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Weird Ideas That Work: How to Build a Creative Company
A breakthrough in management thinking, “weird ideas” can help every organization achieve a balance between sustaining performance and fostering new ideas. To succeed, you need to be both conventional and counterintuitive.
Creativity, new ideas, innovation—in any age they are keys to success. Yet, as Stanford professor Robert Sutton explains, the standard rules of business behavior and management are precisely the opposite of what it takes to build an innovative company. We are told to hire people who will fit in; to train them extensively; and to work to instill a corporate culture in every employee. In fact, in order to foster creativity, we should hire misfits, goad them to fight, and pay them to defy convention and undermine the prevailing culture. Weird Ideas That Work codifies these and other proven counterintuitive ideas to help you turn your workplace from staid and safe to wild and woolly—and creative.
In Weird Ideas That Work Sutton draws on extensive research in behavioral psychology to explain how innovation can be fostered in hiring, managing, and motivating people; building teams; making decisions; and interacting with outsiders. Business practices like "hire people who make you uncomfortable" and "reward success and failure, but punish inaction," strike many managers as strange or even downright wrong. Yet Weird Ideas That Work shows how some of the best teams and companies use these and other counterintuitive practices to crank out new ideas, and it demonstrates that every company can reap sales and profits from such creativity.
Weird Ideas That Work is filled with examples, drawn from hi- and low-tech industries, manufacturing and services, information and products. More than just a set of bizarre suggestions, it represents a breakthrough in management thinking: Sutton shows that the practices we need to sustain performance are in constant tension with those that foster new ideas. The trick is to choose the right balance between conventional and "weird"—and now, thanks to Robert Sutton's work, we have the tools we need to do so.
Creativity, new ideas, innovation—in any age they are keys to success. Yet, as Stanford professor Robert Sutton explains, the standard rules of business behavior and management are precisely the opposite of what it takes to build an innovative company. We are told to hire people who will fit in; to train them extensively; and to work to instill a corporate culture in every employee. In fact, in order to foster creativity, we should hire misfits, goad them to fight, and pay them to defy convention and undermine the prevailing culture. Weird Ideas That Work codifies these and other proven counterintuitive ideas to help you turn your workplace from staid and safe to wild and woolly—and creative.
In Weird Ideas That Work Sutton draws on extensive research in behavioral psychology to explain how innovation can be fostered in hiring, managing, and motivating people; building teams; making decisions; and interacting with outsiders. Business practices like "hire people who make you uncomfortable" and "reward success and failure, but punish inaction," strike many managers as strange or even downright wrong. Yet Weird Ideas That Work shows how some of the best teams and companies use these and other counterintuitive practices to crank out new ideas, and it demonstrates that every company can reap sales and profits from such creativity.
Weird Ideas That Work is filled with examples, drawn from hi- and low-tech industries, manufacturing and services, information and products. More than just a set of bizarre suggestions, it represents a breakthrough in management thinking: Sutton shows that the practices we need to sustain performance are in constant tension with those that foster new ideas. The trick is to choose the right balance between conventional and "weird"—and now, thanks to Robert Sutton's work, we have the tools we need to do so.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
56 people are currently reading
1909 people want to read
About the author
Robert I. Sutton
27 books266 followersRobert Sutton is Professor of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford and a Professor of Organizational Behavior, by courtesy, at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Sutton studies innovation, leaders and bosses, evidence-based management, the links between knowledge and organizational action, and workplace civility. Sutton’s books include Weird Ideas That Work: 11 ½ Practices for Promoting, Managing, and Sustaining Innovation, The Knowing-Doing Gap: How Smart Firms Turn Knowledge into Action (with Jeffrey Pfeffer), and Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, and Total Nonsense: Profiting from Evidence-Based Management (also with Jeffrey Pfeffer). His most recent book is the New York Times and BusinessWeek bestseller The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t. His next book, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best … and Survive the Worst, which will be published in September 2010 by Business Plus.
Professor Sutton’s honors include the award for the best paper published in the Academy of Management Journal in 1989, the Eugene L. Grant Award for Excellence in Teaching, selection by Business 2.0 as a leading “management guru” in 2002, and the award for the best article published in the Academy of Management Review in 2005. Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, and Total Nonsense was selected as the best business book of 2006 by the Toronto Globe and Mail. His latest book, The No Asshole Rule, won the Quill Award for the best business book of 2007. Sutton was named as one of 10 “B-School All-Stars” by BusinessWeek in 2007, which they described as “professors who are influencing contemporary business thinking far beyond academia.” Sutton is a Fellow at IDEO and a member of the Institute for the Future’s board of directors. Especially dear to his heart is the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, which everyone calls “the Stanford d.school.” He is a co-founder of this multi-disciplinary program, which teaches, practices, and spreads “design thinking.” His personal blog is Work Matters, at www.bobsutton.net.
Professor Sutton’s honors include the award for the best paper published in the Academy of Management Journal in 1989, the Eugene L. Grant Award for Excellence in Teaching, selection by Business 2.0 as a leading “management guru” in 2002, and the award for the best article published in the Academy of Management Review in 2005. Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, and Total Nonsense was selected as the best business book of 2006 by the Toronto Globe and Mail. His latest book, The No Asshole Rule, won the Quill Award for the best business book of 2007. Sutton was named as one of 10 “B-School All-Stars” by BusinessWeek in 2007, which they described as “professors who are influencing contemporary business thinking far beyond academia.” Sutton is a Fellow at IDEO and a member of the Institute for the Future’s board of directors. Especially dear to his heart is the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, which everyone calls “the Stanford d.school.” He is a co-founder of this multi-disciplinary program, which teaches, practices, and spreads “design thinking.” His personal blog is Work Matters, at www.bobsutton.net.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
August 6, 2019
This book is an exhibit in something that does not often receive enough attention, and that is the way that in order to cultivate innovation, we often have to do things that are not comfortable for us. Innovation is, after all, all about encouraging change and growth, and these things are painful and unpleasant to us. Even if there are some areas where we relish growth, there are likely to be a great many more areas where changing things does not come easily and where those who push us to change or grow will not be people we necessarily enjoy being around. Furthermore, as this author does not sugarcoat, a great deal of innovations are in fact not very worthwhile or successful, but that in order to cultivate innovation in general, in the hope of finding a few new ideas that can be developed into very worthwhile new approaches or technologies, one has to put up with a lot of very bad ideas. Knowing this and accepting this is certainly an important part of being able to encourage innovation. And if one does not wish to do so, it is at least good to understand why it is that innovative and creative people do tend to make others feel uneasy with their complacency.
This book of about 200 pages is divided into three parts and 15 fairly short chapters. The author begins with two chapters on why the book's weird ideas work (I), namely why they work but seem weird (1) and a definition of creativity (2). The second part of the book, which takes up most of the book's material, examines the weird ideas in turn (II), specifically: hiring those who learn the organizational code slowly, if at all (3), hiring people who make one uncomfortable (4), hiring people one doesn't need (5), using job interviews to get ideas and insight, not to screen candidates (6), encouraging people to ignore and defy peers and superiors (7), finding happy people and getting them to fight (8), rewarding success and failure and punishing inaction (9), deciding to do something that will probably fail and then convince everyone that it will certainly succeed (10), thinking of some ridiculous things to do and then planning to do them (11), avoiding, distracting, and boring customers, critics, and anyone who only wants to talk about money (12), not trying to learn anything from those who have solved one's problems (13), and forgetting the past, especially past successes (14). After this the author closes with a chapter on putting weird ideas to work (III), namely building companies where innovation is a way of life (15), after which there are acknowledgments, notes, and an index.
Why is it that these ideas work, and what do we know about institutions where these weird ideas are anathema? Well, to take the second question first, it is useful to note that these ideas are precisely the opposite behavior of what a conservative church would do, and it is fairly obvious why, because in some areas of life innovation is not only not particularly appreciated, but it is particularly and strongly disliked. This then leads into the obvious question of why these weird ideas work in the first place. Innovation and change require someone who thinks differently than others do, and who is capable of envisioning a different world than that which now exists. Such people are not likely to be the most charming or socially adept, because their internal drummer will be far stronger than their interest in and ability to conform with others. This lack of conformity makes others uncomfortable and can create issues with others, and cultivating eccentric people who march to the beat of their own drummer and have a variety of odd or wacky ideas, most of which are bad but some of which are very good is not a very comfortable or easy thing to do. The question is, do we value innovation in a particular area? And if we do, we are going to have to do some unconventional and uncomfortable things in order to cultivate change and creativity, since it will not come in packages and ways that we will be familiar with or immediately fond of.
This book of about 200 pages is divided into three parts and 15 fairly short chapters. The author begins with two chapters on why the book's weird ideas work (I), namely why they work but seem weird (1) and a definition of creativity (2). The second part of the book, which takes up most of the book's material, examines the weird ideas in turn (II), specifically: hiring those who learn the organizational code slowly, if at all (3), hiring people who make one uncomfortable (4), hiring people one doesn't need (5), using job interviews to get ideas and insight, not to screen candidates (6), encouraging people to ignore and defy peers and superiors (7), finding happy people and getting them to fight (8), rewarding success and failure and punishing inaction (9), deciding to do something that will probably fail and then convince everyone that it will certainly succeed (10), thinking of some ridiculous things to do and then planning to do them (11), avoiding, distracting, and boring customers, critics, and anyone who only wants to talk about money (12), not trying to learn anything from those who have solved one's problems (13), and forgetting the past, especially past successes (14). After this the author closes with a chapter on putting weird ideas to work (III), namely building companies where innovation is a way of life (15), after which there are acknowledgments, notes, and an index.
Why is it that these ideas work, and what do we know about institutions where these weird ideas are anathema? Well, to take the second question first, it is useful to note that these ideas are precisely the opposite behavior of what a conservative church would do, and it is fairly obvious why, because in some areas of life innovation is not only not particularly appreciated, but it is particularly and strongly disliked. This then leads into the obvious question of why these weird ideas work in the first place. Innovation and change require someone who thinks differently than others do, and who is capable of envisioning a different world than that which now exists. Such people are not likely to be the most charming or socially adept, because their internal drummer will be far stronger than their interest in and ability to conform with others. This lack of conformity makes others uncomfortable and can create issues with others, and cultivating eccentric people who march to the beat of their own drummer and have a variety of odd or wacky ideas, most of which are bad but some of which are very good is not a very comfortable or easy thing to do. The question is, do we value innovation in a particular area? And if we do, we are going to have to do some unconventional and uncomfortable things in order to cultivate change and creativity, since it will not come in packages and ways that we will be familiar with or immediately fond of.
September 4, 2020
Good disruptive ideas take creative minds. It gives a deep dive into how innovation starts, how people are to drive innovation, and what an environment is needed.
Read
August 11, 2016From William C. Taylor, Author of "Practically Radical"
http://www.fastcompany.com/1714272/wi...
What are your three favorite business books, and why?
The first is Weird Ideas that Work by Bob Sutton, the endlessly interesting Stanford professor who should be familiar to most members of the Fast Company community. Bob's book is the smartest and most original take on leadership and organizational creativity that I've read, and it is just so witty and fun. I love it and have learned so much from it.
Another book I simply could not put down is When Pride Still Mattered, the biography of Vince Lombardi written by David Maraniss, the Pulitzer Prize writer. I know it's a cliché--business and sports, football coaches as leaders. But Vince Lombardi is such a larger-than-life character, and Maraniss's book is such a nuanced look at one of the iconic American leaders and competitors of the last fifty years, I learn something new every time I pick it up.
Finally, I'd have to say In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman. It's the business book that begat hundreds (probably thousands) of subsequent business books, and it's still the best. Also, Tom has been a friend and supporter for nearly two decades--he was literally the very first person to invest in Fast Company, he has provided endless amounts of ideas and inspiration. In some sense, any of us who think and write about business, who share new ideas and tell stories of success, are following in his footsteps.
And just about anything by Peter Drucker. He was truly amazing.
http://www.fastcompany.com/1714272/wi...
What are your three favorite business books, and why?
The first is Weird Ideas that Work by Bob Sutton, the endlessly interesting Stanford professor who should be familiar to most members of the Fast Company community. Bob's book is the smartest and most original take on leadership and organizational creativity that I've read, and it is just so witty and fun. I love it and have learned so much from it.
Another book I simply could not put down is When Pride Still Mattered, the biography of Vince Lombardi written by David Maraniss, the Pulitzer Prize writer. I know it's a cliché--business and sports, football coaches as leaders. But Vince Lombardi is such a larger-than-life character, and Maraniss's book is such a nuanced look at one of the iconic American leaders and competitors of the last fifty years, I learn something new every time I pick it up.
Finally, I'd have to say In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman. It's the business book that begat hundreds (probably thousands) of subsequent business books, and it's still the best. Also, Tom has been a friend and supporter for nearly two decades--he was literally the very first person to invest in Fast Company, he has provided endless amounts of ideas and inspiration. In some sense, any of us who think and write about business, who share new ideas and tell stories of success, are following in his footsteps.
And just about anything by Peter Drucker. He was truly amazing.
Read
August 10, 2020A few good nuggets in this one.
July 28, 2021
I think if you work in a company you would probably find this more valuable than me - a self employed solopreneur. Also the book was published in 2001 and reissued in 2007 and 20 years is a loooong time in business. Especially when his main case studies are palm pilot, xerox and intel. I can't imagine the same operations are in process.
I didn't hate it, but it also wasn't a business book I would reread.
I didn't hate it, but it also wasn't a business book I would reread.
January 4, 2023
All leaders say that they want innovation in their organizations but very few are comfortable with the culture, activities and the productive disorder required to achieve it. It requires no small amount of trust in the process and we spend too little time examining what it requires to develop game-changing ideas, let alone teaching the principles of innovation to developing leaders. The companies held up as examples haven't aged well (looking at you, HP) but that's common for business/leadership texts more than a couple of years old.
The voice is refreshingly relaxed compared to the formality or, even worse, the overly-casual tone employed by other books in this genre and the content is addressed in memorable terms.
The voice is refreshingly relaxed compared to the formality or, even worse, the overly-casual tone employed by other books in this genre and the content is addressed in memorable terms.
July 9, 2023
Meh. The author shares a few interesting ideas here and there, but as a whole this book came across as being written by someone who either has little experience of the corporate world or simply speaks from a place of wishful thinking. The content is also very repetitive and could easily have been cut by half, should the author not have indulged so much in sharing his vast collection of case studies. A bit too indulgent and possibly too naive for my taste.
May 30, 2023
Nếu một thế giới toàn những người nhanh nhẹn, đầy khiêm tốn và hoạt bát, thì thế giới ấy không chỉ buồn chán mà còn kém sáng tạo.
Việc thiếu xung đột và bất đồng nghĩa là tập thể không sẵn sàng đề đạt và triển khai nhiều ý tưởng mới có giá trị.
“Khi hai người trong doanh nghiệp luôn nhất trí thì một trong hai người không còn cần thiết nữa”.
Hãy thưởng khi thành công và thất bại, hãy trừng phạt sự thụ động.
Nếu muốn thành công , bạn hãy tăng gấp đôi tỷ lệ thất bại.
Công ty sẽ tràn ngập những con người suy nghĩ giống nhau và hành động như thể tương lai chỉ là bản sao không hơn không kém của quá khứ.
Việc thiếu xung đột và bất đồng nghĩa là tập thể không sẵn sàng đề đạt và triển khai nhiều ý tưởng mới có giá trị.
“Khi hai người trong doanh nghiệp luôn nhất trí thì một trong hai người không còn cần thiết nữa”.
Hãy thưởng khi thành công và thất bại, hãy trừng phạt sự thụ động.
Nếu muốn thành công , bạn hãy tăng gấp đôi tỷ lệ thất bại.
Công ty sẽ tràn ngập những con người suy nghĩ giống nhau và hành động như thể tương lai chỉ là bản sao không hơn không kém của quá khứ.
January 22, 2021
Really great book. An analysis of the creative process, which comes from unintuitive ways. Enjoyed reading it.
November 3, 2023
Enjoyed it. Lots of tips. Easy to understand and flowed well. Audiobook was fast.
December 30, 2024
Wonderful book on Creativity and Innovation - how it works and how it doesn't work. Recommended.
February 4, 2015
A real eye (and mind) opener. In our present time of economic depression and unimaginable national debt it is even more important for companies small and large to find the courage to adopt and practice even just some of Robert Sutton's thinking as described here. Avoid interpersonal conflict, promote intellectual conflict. This really is a book for the bravest of the brave; however the potetential upside is massive. A book which ought to be on the reading of every senior executive, every junior employee, every MBA student. This book is well, and usefully, referenced. Sutton's arguments and ideas haven't dated.
The really scary thing about this book is that one very quickly realises that Sutton's thesis cannot realistically be expected to produce results unless top corporate management is able and willing to promote the non-judgemental and open company culture required; and to oversee their management chain downwards to ensure that no middle-manager actively works against it. One senses the risk of a monumental corporate culture / employment legislation clash; but Sutton is so persuasive that one just has to try.
Personally, I really like Sutton'e writing style; which is shot through with energy and well-supported open thinking. Yet he doesn't lose sight of a highly chilling reality, " Most deviants end up on the scrap pile of failed mutations, not as heroes of organisational transformation... By glorifying imagination, we entice the innocent into unwitting self-destruction" (pgs 188-189).
The really scary thing about this book is that one very quickly realises that Sutton's thesis cannot realistically be expected to produce results unless top corporate management is able and willing to promote the non-judgemental and open company culture required; and to oversee their management chain downwards to ensure that no middle-manager actively works against it. One senses the risk of a monumental corporate culture / employment legislation clash; but Sutton is so persuasive that one just has to try.
Personally, I really like Sutton'e writing style; which is shot through with energy and well-supported open thinking. Yet he doesn't lose sight of a highly chilling reality, " Most deviants end up on the scrap pile of failed mutations, not as heroes of organisational transformation... By glorifying imagination, we entice the innocent into unwitting self-destruction" (pgs 188-189).
May 24, 2009
I clearly written book with some fun ideas and stories throughout. I think my favorite part was the alternative interview questions such as:
- What promising technologies, business practices, and business models did you learn about in school/at work?
- What have you learned about our company that might surprise me?
- Who are our toughest competitors now? Who are going to be our toughest competitors in the future?
- What do you think are some of the most important trends in our industry? What is hot, what do you see happening in the future, and why?
- What promising technologies, business practices, and business models did you learn about in school/at work?
- What have you learned about our company that might surprise me?
- Who are our toughest competitors now? Who are going to be our toughest competitors in the future?
- What do you think are some of the most important trends in our industry? What is hot, what do you see happening in the future, and why?
July 9, 2012
Nel mondo del lavoro, come in molti altri settori, i pregiudizi e le regole accettate cambiano a seconda del paese, del settore industriale e di altre divisioni. [return]Il libro deriva da una conferenza di un americano a favore di manager americani; in Italia alcune delle idee suggerite non sono applicabili; altre necessitano di un ridimensionamento che, probabilmente, ne limitano - se non ne inficiano completamente - la validità
August 2, 2013
Great read for those interested in organizational change and performance enhancement. Packed with good stories, case studies and informative research study to support change related theories. Offers great insights on the need to strive to constantly change and let go of old habits in order to embrace the new to stay 'relevant'. Weird, unconventional, misfits, defiance- if you related to any of these words this book is definitely for you.
August 24, 2013
12 советов про то, как расшевелить организацию, и сделать её более творческой.
Довольно неплохо, жизненно! Во всяком случае, я нашел довольно много пересечений с моей консалтинговой практикой ;)
Подробная рецензия + интеллект-карта в моем блоге: http://s-kalinin.blogspot.ru/2013/08/...
Довольно неплохо, жизненно! Во всяком случае, я нашел довольно много пересечений с моей консалтинговой практикой ;)
Подробная рецензия + интеллект-карта в моем блоге: http://s-kalinin.blogspot.ru/2013/08/...
May 31, 2014
(3.0) Supposedly counterintuitive ideas that make a better company
I'll try reading this again sometime to think about specific changes to make, but I wasn't jumping up to take action from reading this.
I'll try reading this again sometime to think about specific changes to make, but I wasn't jumping up to take action from reading this.
November 3, 2024
The ideas were indeed weird and interesting. They were useful reminders of some of the pitfalls teams often fell into gradually and unknowingly. However, the examples and the ideas were repetitive. He used the same companies to illustrate the weird ideas. This made the book hard to finish.
March 8, 2007
The business school tone of this book made it intolerable to me at first pass, but when I returned to it after having some experience with how design is hard, I appreciated it a lot better.
July 4, 2008
From the guy who brought as "The No Asshole Rule".
Want to read
January 9, 2009Sutton is MS&E prof and d.school prof
August 12, 2011
A good book of strategies for increasing creativity. Mostly it boils down to "Keep everyone from thinking the same thing." And "Keep your past from interfering with your future."
August 1, 2011
the first 17 pages plus the quotes really give a very good picture..the rest is a break down of the first 17 pages and a lot of examples
June 25, 2012
good read
October 27, 2013
It's an interesting read, but it could be shorter.
There are too many details and repetition.
There are too many details and repetition.
June 9, 2014
Buenas ideas, pero con ejemplos de hace muchos años. Para mi gusto, le faltó al autor ligar las ideas al final.. Como siempre, no queda muy claro que hacer durante la ejecución.
February 9, 2015
There was a lot here I hadn't seen anywhere else. My husband is an engineer and there were several anecdotes I had to share with him.
December 10, 2015
Основные правила инноваторов в контексте. Хорошие истории и примеры.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews