Here's to the oddballs at work
Bosses and peers either love or hate mavericks, but companies need them for their different ways of thinking and doing
THE next time someone calls you an oddball at work, consider it a badge of honour. As Dr Seuss puts it: "Why fit in when you were born to stand out?"
Call them what you want - misfits, mavericks or even troublemakers. Being different is not usually regarded very kindly, but companies are realising that these people are exactly who they need in times of fast change.
They are the ones with the wild ideas - crazy enough that they might actually work. They are the ones unafraid to challenge the status quo. And more than just talk big, they are the ones passionate enough to put their money (or hands, in this case) where their mouth is to carry out the work required. These are the people who are going to change your company. Roger Grant, co-founder of change management company Personna, calls them the "crazy geniuses". The good news is that they exist in virtually every organisation, he says. The bad news is, they usually go unappreciated.
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