There's a certain global FMCG powerhouse 'house of brands' company I've never worked for.
I used to share a flat with someone I did though and used to hang with him and his work colleagues a lot.
It was amazing how alike they were.
I don't mean the usual diversity stuff. They were a broad mix of ethnicity, nationality, gender and everything.
Yet when they go together it was a bit like a cult.
This was a good thing of course, it fostered a shared sense of belonging, there was a clear feeling of shared identity and being part of something.
Yet, somehow they were part of a hive mind that all worked and thought the same way. I sensed they would rarely be exposed to, certainly wouldn't welcome, fresh approaches or ideas that didn't fit some kind of format.
I experienced this at another global company, where you would only survive in meetings if you understood their particular brand of marketing speak.
It held back a certain hair company that only liked to work with fashionista types.
Don't think agencies are exempt from this. I've walked into many of the most lauded, creatively 'hot' organisations and experienced lots of people dressing and talking the same way.
It's the problem with company values.
In the wrong hands, companies can have a progressive hiring policy yet they flatten out the mental diversity.
It's the mix of different ways of thinking and frames of reference that can be so potent for great work.
Professor Daniel Levin of Rutgers Business School asked more than two hundred executives to reactivate contacts who were relatively dormant.
Some were then asked to to get two contacts to give advice on an ongoing project, while others were asked to get advice from more active contacts.
Overall, they found the most valuable, productive advice came from the dormant contacts.
Why? Because these are the people less likely to share our worldview or think and work like us.
It's so easy to give into the comfort of folks who agree with you, who are easy to work with.
But easy rarely leads to great.
We need exposure to those likely to surprise us with a fresh approach our jolt our minds out of their comfort zones.
That shows the power of a mentally diverse workforce, where people who think different are allowed to be themselves.
And encouraged to mix.
It also shows the danger of hiring for diversity, but then losing out on all the potential from the positive friction, because you then ask everyone to fit in, work in the same way and behave the same way.
Cool agencies should look for uncool new hires, then try not to change them.
Experienced agencies should look for people who don't know what they're doing, they'll offer a brilliantly fresh perspective.
I love the myth that Weiden and Kennedy, arguably todays most successful independent network started out as a place for people who couldn't get a job anywhere else and worked in Oregon, as far away from the advertising hive mind as possible.
Strategy and creative types should meet as many people unlike them as they can. Even find a partner that's hard to work with.
Be careful of only following the profiles of the same industry people.
Read as many different blogs as you can, avoid strategy blogs like this one!!
This is why I like Ted for example, the sheer variety of talks will always teach you something new.
It's also why I avoid industry conferences.
Talking to yourselves is the first sign of madness.
In other words, the more throw people together who have little in common, the more successful you're likely to be.
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