The Quest for Originality…

Originality touches me in minute traces and in infrequent spurts. I have often struggled with the thought, meaning, and act of being Original. I have entered debates and conversations about the meaning and the mechanics of being original. The quest for originality…. think of something that no one has thought before me and do something that no one has done before me.?

In my research, I came across some frameworks and principles that I will share with my readers and then take up the pursuit.

When I studied Wardly’s Model of Pioneers, Settlers, and Town Planners in my search for an organizational model to support repeated, long-term Innovation, I learned that there are three kinds of people: Pioneers: The original Thinkers and idea generators.?Settlers: People who borrow the idea from the originals and put it into action. Town Planners who take it to yet another level. I felt knowledgeable…for a while. And completely clueless as to how to be that Pioneer or that Original.?

I then came across Adam Grant’s- “Originals: How non-conformists change the World”. The book begins by quoting George Bernard Shaw- “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable men.”

?I am not an unreasonable man (at least not always)…so was there any hope of being an original?? With equal measure of apprehension and hope, I pressed on. I must confess that it was a delightful read and I learned about the origin of companies like Warby Parker, Babble, Ubeam, etc. I also picked up some knowledge nuggets. I will share a couple of pointers that I find interesting.?

“Quantity” is important for quality and originality. Picasso, Shakespeare, and Beethoven are quoted as models of originals. Apart from being greats, they had another commonality – they were prolific creators. For every creation that is applauded, cherished & celebrated, many more were labeled mediocre (at best) and forgotten with time.????

Relaxation, detour or procrastination sometimes aids originality. Leonardo da Vinci took 16 years to complete Mona Lisa. Newton was resting under a tree when he gets a clue from the falling apple and came out with his landmark work. Martin Luther King did not have the complete speech, ready, with him on the podium. He improvised with “I have a dream…” on the prompt to share his dream…a piece of oratory that finds its place in history as all-time greats.?Giving your mind some space can work with some people.

A word of caution here. This is not cardinal truth, a sure shot formula to originality, and not applicable to everyone. At least not in the way it is described in the book. Beware of the procrastinators!! I can cite personal instances of this - When I sometimes seek the help of my younger brother, and he procrastinates, I get jittery. On occasions, when he starts citing Mr. Grant’s theory, I somehow start getting the vision of “16 years” and invariably end up doing the work!! I am sure a lot of leaders, who end up doing their colleague’s work. will identify with this situation. As I said, does not work in the way it is intended…??

Another great book that warrants a mention here is Steven Johnson’s “Where good ideas come from: The natural history of Innovation”. Steven debunks the myth of “Eureka” moments and instead advances his well-researched theory of “slow hunches”. The popular scientists (Darwin and his theory of evolution, Tim Berner Lee & www)?that we have heard about and believe their work to be the result of sudden inspiration,?actually arrived at significant milestones with lots of effort and after spending a considerable amount of time.

The book further states that good ideas do not originate in someone’s mind but rather they are a culmination of social interaction- networking. Readers are introduced to the existence of “multiples” – a situation when many people are working on the same novel concept at the same time, independently, and they accidentally interact with each other. Creative collision and collaboration drive the concept forward. Good ideas are a result of Slow haunch, Networking, Collaboration & Serendipity fuelled by an investigation into unexplained errors and mutations!!

So much so for originality.

I can keep going…quoting books, thought leaders, frameworks, and hypotheses but then that is never-ending. Let me summarize my findings and invite your perspective.

Originality can be broadly divided into two parts:

1.??????Induced Originality

This is when we come out with originality in form or functionality using imitation, inspiration, integration, convergence, re-purposing, re-invention, re-use, collaboration, and the likes. The end-product is “maybe” original but the source is collective. More than one person or group is involved- directly or indirectly. The protagonist of the plot is an aware, knowledgeable, and connected individual and has harnessed his or her capability to exhibit originality.

This is induced originality. Originality is channelized as per the context. Modern frameworks of Innovation like Design Thinking, Agile, Lean, etc. advocate induced originality by assigning a purpose to originality - commercialization. Most of the literature talks about induced originality because that is what is needed at the corporate and commercial levels. For my corporate friends, Induced originality is what originality is all about. Unless you cap originality, you will not get an output that is aligned with your purpose. This is the definition of originality in the plane of norms and existence – Creation with a purpose…make the best of what you can!!

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2.????????Absolute Originality

This is what you mean when you think and talk about originality. This is the contemplation and domain of philosophy, spirituality, and life. Absolute originality is devoid of good or bad, success or failure, complete or incomplete, usefulness or uselessness, and similar such normative and existential metrics. It is non-purposive and nurtures only the being. One look and you instinctively know the original work!! It is powerful and uplifting. The domain of honesty and creation. This is our plane of phenomena…creativity with endless possibilities in absence of evaluating metrics.

In this realm, there are various theories of originality. One theory advocate that we can never be original because at some level all of us are connected. Everything, we are saying or doing has been said and done before. Another theory advocates that we are always original when we are doing something....as we are unique, so is our creation. Anything approached with honesty and sincerity is original. Yet another theory equates the quest for originality to the quest for the meaning of life itself. It is like peeling the layers of an onion. When we have peeled all the layers with great hope and anticipation, we get…. nothing!! So we need to stop at some point and create our context.?In short, like life, the quest to originality is bound by context but the path to absolute originality is not defined… and is always under construction!!

For my friends on a journey to self-discovery and a quest to originality, maybe not the ending that you expected but then sometimes we do not have all the answers…as much as we wish that we had them. I was tempted to come up with a ladder of originality (like “the ladder of accountability”) and define originality at each stage with an upward and downward arrow to indicate zones of “originality” and?“banality”. I did try…but somehow it did not make much sense nor did it appear original!! Well, my quest continues, as I am unable to cap infinite possibilities with finite knowledge, experience & understanding.

Sometimes the journey "IS" the destination...

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