Originality

Original. This coveted description brands jeans, art, recipes, and even sin. It signifies something unique and not derivative, something rare or noteworthy. Originality is what others are drawn to copy or driven to acquire. But for a DEO, originality isn’t a quest or a creative goal. For a DEO, being an original is the only option.

Most people pay lip service to being original. They post Apple’s “Think Different” prose on the wall and praise uniqueness as necessary, but they shy away from it in practice. Although we’re all born originals (at least until cloning becomes practical), we quickly discover the high cost of maintaining our individuality. Social, educational, and business processes are set up to encourage and reward status quo thinking and behavior. Fitting in requires much less effort than standing out.

Being original is also risky. Ironically, this seems even more true in businesses going through transition or struggling to remain competitive. Andrew S. Allen, founder and editor of the movie review site Short of the Week, compared the originality of top-grossing movies from 1981 to 2011. In 1981, seven of the 10 highest-grossing movies were original stories. In 2011, none were. The rewards of conformity — in this case, releasing a sequel or a remake — are far more predictable and assured.

But none of this matters to DEOs. If they ever consider being normal or average, its only a brief flirtation.

To a DEO, originality doesn’t mean adopting a counterculture or eccentric stance. It doesn’t mean rebelling against everything or morphing into whichever persona is currently popular. DEOs originality comes from successfully integrating their full range of interests, talents, and traits, including those that seem contradictory. It comes from embracing their passions and preferences regardless of how the rest of the world reacts.

For Carl Bass and Ayah Bdeir, originality comes from integrating their love of analytics and art, two disciplines that usually require separate college campuses. For Chris Anderson and Jesse Ziff Cool, it comes from being both introverted and extroverted, a combination that doesn’t even exist by most people’s standards. For this book’s authors, it comes from combining what are traditionally viewed as feminine and masculine leadership traits.

By refusing to conform to narrow stereotypes and insisting on the legitimacy of their oddly aligned characteristics, DEOs create complex, unique personalities that are easy to admire and difficult to copy.

While being original is unavoidable to a DEO, it remains daunting. Originality requires courage and vulnerability: courage to express that which is unusual or unheeded and vulnerability to others’ dismissal or ridicule. Particularly early in their careers, DEOs must face these challenges largely alone. Few, if any, mentors or role models exist to lead the way. No guidelines or behavioral boundaries define the difference between admirably original and unconvincingly fragmented.

Fortunately, benefits and fans accrue over time. Being distinct and original helps DEOs stand out from the competition. It makes them more noteworthy and gets them more press. It attracts supporters who don’t ask them to change and stakeholders who don’t want them to leave. On a personal level, embracing and maintaining originality helps a DEO develop a sense of security and self-confidence that’s based on a permanent quality. They’re not afraid of losing their edge — of not being creative enough — because it is their essence, not just their skill set.

Being original is associated with the ability to make independent judgments and not be swayed by others’ opinions. Those who are comfortable with their originality tend to also be comfortable with self-assertion and as a result are better able to lead others. This doesn’t mean they are immune to criticism or failure. As Steve Gundrum, inventor extraordinaire at Mattson, confesses: “My ideas get shot down all the time and always have. … Luckily, I’ve never been blocked from expressing my creative vision.”

Guidelines

Of course, it’s impossible to be original in every characteristic and every endeavor. In fact, it’s more likely that every idea builds from others’ earlier efforts and inspiration. DEOs don’t force originality for its own sake. It emerges naturally. In addition to a genetic disposition and a lucky upbringing, originality demands mastery, adaptability, and curiosity. DEOs may not start life with all these attributes, but they gain them over time and practice them daily.

Mastery

Being original usually takes a good deal of work. While a DEO may be born with an aptitude for combining math and fashion, these tendencies remain nothing more than inclinations unless he or she pursues a career that builds and integrates them.

Mastery comes from years of study and practice. It comes from a deep understanding of where concepts originate, why current behaviors exist, and what came before. This knowledgeable perspective is essential to the creation of original content. Understanding the roots of an industry enables DEOs to know what is new, what is derivative, and what is an outright copy. Mastering discipline not only helps them effectively combine disparate skills, but also find novel ways of applying them.

Curiosity

Originality thrives on a steady stream of fresh learning, new connections, and novel insights, often prompted by DEOs’ curiosity. Their curiosity feeds creativity and fuels problem solving. It uncovers opportunities and drives them forward. It’s what prompts them to question, to doubt, and to investigate.

A DEO may start a conversation with an innocently posed what’s that? Before long, if the topic is anywhere close to something they are studying, the dialogue will quickly become intense and detailed. They’ll want to understand how it works, where it came from, and why it’s different. They’ll want to compare notes, exchange contacts, and start a conference.

Adaptability

For most DEOs, originality emerges from adaptation. Born with a passion others don’t yet share or an odd collection of skills and proclivities others don’t yet value, a DEO adapts her abilities to suit her surroundings. She won’t change who she is, but she’ll apply herself in a way that others can better appreciate.

Emily Pilloton, founder of Project H, expressed her originality differently depending on where she was and what was needed. She adapted her offerings one way to a poor, rural community and another to a wealthy suburb. Mark Dwight continued adapting and adjusting his originality until he found his true calling running Rickshaw.

In many cases, it is DEOs’ adaptability that keeps them and their company up to date. Originality is highly attractive to others as a template for their own work. Over time, every original person, product, or service is sure to be copied. The copies are usually poor, but sufficient to downgrade the original’s uniqueness. To counter this, a DEO treats originality as a moving target, developing and renewing the qualities that most contribute to its distinctiveness.

Workouts to increase your originality

Mash it up.

Make a list of what you love doing and what you hate doing. Cross out the list of what you hate doing and group the things you love doing according to their similarities. Label each group with a term that describes its contents. Now combine two groups that are dissimilar. This should produce a fairly original combination of activities you love. Do them more often.

Mind the gap.

All of us have something we’d love to do but have never learned. Fill that gap, no matter how unrelated it is to what you currently do. In fact, the more unrelated it is, the better.

Give up control.

If you have young children, spend time letting them be in charge — not running the household, but letting them decide what games to play, what rules to follow, and how to win. They’re creative geniuses and can teach originality far better than adults.

Stand out.

Become known for something highly individual at work. Matthew Carlson, formerly at Hot Studio and now at Creative Cloud Experience, became one of the most prolific “pinners” on Pinterest (and one of the few men). By pursuing his interest despite its unusual nature, he gained notoriety not only within his company, but also in a much larger networked community.

Go deeper.

Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Curious?: Discover the Missing Ingredient to a Fulfilling Life by Todd B. Kashdan Pathfinders: A Global History of Exploration by Felipe Fernández-Armesto
Creating Minds: An Anatomy of Creativity Seen Through the Lives of Freud, Einstein, Picasso, Stravinsky, Eliot, Graham, and Ghandi by Howard E. Gardner

Read from the start through to the finish, or bounce around to which ever topics seem relevant. This book is designed to our suit readers’ desires, not a prescribed narrative format. We also welcome your feedback, questions and comments — something we could never do from the pages of our books.

Most of all, if our perspective intrigues you, if you think these traits and inclinations might describe your strengths or potential, we encourage you to start building them now. Reading about leadership is like reading about cycling. No matter how well we understand the technique, we won’t get anywhere until we hop on a bike and start pedaling.

The next chapter in this series is here. To start at the beginning, go here.