Mavericks at Work

I recently read a great book called, MAVERICKS AT WORK, WHY THE MOST ORIGINAL MINDS IN BUSINESS WIN, by William C. Taylor and Polly LaBarre. This is not a book that I would have likely picked up because I didn’t find the title particularly captivating; however, as I got into the book, I found it to be one of the most interesting and inspirational books that I have read. Like almost all books I read, it was a referal.

I always look for things that provide inspiration and this would be one such book.

One quote from the book is by advertising legend, Dan Wieden, co-founder of Wieden and Kennedy. The quote is, YOU HAVE TO WALK IN STUPID EVERY DAY. What an enlightened quote. What it means to me is that you always need to learn and always need to have an open mind and once you think you know it all, that is probably when you start losing.

And to save time - a good review on Amazon by Joe Wikert follows:

Here are some of the more interesting excerpts I flagged as I read this one:

* Southwest didn't flourish just because its fares were cheaper...Southwest flourished because it reimagined what it means to be an airline.

* If you want to renew and re-energize an industry...don't hire people from that industry.

* If your company went out of business tomorrow, who would really miss you and why?

* The most effective leaders are the ones who are the most insatiable learners, and experienced leaders learn the most by interacting with people whose interests, backgrounds and experiences are the least like theirs.

* We must begin all things in ignorance...otherwise we never start at the beginning.

* The next frontier for making products more emotional is to turn them into something social -- to create a sense of shared ownership and participation among customers themselves.

* Why would great people want to work here?