Rules of Thinking, The

RULE 49

Forget about other people

I’ve observed over the years that the most creative thinkers I know tend to have a non-conformist streak. It’s not an absolutely hard-and-fast rule – there are a few exceptions on both sides – but it does make sense to me. The human race needs innovators to drive progress, from discovering how to harness fire or make a spear right through to the inventions of the modern world. However, too many innovators would be unworkable because they’d all be arguing for their own ideas instead of taking up each other’s. The world also needs people – a majority of people – who are happy to adopt these ideas collectively and make them work. These people may not go out on a limb creatively, but they are the backbone of a ...