant

I first discovered Adam Grant via his podcast WorkLife. Adam is an American organisational psychologist and professor at the Wharton School.

On his podcast he investigates lots of interesting topics around modern working practise.

In summary Originals, published in 2016 is an exploration of what originality is, where it blossoms & how the average person can have more ideas.

It contains so many examples of interesting people who have changed the world, some you will have heard of and others less well known.

How Non Conformists Changed the World

I enjoyed this book because it was packed with interesting examples of people who took risks in pursuit of achievement.

It made me think about the concept of originality. It also made me consider innovators and what we are taught to expect of them, vs the qualities the typical innovator really has.

How to have more ideas

In summary Adam gives a long list of suggestions on how to have more ideas, some of which I list here now

1) Question the default, the status quo is only the status quo because someone said it is!

2) Triple the number of ideas you generate - You need more bad ideas to have a good one!

3) Seek more feedback on your ideas from peers

4) Welcome criticism, the more we ask for feedback and accept the negative, the better our work becomes

5) If you feel your ideas are too out there, seek to collaborate with others who are a bit more mainstream. The combined effect will get your ideas heard by more people

Thanks for reading!

Shona

Would you like more help with your marketing? My new book is out now

If you would like a book of 100 Marketing Tips written just for small business owners then do have a look here. I wrote this book to be easy to read cover to cover or to be kept as a reference to dip in and out of! What to read next 3 Marketing Podcasts that will teach you something new A roundup of my 5 most read articles How can you treat your customers at the moment? About Me Shona Chambers Marketing is a Marketing Agency based in South East London.

Specialising in helping Small Business Owners and Freelancers with their Marketing.