Rebel Ideas
Matthew Syed

Summary

This book is a must read in my opinion. Matthew does a masterful job explaining why diversity is not just a nice-to-have but a massive competitive advantage in business. Diversity of thought is the only way to progress.

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Notes

The idea between diversity and excellence being a trade off is wrong

To solve the biggest problems, you need people who think differently

Diversity is essential in driving collective intelligence, where team is more important than the individual

Harnessing the power of cognitive diversity is a key competitive advantage and surest route to reinvention and growth

Looking at problems through different lenses brings new insights and solutions

Perspective blindness: we’re blind to our own blind spots

Homogeneity of thought and people undermines your team

It’s comforting to be surrounded by people who are similar and think like you but it becomes dangerous because there’s a lot you miss

Lack of social diversity in the political elites

When people from the same background are placed into a decision making group they are likely to be collectively blind

Single person vs. team of clones (all in same circle) vs. team of rebels (everyone in a different circle)

People have different frames of reference depending on their experiences and culture. Combining perspective creates a more comprehensive picture

For complex problems, you need cognitive diversity. For simple tasks, you need the best

‘Clone fallacy’ choosing to work with with those similar to you

Collective intelligence requires ability and diversity

Hiring someone who is racially different doesn’t generate cognitive diversity

• Find people with perspectives that are unique and synergistic

For diversity to work it’s magic, different perspectives and judgements must be expressed

It’s important to have a leader in charge that you need to hear everyone’s perspective in order to come to an accurate decision

Meetings predict terrible outcomes even more powerfully than smoking predicts cancer

Uneven communication problem: when few people in a meeting do all the talking

Interaction cascade: when everyone has pieces of info but not the whole story and they fail to communicate to each other

Dominant individuals are mimicked out of fear. Prestigious individuals are followed out of respect

Dominance hierarchy is zero sum (some moves up/down) but prestige is positive sum because generosity towards the group is likely to be copied

Prestige is associated with higher empathy and info sharing. This boosts collective intelligence

Amazon has meetings w/ full silence so everyone's opinion is not dismissed

Recombinant innovation: taking 2 ideas from different fields and merging them

Scientific papers with the most impact came from those across multiple disciplines

57% of top 55 companies in US were started by immigrants

Immigrants = outsider mindset, the most powerful asset

Whenever there’s a status quo, always think of the inverse

Information spillover: when sharing ideas multiples the output

If you want to have a cool technology, it is better to be social that smart

Innovation is not just about creativity, it’s about connections

Social media is increasing echo chambers of information and you have to break it with outside exposure

When people are denied access to diverse views and evidence, they are more likely to believe in extremist views and ideologies

Standardization doesn’t work because you need to adapt to the individual

Nutrition has to be personalized because every individual has different glucose spikes depending on which foods they eat

The ability to question defaults makes a huge difference in a changing world

Autonomy and personalization are important to make workers happy

The success of societies and organizations depends on harnessing our differences in pursuit of our vital interests

Diversity is the hidden engine of humanity

Innovation is about the interplay b/w individuals and the networks the inhabit

Great ideas lead to bigger brains

Cultural differences are biological differences but not genetic differences

Humans are smart because we leaned towards connection with other brains

3 things impact our lives:

• Unconscious bias: dismantling it creates a fairer system and more intelligent society
• Shadow boards: young people have regular input in high level decision making
• A giving attitude: willingness to share insights with others

People with a giving approach are flourishing

People who give can construct more diverse networks

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