TOP DRAWER BOOK REVIEW
by
HL Carpenter

 

Weird Ideas That Work
by Robert I. Sutton
232 pages; hardcover; $26.00
The Free Press, New York, 2002

Experienced vu ja de recently? If not, you’ve plenty of company. Seeing old things in new ways means flexing your creativity muscle, which leads to doing things differently – like turning a familiar phrase around.

Unfortunately, being different causes discomfort, both in the business world and at home. That’s one reason everyday work and home life are full of ‘mindless actions’ – those routine things you do without paying attention. In fact, according to Weird Ideas That Work, research has shown the human brain is wired to repeat what was done in the past.

Mother Nature probably had a very valid reason, as author Robert Sutton, a Stanford professor, researcher and speaker, points out. “Tried and true wins out over new and improved most of the time.”

And following routine is even a good thing for some occupations (think surgeons and pilots). But without the impetus to innovate, we might still be living in the dark.

So how can originality be encouraged without upsetting the traditional management apple cart?

Mr. Sutton lists 11-1/2 management practices designed to do just that. He labels them ‘weird’ to attract attention, then illustrates how they work in various real-world companies. After defining creativity as “using old ideas in new ways, places or combinations”, he prods conventional thinkers to ask ‘what if?’

Leaping beyond your usual boundaries into the realm of imagination can be as simple as making the familiar seem unfamiliar. That’s inventiveness.

That’s vu ja de.

 

Review originally published October 2003.