Making the most of misfits

There is something to be said for the "out-of-the-box" thinker; the one who comes up with the wierdest (but sometimes most interesting) idea. Often the individuals who come up with these ideas are considered "misfits", either socially or cognitively seperate from the rest of the us; the loaners, the drifters, the contrarian.

And we don't have much tolerance in companies for these folks. We tolerate fit; those who match the norms of our organization and in doing so we limit the "degrees of variance" in our ideas because everyone in the company tends to think alike. We fit a mold; a sort of "Stepford" approach to insight and creation. In this mold we are limited to incrementalism in our ideas, never seeing the more "radical" idea that might not fit but could have great potential.

But some companies have realized that managing misfit in the creative process brings what is sometimes called the "abrasive" ideas to the mix that stimulate thinking beyond incrementalism. They embrace the misfit (even if only for a short time) as part of their creative process and give them equal standing. Below are some means for initiating such an effort.

1. Create a studios where misfits can participate.
Recently we have been establishing "Design Innovation Studios" for our clients. These studios are run by outsiders (individual designers, small design firms, creative consultng teams) and include individuals from the client company for key activities. The studio heads themselves are "misfits", but they are incouraged to include others in the mix and so invite "free radicals" to participate in key activities such as brainstorming sessions.

2. Invite contrarians to the party.
Every company has them; those who never see good in anyone's idea but their own. And sometimes they do have a better idea but are so poor at expressing that idea they alienate others. If you invite contrarians to the party, manage their involvement. If you allow them to constantly step on others ideas it will lead to no good. Instead, put the contrarian into "time out" by asking them to take a flip chart, go to a corner, and diagram their idea. Then have them present the idea to the group and see what it stimulates.

3. Develop a language for your work
Some misfits are just on a different cognitive plain than the rest of the group. This can be as basic as a very bright "nerdy" individual who doesn't fit to an autistic savant; brilliant but unable to communicate. In these situations time must be taken to develop a means of communication, a language for team members to share insights and ideas. Designers often call this a "design language" that conveys the subtlties of the work in a "shorthand" that is understood by all involved.

I would be interested in your thoughts on managing misfits. Please let me know them.