Adam Grant missed the opportunity to invest in Warby Parker, which later became a highly successful $1 billion company, due to misunderstanding the traits of originals.
Originals drive creativity and change by standing out and speaking up, and they manage their self-doubt and fear of failure differently than non-originals.
Moderate procrastination can boost creativity by allowing for more incubation of ideas, and the first-mover advantage is often a myth.
Meeting Notes:
Reflections on Passing Up Warby Parker
Adam Grant was approached by students who wanted him to invest in their startup company that planned to sell products online
The students took internships instead of working full-time on the company
A day before the company's launch, their website was still not functional
Adam Grant declined to invest, and later realized the company was Warby Parker, which became highly successful and was recognized as the world's most innovative company, valued at over $1 billion
Adam Grant's wife now handles their investments
Understanding Originals
Originals are nonconformists who drive creativity and change in the world by standing out and speaking up
Adam Grant studied originals to understand how to recognize and become more like them
The Virtues of Procrastination
Adam Grant is a "pre-procrastinator" who rushes to complete tasks early
Research shows that moderate procrastination can boost creativity by 16% compared to those who start tasks immediately
Examples of procrastinating originals: Leonardo da Vinci worked on and off for 16 years on the Mona Lisa, Martin Luther King Jr. was up until 3 AM rewriting his famous "I Have a Dream" speech the night before delivering it, allowing for improvisation
Starting tasks quickly can limit creativity, while procrastinating allows for more incubation of ideas
Procrastination advice is counterproductive for productivity but can be a virtue for creativity
The first-mover advantage is mostly a myth - improvers who introduce something better after others often succeed more than the first movers (e.g., Facebook, Google)
Embracing Doubt and Trying New Things
Originals feel fear and doubt like everyone else, but manage it differently
Self-doubt paralyzes, while idea-doubt motivates testing and experimentation
Using a non-default web browser like Firefox or Chrome (which requires downloading) indicates a willingness to doubt the default and look for better options
Firefox and Chrome users significantly outperform and are more committed than default browser users like Internet Explorer and Safari
Originals have many bad ideas, but generate a high volume of ideas to find the good ones (e.g., Warby Parker tested over 2,000 name possibilities)
Originals' biggest fear is failing to try - they are more afraid of inaction than failure itself
Even great originals fail frequently because they try more ideas
Key Lessons
Originals are not fundamentally different - they feel fear, doubt, procrastinate, and have bad ideas like others
Quick starters can boost creativity by procrastinating moderately
Embrace idea-doubt and the fear of failing to try, rather than self-doubt and fear of failure
Generate a high volume of ideas, knowing most will be bad, to increase chances of finding good ones
Adam Grant regrets passing on Warby Parker due to misunderstanding key traits of originals