Rebel Talent: Why It Pays to Break the Rules at Work and in Life

Award-winning Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino shows us why creative rebellion is essential at work and in life, and why the most successful among us are those who break the rules.

One of the best chefs in the world; a woman who fought discrimination to make others better off; a pilot who brought passengers and crew to safety in a dire situation; a magician who made history; a company founder who worked with his team to create movies that engage young and old alike. What do they all have in common? They broke the rules, they love their jobs, and they have or had fulfilling lives. They are all rebels.

From an early age, we are taught to follow the rules, and the pressure to do so and fit in only increases as we age. But "going along to get along" comes at a steep price for our careers and personal lives. When we mindlessly follow well-accepted rules and norms rather than constructively rebel against them, we keep our doubts and disagreements to ourselves and ultimately become less happy and less successful. As leaders, we are less effective and respected. As employees, we feel dissatisfied and are more likely to be overlooked for top assignments and promotions. As partners or friends, we are checked out and unhappy.

Gino has been studying how rebels can be successful in life and in the workplace for more than 15 years. She has discovered that while rebels--those who practice "positive deviance"--may seem harder to manage, they are good for the bottom line: their passion, drive, curiosity, and creativity raise the entire organization to a new level. In personal relationships, rebels foster smooth sailing rather than struggles in turbulent seas.

Rebel Talent provides strategies and examples for cultivating and embracing constructive deviance in the workplace and in life, and offers illuminating case studies ranging from The World's Best Restaurant to fast food chains to corporations such as Google and Pixar. Gino encourages all of us to rebel against what's comfortable so we can thrive.

The book, Rebel Talent: Why It Pays to Break the Rules at Work and in Life [Bulk, Wholesale, Quantity] ISBN# 9780062694638 in Hardcover by Francesca Gino may be ordered in bulk quantities. Minimum starts at 25 copies. Availability based on publisher status and quantity being ordered.