Contemporary business heroes include ordinary people who, with great entrepreneurial ability, start companies in their garages that then become billion-dollar businesses.
That’s a myth, according to authors Chip and Dan Heath in their book, The Myth of the Garage and Other Minor Surprises. Moreover, perpetuating the myth of the lone action-hero entrepreneur may mislead us about what it actually takes to create new ideas.
There are numerous examples, most easily debunked. The founders of YouTube, Steve Chen and Chad Hurly, both had extensive experience at PayPal. The “Steves,” Jobs and Wozniak, who did in fact create Apple in a garage, did so after stints at HP.
“What I learned there was the blueprint we used for Apple,” Jobs admitted.
Companies, the authors state, aren’t created in garages. They are born in companies.
This is among many other business myths that the authors explore in this fun to read, as well as insightful, collection. It includes 16 articles that originally appeared in Fast Company, plus an additional bonus.
Many of the articles are a couple of pages long and written in a humorous style that is equal parts entertainment and information. It is perfect travel reading — more so as Amazon is offering the book as a free Kindle download.
We crave the excitement of the start-up myth, say the authors, in the same way we relish action-adventure movies. Like in the movies, “some ordinary guys, without money or power, triumph via a brilliant insight and scrappy groundwork.” American history is filled with such myths, back to versions of how Columbus discovered the new world.
Such stories over time tend to focus on individuals, not the organizations that supported them. Reality is often different. If you want to start a company or launch a product, the authors suggest you don’t go find a garage. Instead, they suggest you first get a job.
Each article tackles a different myth. They are each interesting reading no matter your business or focus. Among my favorites:
‘I Love You, Now What?’
Exploring the lost art of saying thank you, this article cleverly ties in this simple action with economic as well as emotional issues. In a survey of 10,000 workers from the 1,000 largest companies, 40 percent cited ‘lack of recognition’ as a major reason for leaving a job. The “thank-you scarcity,” has been noted by a number of companies. American Airlines, for example, has a program called Applause that provides frequent travelers with preprinted cards to give employees who exhibit outstanding service.
‘Is Talent Portable?’
Businesses often seem obsessed with hiring and keeping the “right” talent. Jim Collins provided us with the catch phrase, “Get the right people on the bus,” that has been a popular mantra in hiring for years.
Talent, however, may be more like a plant that thrives in certain climates and dies in others. The job performance of star talent that moved to a new job has been shown to suffer for up to five years. Your company may be better off growing its own talent than hiring from the outside.
‘Get Back in the Box’
Thinking outside the box can actually reduce creativity. Maybe you don’t need to get out of the box; maybe you need a new one. A well-constructed box can help people generate new ideas. Brainstorming is more productive when it’s focused, according to research. If you’re sure your box isn’t working, the authors suggest it may be time to go box shopping.
‘The Inevitability of $300 Socks’
While paying $300 for a pair of socks may sound absurd, think about how our threshold for $50 jeans has increased to $300. Jeans used to be working, casual clothes. Within a decade, jeans became a $700 million industry.
Part of the reason for this is that the concept of luxury has changed. Luxury is now less about status and more an indicator of personal style and expression.
Products become ideas, whether jeans or socks. V.K. Nagrani, a designer of high-end men’s socks (currently $35,) suggests socks are a signal of intimacy. If someone takes off their shoes, they are more comfortable. The more comfortable, the more sock is seen — a “sock tease.”
If there was ever a collection of business stories perfect for summer reading, this is undoubtedly it. Dan and Chip Heath force us to laugh even while facing the tendency to create and perpetuate our own myths of the garage.