Episode #104: The Undercover Economist, Tim Harford, talks Messy (part 1)

Jan 14, 2017

Tim Harford, a renowned economist and bestselling author, dives deep into the transformative power of messiness in our lives. He discusses how chaos can spark creativity and innovation, using examples from jazz and Black Sabbath. Harford argues that clean organizations often move slowly and that embracing disorder fosters growth and problem-solving. He also touches on the effects of social media on political polarization and the importance of continuous reflection for personal and organizational development.

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ANECDOTE

The Cologne Concert

Keith Jarrett's 1975 Cologne concert was almost a disaster due to a suboptimal piano.
He improvised, creating a masterpiece, proving that constraints can boost creativity.

ANECDOTE

Iommi and Eno

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi's unique sound was influenced by his adapted playing style after losing fingertips.
Brian Eno uses randomness as a creative strategy, advocating for starting in new places.

INSIGHT

Diversity vs. Confidence

Diverse teams solve problems better due to varied approaches.
However, homogenous teams often feel more confident despite performing worse.

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Tim Harford is the author of the bestseller The Undercover Economist, Adapt and The Logic of Life and is a member of the editorial board of the Financial Times, where he also writes the “Dear Economist” column.

Tim has just released his Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives, which New York Times bestselling author, Adam Grant, says is utterly fascinating. The book celebrates the benefits that messiness has in our lives: why it’s important, why we resist it, and why we should embrace it instead.

He is a regular contributor to Slate, Forbes, and NPR’s Marketplace. He was the host of the BBC TV series Trust Me, I’m an Economist and now presents the BBC series More or Less. Harford has been an economist at the World Bank and an economics tutor at Oxford University.

Malcolm Gladwell says that “every Tim Harford book is a cause for celebration” so with adulation like that I simply coudn’t get Tim get away with just a 30 minute interview when there is simply so much to talk about so he’ll be joining me and by extension, you again next month for part 2 of this interview.

But first, I bring you part one with the one, the only, Tim Harford.

Topics discussed:

- Tim’s latest book

- The jazz composition that almost never was... and Black Sabbath

- Why clean organisations are often slow moving organisations

- The connection between messiness and creativity

- Our self reinforcing social media bubbles

- Should we be moving to hybrid organisations?

- How Donald Trump and Jeff Bezos used chaos and messiness as an offensive weapon in politics and business respectively

- How chaos can fuel your competitive strategy

- Is inbox zero a waste of time?

Show Notes:

1) Tim’s Website: timharford.com

2) Tim’s books:

Messy: https://amzn.to/2xz6YTh
The Undercover Economist Strikes Back: https://amzn.to/2MJBEah
Adapt: https://amzn.to/2xx4GnR
The Logic of Life: https://amzn.to/2pkuGz9

3) Tim's Twitter: twitter.com/timharford

4) VOTE FOR US: Australian Podcasting People's Choice Awards - bit.ly/futuresquared

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