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"Unfortunately, human beings are driven to maintain a favorable self-concept more than they are an accurate one. We have the tendency to see ourselves as exceedingly moral, attractive, smart, funny, athletic etc., and we don't want to disturb that vision. For many of us, ignorance is bliss. But not all of us. ... many of the world's top performers prioritize an accurate self-concept over a favorable one. They strive to treat beliefs that they don't like in the same way they treat beliefs that they do. They want to know when 'all is not well' because, then, they can do something about it. But these high performers are not only receptive to information that might threaten their favored beliefs, they go out of their way to seek it out themselves. In doing so, they kill their darlings."
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"Everyone seems to be talking about diversity these days. Tech companies have pulled back the curtain to reveal how white and male they are. Indian firms are scrambling to appoint female board members in order to abide by new laws. European and North American multinationals are hiring executives from emerging markets. And even Hollywood is admitting that you're more likely to see an alien on screen than an Asian or Latina female.
Diversity has moved from a nice-to-have to a must-have. And innovation is one of the benefits most consistently lauded to sell people on diversity. It sounds promising. Rather than approaching a problem from one perspective, you gain the opportunity to see things more broadly. The problem is, diversity rarely works out that way. [...]
Diversity is undoubtedly one of the best sources of innovation. But it's not automatic. Diversity by itself does not lead to better solutions. Cultural intelligence, or CQ, is the differentiating factor. CQ is a research-based way of measuring and improving effectiveness for working across cultures. And CQ is a multiplying factor when combined with diversity. Diverse teams with low CQ perform significantly worse than homogeneous teams. But diverse teams with high CQ outperform homogeneous teams in every area—productivity, employee engagement, cost savings, profitability, and yes—innovation."
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"Most
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fear that if their name is unconventional, they won't be taken seriously. Listen scaredy cats, you need to let go of that old school way of thinking. Why should you believe me? I run a B2B firm with a playful name, Eat My Words. For more than a decade, our name has been a magnet for attracting clients, employees, and reporters.
A clever business name is your welcome mat. It suggests, 'We're lots of fun and you're going to love working with us!'"
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"From the very beginning of human society, a part of the population has consistently driven our positive evolution. They were the first to discover new territories. The first to explore tools and language. The first to form culture and government and technologies. The have made enormous contributions to the world, and yet today they are often the first to be medicated, jailed, or put in rehab.
They are the Entrepreneurial Personality Type (EPT), and until now this subpopulation has been overlooked by society. In order for us to maximize their potential—and that of humanity—we have to better understand these unique individuals, learn how best to protect and support them, and even come to the realization that we may be looking at them in the mirror."
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"You are contagious and you get to decide what that means. You have super powers galore. It does not matter if you are a student, a doctor, a CEO, a mom, a dad, a kid, a janitor, a florist, a designer, or a fighter pilot; you have super powers and they're yours for the taking to use and conquer the world with. You get this life, this company, this adventure, this family, this culture, to show up for. Show up well."
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