BOOK REVIEW - Originals

Originals 

by Adam Grant 

Penguin Random House 

Pages 322; Price £ 12.99 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                   

Can one individual change the world?

Adam Grant's answer is a resounding YES

 

The opening page of the book ‘Originals’ has a quote from George Bernard Shaw - "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable man persists in adapting the world to himself.” Originality is taking the road less travelled, championing a set of new ideas that go against the grain but ultimately making things better. Adam Grant candidly admits that "nothing is completely original, in the sense that all our ideas are influenced by what we learn from the world around". 

He has chosen a wide canvas and painted vividly a number of peoples’ mindscapes. There are thinkers, lawyers, Silicon Valley giants, Presidents, Prime Ministers. Yet there is no glimpse of fragmentation or broken stories. Sheryl Sandberg, the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, recalls his address to Facebook's global team. “And months after the meeting, they are still talking about his insights and taking actions.

Grant says with conviction that the fear of failure holds back millions of people from implementing ideas which could have changed the world. He also states that in the USA alone 300,000 patents were registered but few ended up being launched as products or services. He cites the example of Abraham Lincoln who was agonising for six months before signing the Emancipation Proclamation. But his conviction prevailed and even now Lincoln tops the list of Presidents in various surveys.  Grant also praises Gandhi for challenging the empire and giving India independence through his own principles of non-violence. Citing so many people without any special privileges who changed the world, he makes a profound statement: Originality is not a fixed trait. It is a free choice.

Grant also cites several examples of Originals making mistakes. He cites an example of Segway, the self-balancing, personal transportation device, that took the world by storm. Many hailed it as the second big boon to mankind after the computer. Steve Jobs was so excited that he offered 60 million dollars for just a 10% stake in the company. The owner declined Steev"s offer. And, finally, Segway failed. Grant has included it in his chapter "Blind inventors and one-eyed investors”.

It is a tough task to capture all the features in a review. However, the titles of the chapters are very imaginative and present the essence of the aspects covered under them. It is unconventional to list chapter titles in a review, but there is an irresistible temptation to break with convention for the benefit of readers. J J Abrams, director of Star Wars, hails the book as "extraordinarily entertaining”. So here you savour the flavour.

 

Creative Destruction

• The Risky Business Of Going Against the Grain

• Blind Inventors and One-Eyed Investors

• The Art and Science of Recognizing Original Ideas

• Out on a Limb

• Speaking Truth to Power

• Fools Rush In

• Timing, Strategic Procrastination, and the First Mover Disadvantage

• Goldilocks and the Trojan Horse

• Creating and Maintaining Coalitions

• Rebel with a Cause

• How Siblings, Parents and Mentors Nurture Originality