Paul Sloane

How can you build a team that is innovative, dynamic and capable of finding breakthroughs for tough problems? How can you avoid repeating dreary routines and find sparkling new ideas instead? One way is to make sure that among your solid employees you have a good sprinkling of rebels.

At a workshop in Taiwan I asked delegates what was impeding innovation in their business. The answer was: ‘We have too much respect.’

Middle-level managers felt too much reverence for the executives in the company to challenge their views and to question the way things were done. They were used to accepting and implementing decisions that were handed down to them rather than pushing back with better suggestions and radical ideas of their own.

Taiwan, like many Asian societies, is well-ordered with good self-discipline. But maybe the bad attitudes that we see manifested in our society might have some upsides. Do we benefit from rebellious employees who challenge assumptions and assert a different point of view?

What we need is not a lack of respect but a lack of deference. In the modern innovative organisation, leaders need to earn the respect of their employees because of the values they stand for, and not because of their position in the hierarchy. A lack of deference should be encouraged so that anyone can challenge anyone else’s ideas regardless of their status.

‘Innovation comes from angry and driven people,’ says business guru Tom Peters. The satisfaction borne of success can lead to complacency, the enemy of innovation. This is why the innovative leader always engenders a healthy dissatisfaction with the status quo.

Often the innovator has to be obsessive to the point of apparent irrationality in pursuit of their dream, appearing insubordinate in opposing convention.

Anita Roddick, Trevor Baylis, James Dyson, and Richard Branson were all seen as obstinate, angry rebels before they achieved the success that changed their status to visionaries. You have probably seen it yourself – is the programmer with the worst attitude the one who produces the most brilliant code?

How can you harness the energy of your mavericks? The answer is to throw down a challenge. Rebels can be very critical, so turn the situation around and ask them how they would do things better. Don’t get into an argument with them. Take their ideas on board. Praise them for good proposals. Encourage them to find new and better ways to do things. Thank them for their criticisms but insist that they make positive suggestions, too.

Rebels can achieve amazing things. In 1994 John Patrick and David Grossman were determined to galvanise lumbering giant IBM into a response to the opportunities arising from the internet.

Initially IBM, with its investment in mainframe computers and corporate systems, failed to see that the internet was going to revolutionise its world.

Patrick and Grossman saw that here was a trend their employer could not afford to miss so they launched a subversive internal campaign. They found a network of enthusiasts and activists. They launched a ‘manifesto’. They gave demonstrations of the internet’s capabilities to senior executives. They took risks, broke the rules and exceeded their authority. Eventually their pleas were heard, the supertanker turned and IBM became a leader in ecommerce and web services.

When you interview candidates do not fall into the trap of liking those that respectfully agree with you. Recruit someone with attitude, someone who is prepared to disagree with you and challenge your views. Give candidates hypothetical problems and see if they come up with inventive ideas or routine answers. Look for people with unusual interests and hobbies. Creative people do creative things in their spare time. Bland people watch TV.

Every revolution starts with a rebel. So if you want innovators in your team look for people with some bad attitudes – the ones with rebellious and divergent views.

These are people who some might label as troublemakers. They are not negative or cynical – on the contrary they are passionate about their ideas. They do not defer to authority, they are dissatisfied with the status quo, they are impatient for change and they are angry about the obstacles put in their way.

With such a profile they should certainly stand out from the crowd.

Paul Sloane is the author of The Leader’s Guide to Lateral Thinking Skills published by Kogan Page. He is the founder of Destination Innovation , which helps businesses improve innovation.

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