So many companies have a culture that encourages people to fall into line. These types of organizations generally are able to accomplish little more than improving on the innovative ideas of others.
To really succeed in a fast-changing world where yesterday’s rules are being broken every day, we need to learn to be brave and resist the usual, the familiar.
You want people who dare to be different! You want Pirates – where the skull and crossbones may not be a part of the company’s symbol, but they’re Pirates nonetheless. People who take risks, live at times a little on the edge, flaunt rules when justified, laugh loudly as the wind lashes their face and their pursuers fade from view into the distance behind. I always want to work with people like this, and so should you.
Whether you think of them as nonconformists, dissenters, rebels, pirates, nutters, positive deviants, or crazies, make sure your team has a solid sprinkling of them. They will challenge your thinking, fuel your ideas, pump up your momentum, boost your competitive edge, and quite simply make your business a winner.
And make sure you yourself provide a dose of this magic on occasion. You’re unlikely to accomplish anything great in your career without it.
Jay Elliot former Senior Vice President of Apple, in “Leading Apple With Steve Jobs: Management Lessons from a Controversial Genius”
