NOW Corp’s Lara Hodgson: Doing The Opposite Doesn’t Mean Breaking The Rules
When there’s talk about someone doing the opposite, it usually means that this person is being contrarian, bucking the rules, and challenging assumptions. All of that is generally true but to Lara Hodgson, doing the opposite doesn’t mean you have to break the rules. By invitation to Tech Square ATL from our partners at Startup Exchange, Lara shared her experience on how doing the opposite is the key to all innovation, creativity, success, and significance.
Image source: EY.com
I’ll be honest, I was a rule follower growing up. But I always questioned things.
Doing the opposite can mean that you challenge assumptions without going outside the rules. It means questioning the way things are done and maybe doing things differently, but it doesn’t mean that you always have to be the troublemaker renegade.
A word without an opposite meaning is meaningless.
Every word has an opposite…if it means anything. If you can think about challenging yourself to do something the opposite way you’ve done them before, you take your brain out of its comfort zone. This challenges you to look at something from a completely different perspective.
Creativity is the ability to look at the same thing as everyone else but see something different.
Everyone can do that. I wish someone told me that when I was younger. It wasn’t until further in my career that I realized, I am creative. I realized that my creativity comes out in problem solving, not in artistic pursuits.
Innovation is taking creativity and adding action.
I hear people saying all the time, “I’m innovative.” Well, you’re not, if you haven’t done anything. Putting a bunch of ideas in a flipchart and putting them in your office is not being innovative. It could be creative, but it’s not innovative until you take action.
My image of innovation is a spiral.
It’s important to note that the opposite is not like a pendulum, because a pendulum goes from point A to the opposite point, and back. It never goes outside of that path. On the other hand, the opposites on a spiral go from one extreme to the other, but the difference is that it constantly moves in a forward direction. So when it comes to the concept of opposites, that’s the image I have in mind because that's what innovation is: going through a series of opposites but always evolving forward.
When I started as a consultant, there were two words that always drove me crazy — “benchmarking” and “best practices”.
Those two words are great if your goal is to keep up, but they’re awful words if your goal is to get ahead. If you “benchmark” yourself against the competition, that’s not setting a very high bar. Following “best practices” is adapting the methods of whoever’s doing it the best already - it’s already been done. That’s not innovation. Instead, apply scenario-based thinking. To me, scenario-based thinking is asking myself, “Where would I never look?”
I have discovered that all innovation comes from the demand side of the problem.
That’s why the incumbent never comes up with it. It wasn’t a video technology company that came up with the GoPro. The GoPro was designed by a surfer because they had a need. The idea came from the opposite side of the problem, because they had an opposite view.
Don’t look at other people, industries, products, and companies that look like you and benchmark.
Instead, do the opposite: look in industries you would never look in. Look at things that have nothing to do with what you’re trying to do. Take what can you learn from it and apply it to what you’re doing. If you have a product that you are interested in, study the direction it is going in and break it down into its smallest parts. Try taking each part and wonder about its opposite: instead of bigger, what if you went smaller? Who would use that? Instead of distributing it, what if you aggregated it - who would use that? The product evolves at every opposite thought.
Always put yourself in groups that do not have the same strengths as you, that do not think the way you do, that do not act the way you do. It’s really uncomfortable but great ideas come from challenged ideals.
Research shows that people make better decisions when they are in a diverse environment, than in a homogenous environment. When you're around people like you, you make worse decisions but you are more confident in them. The reason why you’re confident about your decision is because it’s easier to get to the solution. When you’re around people that are different than you, you make better decisions but you’re not as confident, because it’s harder.
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About Lara Hodgson (via NOW Corp): Lara O’Connor Hodgson is President and CEO of NOW Corp, serves as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Harvard Business School and is an internationally recognized speaker, leading seminars on creativity, innovation and access to capital.
Prior to NOW, Lara co-founded Nourish (the manufacturing company), and Insomnia, LLC, a firm specializing in investment, development, and management of complex and innovative “world-changing” projects. Her background also includes 5 years with Dewberry Capital Corporation, an Atlanta-based commercial real estate development and investment firm, where she served as the company’s Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Operating Officer.
Her product experience includes Dunk, a performance footwear and apparel manufacturing/retail company built on the concept of mass customization and founded with Shaquille O’Neal & Mike Piazza, where she served as Executive Vice President.
Lara received an MBA from the Harvard Business School, and a BS in Aerospace Engineering with highest honors from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Today, she serves as a Trustee of the Georgia Tech Foundation in addition to other Boards. E&Y recognized Lara as a 2018 Finalist for the Southeast Entrepreneur of the Year.
About our partner: Startup Exchange
The Startup Exchange community is comprised of students of all years, all majors, all different backgrounds. We promote entrepreneurship education at Georgia Tech by organizing speaker events, workshops, and panels for students. We connect students with startups through our network of fellow students, founders, and mentors. Above all, our mission is to foster a group of people who support and help each other reach new heights.
