The Next Chapter by American Express Business Class

Adam Grant on “Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World”

Jul 27, 2022

Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist and best-selling author, discusses the importance of originality and creativity. He explores the tension between originality and conventional success and shares strategies for managing work and productivity. Grant also emphasizes the value of evaluating new ideas and the role of creative peers. He advocates for thinking like a scientist and highlights the impact of loneliness on originals. Additionally, he emphasizes the dangers of relying too heavily on existing knowledge.

34:20

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Episode guests

Adam Grant

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Originality involves introducing new ideas that improve a specific domain by combining old and new elements.

Fear of failure in the pursuit of success suppresses individuals' originality and limits their willingness to take risks and explore new ideas.

Deep dives

The Definition of Originality

According to Adam Grant, originality involves introducing and advancing an idea that is relatively unusual within a particular domain and has the potential to improve it. He emphasizes that original ideas can come from combining old things in new combinations or new things in old combinations, drawing on examples like the invention of the iPhone. Grant argues that people often dismiss ideas as unoriginal if they seem similar to something that has been done before, but the crucial factor is whether the idea is new to the specific domain.

Introduction

2min

The Tension Between Originality and Conventional Success

7min

Managing Work and Productivity

12min

Evaluating New Ideas and the Role of Creative Peers

1min

Thinking Like a Scientist

4min

Loneliness and the Importance of Reconnection

6min

Formulating Your Own Thoughts and Resisting the Impulse to Consult Existing Knowledge

2min

Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist, best-selling author and the top-rated professor at one of the world’s most prestigious business schools for seven years running. Grant’s influential book “Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World” makes the case for an outsider approach to problem solving, drawn from years of his own academic research, the groundwork of others and interviews with famous freethinkers. In this episode, Cardiff Garcia sits down with Grant to examine how organizations can encourage a culture of originality, and how his thoughts have shifted since the book’s publication in 2016.

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