Misfit Economy

Misfit. The word describes a person who doesn’t “fit” in, who chooses her own path contrary to others.

Can this actually be a good thing?

In today’s rapidly evolving economy, being unique is valuable. As traditional industries are being upended by changing social and environmental conditions, misfits are needed more than ever.

Misfit David Berdish is a third-generation worker at Ford. He slowed down his career to campaign instead for ideas – unpopular at the time – that he nonetheless believed were vital for Ford’s future, such as car sharing and other alternative mobility solutions.

It was hard going at first. But eventually, Berdish garnered support for his ideas and, today, his efforts have helped the automobile industry as a whole to start addressing the future.

Misfits are capable of dreaming big and, in turn, changing the world. This is because such outsiders have an unusual way of thinking. And while “weird” thinkers in the past were stigmatized, today companies of all stripes are seeking them out.

For instance, German software giant SAP recently announced that it was planning to hire people diagnosed with autism disorders for positions in programming and debugging, hoping that this group’s special skills and attentiveness to small details would be useful.

There’s another advantage to hiring misfits – they’re flexible. Modern corporations need to nimbly respond to external conditions. Employees must be creative and adaptable, and not specialized and methodical like many workers of the past.

As a result, career paths are becoming less linear and more diverse. And misfits are especially well-suited to thrive in this type of environment.

All in all, there are big advantages to being “different.” So what can we learn from misfits?