Rebel Ideas: The Power of Diverse Thinking

Innovation is not just about creativity, it is also about connections.

Take building design, where architects are now curating spaces that maximise the scope for connections. Instead of closed-off cubicles and walled offices, the idea is to bring people away from their desks, to create areas where people feel encouraged to mingle, make chance encounters and engage with outsider perspectives.

People are capable of change, if you gain their trust.

People are capable of change, if you gain their trust. People start to listen to what you are saying when there is a real relationship, rather than just rejecting what you say out of hand.

Some evidence suggests that low-carb, high fat diets can improve health, while others suggest that the best diets are low-fat, high-carb. There is evidence for both sides, which, in a sense, is evidence for neither.

We introduced hundreds of employees to the notion that jobs are not static sculptures, but flexible building blocks. We gave them examples of people becoming the architects of their own jobs, customising their tasks and relationships to better align with their interests, skills and values

The results, when they came back, were remarkable. Productivity soared. It was almost 30 per cent higher than in the lean office condition – and 15 per cent higher than the enriched condition.

In almost all areas of our lives, we will find ourselves moving from the era of standardisation to the era of personalisation.

This is a finding that keeps re-emerging across the social sciences: people with a giving approach are flourishing.

most successful givers are strategic, seeking out meaningful diversity, and cutting off collaborations if they are being exploited. This enables them to benefit from the upside of successful teamwork, while reducing the downside of partners who free-ride.

highly successful people have three things in common: motivation, ability and opportunity