Useful Disadvantage
I just left an unplugged session at the World Business Forum with Malcolm Gladwell. About 40 people listened and asked questions.
Gladwell is interested in learning theory, it’s central to his next book. In specific, he’s jazzed about what he calls “compensation learning.” Learning that results from compensating for a weakness. He talked about skills developed from overcoming dyslexia. Disadvantages can be useful.
Malcolm went on to mention that, “Societies with disadvantages compensate in ways that make them more competitive.” If you own a product made in China, you get the point.
Creating useful disadvantage:
I asked Malcolm about the role of leaders as people who create strategic disadvantage.
Gladwell said,
- “Be selective.” In other words, choose your disadvantages carefully.
- Keep the end in mind. Don’t overwhelm people. “Useful disadvantages strengthen rather than crush.”
“The idea that more resources always lead to better results is a pernicious lie,” Malcolm Gladwell.
Question:
What are the implications of creating useful disadvantage?
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hmm this is interesting stuff. would be really keen to learn more about this and how one could apply it to an organisation or to developing young leaders.
Dan-
I’ll have to give some more thought to creating disadvantages, and I’ll get back to you.
I think this last statement is important and one that we have learned poorly as a society. Dumping in resources does not guarantee a beneficial end. There is something more. This has been proven time a gain with the “war on drugs” as well as the “war on poverty”. We have set up many programs that have not moved the people in need any closer to the desired goals, staying away from drugs or rising above their poverty.
It is this something more that we must get a handle on to move people forward.
I’m sure you are talking about companies, but I will have to think some more on that.
Love your posts, as always…
Hmm. This is an interesting concept. I think the key to making a disadvantage useful is to set a goal to move toward its opposite, not away from the disadvantage. In other words, set a goal of being quiet, rather than a goal of “not talking so much.” China didn’t set a goal of “not being poor;” it set its sights on increased revenue and higher standard of living. Motivation needs a positive focus, in my opinion.
Hi Dan
Sounds similar to searching for opportunities to turn lemons into lemonade or the martial art of taking the energy of an attacker and re-directing it back to them – to your advantage.
Here’s a personal example of doing that: Having endured a divorce during my real estate career; I worked to earn a Certified Real Estate Divorce Specialist designation – the first in San Antonio to do so – thereby dominating a niche market!
As a person who wholeheartedly believes that the best lessons learned are those where there is some degree of a painful experience, I have to wonder if this is a similar phenomena. Perhaps the insertion of a disadvantage, or the allowance for one to occur without being removed), is an excellent “tool” to force innovation and problem solving in the absence of a quick answer.
Interesting perspective Dan. Taking it nature’s way, to the human brain, people with extreme savant skills overly compensate (perhaps by necessity that we cannot measure yet) and there may be not be much choice in that compensation.
Is this also the case of why most folks like to cheer for the underdog? It engenders support and identification with facing what may seem to be overwhelming challenges.
It seems, organizationally, that you are generating a stronger internal team (perhaps an us v. them perspective) and also again tying into building on your strengths and their compliments by knowing your weaknesses.
Love the ‘pernicious lie’s quote—very true.
Still getting my mind around “useful disadvantages.” My gut says “there’s something really important here” but my gut and brain aren’t on the same page yet. I think I hear the same “mmmm….still thinking!” from several who have posted.
Dan, I hope you’ll explore this more in future posts. Finding some good examples or stories of “strategic use of disadvantages” will be helpful along the way.
Thanks for waking up the brain!!!
Knowing what your disadvantages are and acting on taking advantage of the disadvantage creates a usefulness for having the disadvantage.
An example that comes to mind involves an old high school buddy of mine who was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes several years ago. He had recently retired as the manager of Pat O’Briens (aka, the inventor of the famous Hurricane) in New Orleans. During the course of his career he became acquainted with many people, which would be expected in this industry. Everybody wants a free drink ever once in a while, right?
Before being diagnosed he was a high performance athlete – road cycling races and marathons. So rather than bemoaning his diabetes, he set about using his disease and his acquaintances to establish the Swollfest Fishing Rodeo (http://swollfest.com/index.htm) and this year he is a team captain in the Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes (http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR?team_id=512575&pg=team&fr_id=7878&et=QAC0YL_Wx0ira962QT7AVg&s_tafId=414995).
For me, this is the ultimate “taking advantage of a disadvantage and making it useful.”
I’ll get back to you after I think a bit more about useful disadvantages in the business world.
BTW, feel free to donate to my buddy’s efforts to stamp out diabetes. And if you are a fisherman or fisherwoman, there is no fishing like deep sea fishing off the coast of Louisiana.
Be Safe
Dear Dan,
More support paralyses people, less support or no support strengthen people. I agree that organisation with more resources may not guarantee more success than others. People, societies or organisations with disadvantages feel need to overcome their weaknesses. On the other hand, people, organisation and societies with lot of support and resources feel comfortable and may not feel much need to broaden view. Though they think big, but act is somewhere missing.
I also feel that having disadvantages could be potential disadvantages as well and it can hinder progressive growth. When you fight the battle with less sophisticated weapon than your enemy, you are more likely to lose battle. I do agree that even you have more sophisticated weapon and do not know how to operate it, you are also less likely to win the battle. I also agree that will power will play role but question is how long. What I mean to say, you can have useful disadvantage provided you have basic amenities and resources.
The implication of creating useful disadvantages is encouraging competition and challenging complacency. It also fosters equitable growth and development. It creates strong platform to create innovation and creativity.
Identifying a disadvantage indicates that we have identified something that we do not have that we want (identifying something that we don’t want means we dont perceive it as a disadvantage). That disadvantage then becomes “useful” when we see it as a goal and set about achieving that goal. I think that a degree of resilience is needed,(as an individual, group or business team ) to take the disadvantage forward. Resilience may be internal or external, may be on an emotional level or financial level. I do see that hope is an essential ingredient to move the disadvantage forward
Take charge
Hello Dan:
I always appreciate your posts! This particular one reminds me of the “Strengths Finder” book (and “Strengths Quest” by Gallup) in which individuals are encouraged to further develop their strengths rather than waste time working on their weaknesses. Basically you’re taking stock of what you do well and cultivate those skills and strengths for further success. I have my staff take the Strengths Finder quiz and match their skills / strengths to particular assignments that they are good at and will enjoy. I am a “Maximizer” so I am good at maximizing opportunities for my team, including strategically making the most of useful disadvantages.
What are the implications of creating useful disadvantage? Well, you could say that we have a major one going on all around the world with the depletion of our natural resources and the global warming situation.
What’s to look for here that’s positive? Innovation! We live in the most creative and scientifically-capable society in the world. We have all the opportunity right now to rise to the occasion and deal with our very useful position of being at a disadvantage in regards to our environment. Mother Nature really will win this one if we don’t use our truly greatest resource, our creativity, to innovate power generation and distribution.
We have all the mental capabilties to bring about a solution, but we currently lack effective leadership and the will to make the boat row in the right direction. If it’s a boat race, Mother Nature is in one boat and humanity is in the other. Right now, she’s winning, and she’s already got herself fully coordinated and integrated.
We need the team in the humanity boat to pick up the oars and start rowing in a coordinated fashion if we are going to win this race and survive. I see a golden opportunity here to bring the best of useful disadvantage and creativity to multiple solutions that make life significantly better, cleaner and longer for all seven billion of us on this planet.
Very provocative question. Any implications would be dependent on what disadvantages your company chooses. For example, telling your engineers, “Make this software accessible to people who can’t afford our product,” creates a motivation toward efficiency and creativity. The leadership comes in when making the disadvantage tangible and empowering. It accomplishes a lot all at once–development, increased profit margin, and a focus for resources. But that’s with the one example. It starts with creating a blueprint for success, I think. Because your disadvantages would only get created in relationship to your definition of success.
Creating a disadvantage in business may require some enlightenment that most businesses do not have. There are already plenty of natural disadvantages in the marketplace. Makes you wonder if lack of resources i.e. people, money, etc. creates better results intentionally or not.
It’s easy to see this outside of business. I love a good underdog story too. I remember the kid with no arms or legs becoming a wrestling champion and motivational speaker. I think his book was titled “no excuses”
It reminds me that I have no excuses as a perfectly healthy person with both arms and legs and must motivate myself without an extreme disadvantage like cancer, loss of limb, to force me to value life, push myself to get off of the couch.
Why is it that we need such extreme disadvantage to push our human potential?