Book(s) review: how non-conformists move the world

A successful businesswoman sat across the lunch table from me, talking about the biography of war correspondent Marie Colvin, who was tragically killed in Syria while on assignment in 2012.?“There are some really vivid descriptions of how difficult it was when Colvin started her career,” she said.?“And I was thinking to myself:?it was so tough for women back then.?And then I realized:?we were born in the same year!”

As we compile our summer reading lists, let’s make room for books about trailblazers, to thank those who came before us, and to learn from and support the trailblazers of today.?As is the format in this “book(s) review” (one book for those who read literature, another for those who like business topics) I wanted to recommend two: “Lessons in Chemistry,” a novel by Bonnie Garmus, and “Originals,” a work of non-fiction by organizational psychologist Adam Grant.

Book(s) review: how non-conformists move the world

“Lessons in Chemistry” gives us Elizabeth Zott, a female chemist in 1950s America with a defining passion for the sciences.?Despite her innate brilliance and laser focus on her work, Elizabeth is attacked at every turn, her presence belittled, and her work ignored or plagiarized.?And when Elizabeth – as an unmarried woman – becomes pregnant, she is fired from the research job she loves.?

In the first of two “deus ex machina” moments (reminding the reader that the book is, after all, a work of fiction), Elizabeth finds her way onto television, hosting a daytime cooking show which, like Elizabeth herself, has chemistry at its core.

The book was impossible to put down.?I hid in a coffee shop around the corner from home to get through the last few chapters.?I sat there, tearing up in public, when I arrived at the paragraph where Elizabeth reminds her TV audience that chemistry is change.?She says:

“Whenever you start doubting yourself … whenever you feel afraid, just remember courage is the root of change – and change is what we’re chemically designed to do.”

We all know change is not easy.?There were many moments in the novel where the odds felt too stacked against Elizabeth Zott; when you wondered if she would just give up, get a more conventional job, or align with the expectations of the time and give up her profession all together.?But she perseveres.?

Adam Grant 's “Originals” has many real-life examples of people who blazed new trails, insights into why and how they kept going, and what we can do each day to recognize and champion good, new ideas.?

In the chapter “Out on a Limb,” subtitled “Speaking Truth to Power,” Grant talks about the two paths a trailblazer can take.?The first path is “voice,” where you stay with an organization that is reluctant to embrace change.?The second path is “exit,” where you leave and find a setting where your ideas are heard.?Ultimately Grant concludes that perhaps it doesn’t matter which path you take, as long as you continue to speak up rather than stay silent.?He says,

“in the long run, research shows that the mistakes we regret are not errors of commission, but errors of omission.?If we could do things over, most of us would censor ourselves less and express our ideas more.”

Many of us will take time off over the summer, and that’s a great time to do some reading and reflecting.?Maybe you will reflect on how far we’ve come.?Maybe you will reflect on what still needs to change, whether in your company or the world.?Maybe, you will reflect on the fact that you yourself are a trailblazer.?Regardless, these two books remind us of the importance and impact of perseverance.?Let Elizabeth Zott be your inspiration to keep going!

What’s on your summer reading list?

-Anna