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Misfit Economy
Lessons in Creativity from Pirates, Hackers, Gangsters and Other Informal Entrepreneurs
Misfit Economy (2015) sings the praises of people who break society’s rules. You’ll learn the strategies of such freethinkers – often working on the periphery of the mainstream economy – who succeed amid tough circumstances. Instead of shunning such “misfits,” you’ll instead be inspired to adopt such strategies in your own life and career.
- Anyone who wants to unleash their “inner misfit”
- Start-up founders and entrepreneurs
- Outsiders, freethinkers and mavericks of all stripes
Alexa Clay is a leading expert on subcultures. Among a host of other projects, she founded the League of Intrapreneurs, an initiative to create change from within big businesses.
Kyra Maya Phillips is a writer and innovation strategist. A graduate of the London School of Economics, Phillips previously wrote on environmental issues for The Guardian.
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Misfit Economy
Lessons in Creativity from Pirates, Hackers, Gangsters and Other Informal Entrepreneurs
- Read in 16 minutes
- Audio & text available
- Contains 10 key ideas
Synopsis
Misfit Economy (2015) sings the praises of people who break society’s rules. You’ll learn the strategies of such freethinkers – often working on the periphery of the mainstream economy – who succeed amid tough circumstances. Instead of shunning such “misfits,” you’ll instead be inspired to adopt such strategies in your own life and career.
Key idea 1 of 10
Are you different? Do you not fit in with “normal?” Misfit, this new world is for you!
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?
Key ideas in this title
- Are you different? Do you not fit in with “normal?” Misfit, this new world is for you!
- Criminals are misfits at their core. Industriousness, adaptability and agility: these are all survival skills.
- Can you do the hustle? When faced with serious obstacles, that’s when it’s time to get creative.
- Being a copycat isn’t only an effective business strategy, it also serves the greater good.
- Copying and exchanging ideas promotes innovation and progress. Closed shops are a dead end.
- At its core, hacking is about building deep knowledge to transform something and make it better.
- Innovation can come from challenging the mundane and asking provocative questions.
- Forging a new path can open up unexpected possibilities and lead to greater fulfillment.
- Misfit communities lack hierarchies and prioritize cooperation above competition.
- Final summary
