Weird Ideas That Work: The Right People

In continuing our overview of Robert Sutton’s Weird Ideas That Work, let’s talk about people. 

“Driving out variation makes sense when organizations do proven things in proven ways that still work…When innovation is the goal, however, organizations need variations in what people do, think about, and produce.”

We also need variation in who we hire! 

Weird Idea 1: Hire “Slow Learners” (of the Organizational Code)
The organizational code is “…assumptions about why things are supposed to be done in certain ways…shared norms…” If you want innovation, you need varied perspectives and ideas. If you want variation you need to hire people that aren’t eager to assimilate.

An interesting point raised is that slow learners may have symbiotic relationships with “fast learners” who can “…protect and insulate them, and who can translate and promote their ideas.” 

Weird Idea 1.5: Hire People Who Make You Uncomfortable, Even Those You Dislike
“…another way to find a few useful misfits who will ignore and reject the organizational code.” 

Weird Idea 2: Hire People (You Probably) Don’t Need
“…they sometimes produced useful new products or ways of working that people who had the “right” skills never would have dreamed up.”

Hire the people with skills you might need.  

Sutton refers to innovative people and companies as packrats “…collecting ideas, people, and things they don’t seem to have any immediate use for, but they can’t bring themselves to forget or discard.”

This makes perfect sense. If most innovation involves combining existing ideas or elements in new ways, then you need to keep collecting people and ideas to have the raw materials to innovate! 

Weird Idea 3: Use Job Interviews to Get Ideas, Not to Screen Candidates
It’s very difficult to pick the right candidate for a job based on the classic “tell me your strengths and weaknesses and your biggest accomplishment” job interview.

What if we used interviews as our opportunities to “rent” someone’s brain? What if we gave them problems we can’t solve or are having difficulty managing? What would they do? Why?

Wouldn’t this give us an opportunity to get to know the candidate better and, regardless of whether a job is offered and subsequently accepted, gain a fresh perspective? 

Once we have the right people, we’ll need to provide the right environment – more about that tomorrow!

Comments

[ann michael]

Thanks! I've always loved the way Bob Sutton thought! You should go check out his blog (link in post above on his name). Wait until you see the rest of his weird ideas - you're going to love them too. He has a great way of looking at things!

[Liz Strauss]

I love your weird ideas! Everyone of them makes so much sense. We don't value the folks who don't think like we do enough -- yet they're the ones who do well at the stuff that we don't do. Hiring people we might need forces us to keep on our toes to make sure the talent we find works out. Keeping aware that an interview is a place that we can learn opens us up and changes the tenor of the situation in so many ways -- it just might also bring out so much more from the candidate that you might no otherwise see.

Great post Ann you really go me thinking.