Originals

How can we originate new ideas, policies and practices without risking it all? This book shows how to improve the world by championing novel ideas and values that go against the grain, battling conformity, and bucking outdated traditions. It explores how to recognize a good idea, speak up without getting silenced, and build a coalition of allies.

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WINNER of the Chartered Management Institute's (CMI's) Mangement Book of the Year Awards 2017, JP Morgan's Best Summer Read 2018, and a #1 New York Times Bestseller!

‘Extraordinary’ JJ Abrams
‘Fascinating’ Arianna Huffington
‘Inspire creativity and change’ Richard Branson
‘One of my favourite thinkers’ Malcolm Gladwell
‘Masterful’ Peter Thiel
‘One of the great social scientists of our time’ Susan Cain, bestselling author of Quiet
‘Fresh research, counter-intuitive insights, lively writing, practical calls to action’ The Financial Times


The New York Times bestselling author examines how people can drive creative, moral, and organisational progress—and how leaders can encourage originality in their organisations.

How can we originate new ideas, policies and practices without risking it all? Adam Grant shows how to improve the world by championing novel ideas and values that go against the grain, battling conformity, and bucking outdated traditions.

Using surprising studies and stories spanning business, politics, sports, and entertainment, Grant explores how to recognize a good idea, speak up without getting silenced, build a coalition of allies, choose the right time to act, and manage fear and doubt. Parents will learn how to nurture originality in children, and leaders will discover how to fight groupthink to build cultures that welcome dissent.

Told through dazzling case studies of people going against the grain, you’ll encounter an entrepreneur who pitches the reasons not to invest, a woman at Apple who challenged Steve Jobs from three levels below, an analyst who challenged secrecy at the CIA, a billionaire financial wizard who fires employees who don’t criticize him, and the TV executive who saved Seinfeld from the cutting room floor. Originals will give you groundbreaking insights about rejecting conformity and how to change the world.