Why Newcomers Often See Things More Clearly Than Old Hands

The Wall Street Journal had a fascinating story this morning about about "Fabulous Fab" Tourre, the young Goldman Sachs banker who is at the center of their latest public relations nightmare.  Writer Dennis Berman argues that Fab may be A Hero in Villain's Garb because, if you look at the emails he sent to friends, he is often questioning his "place in an-ever absurd realm of CDs, CDOs, and CDO-squareds."  Berman notes that Tourre "expresses deep doubts about some of the very things that got Wall Street in such a mess."  The inspired part of Berman's analysis is that, although Goldman called the Fab's emails "immature and embarrassing to the firm,"  he suggests that we consider that the Fab's:

"[D]oubts and concerns reflect the virtues of newcomers in organizations -- when they first arrive, they can see the virtues, flaws, and quirks of an organizational culture.  But as they become more deeply socialized, they begin to accept it all as "normal," and do not question -- or even notice --what they are doing or why the are doing it."  

Building on Berman's lovely point, the young and under-socialized are often those who see the world for what it is, and speak up about it.  Of course, it is a child who speaks the truth in the "The Emperor's New Clothes," the classic the tale by 'Hans Christian Andersen about two weavers who promise an Emperor a new suit of clothes invisible to those unfit for their positions or incompetent.  When the Emperor parades before his subjects in his new clothes, a child cries out, "But he isn't wearing anything at all!"

The Goldman case aside (I am not ready to call The Fab a hero), there is a crucial lesson here for every boss and every organization.  Awareness -- and innovation too-- depend on listening to the young and naive, to those who are not yet brainwashed and unable to see what is odd, wrong, and what might be done differently.   As I argued in Weird Ideas That Work, if you are an expert, seek and listen to novices, as their fresh eyes can provide insights that you are unable to see.  Or as Diego puts it over at Metacool, seeing old things in new ways, depends on finding ways to adopt "the beginners mind" or "the mind of a child."  In some organization's I have worked with, senior executives accomplish this with "reverse mentoring" programs, where they are assigned to listen to and be coached by newcomers.  This is an effective strategy if the veterans actually make it safe for the rookies to speak their minds.

Along these lines, one of my favorite stories (as told by Firefox's Asa Dotzler) was when Netscape hired a 15 year-old kid named Blake Ross as a summer intern. Blake apparently stood-up at a company meeting and explained why the website had become so crappy and was doomed to fail.  This is the same 15 year-old kid who had been working for free on the Netscape open source project that eventually led to the development of the Firefox browser -- and had spent hundreds of hours stripping-out lousy Netscape code, so he knew what he was talking about. And his prediction about the demise of Netscape was on target. 

Comments

[Chris Young]

Great post Bob! I've included it in my Rainmaker top five blog picks of the week (found here: http://www.maximizepossibility.com/employee_retention/2010/05/the-rainmaker-fab-five-blog-picks-of-the-week.html) to remind my readers to listen to their less tenured employees.

[Deb Robison]

Even as I got older, I was always socially incapable of not trying to change things in an organization from the get-go, then frustrated when new ideas aren't accepted. Working as a consultant makes that a little more possible for me and has been a good career move- people hire me to help them change, so they are (a little) more likely to accept my recommendations. I feel the pain though of everyone who has entered and organization and tried to help by offering new ideas and met up against the wall of the existing culture.

Thanks for your insightful, inspiring blog and work. I frequently share it with friends and am thankful for the opportunity to learn something new every time I read your posts.

[Joe Marchese]

I blogged on this very point a few months back, in praise of outsiders who bring.. and keep a healthy perspective. Here's the link:
http://mckeeverandsullivan.wordpress.com/2009/12/11/xenophilia/

[Nicole Tedesco]

I agree that the process can get out of hand, that of involving the newcomer. Problems of course are myriad, like the fact that the newcomer (especially the young) may not have a mature sense of risk in the current situation and is probably not in possession of all necessary facts.

Of course Nobel Prizes tend to be awarded to the young or those otherwise new to their field of study. Also, of course, there is the proverbial engineer who was "too young to believe they could fail".

Use the newcomer to your advantage, but be careful.

[Jon4t2]

"Dare to be naive."

-- R. Buckminster Fuller

From my days in graduate school as an experimental physicist, I learned the necessity of challenging my assumptions. When I found myself mired in a pit of experimental reality (a.k.a. nature) I did not expect and that my "finely-honed" logic "dictated" should not exist, I went back to the assumptions I had made and re-checked each and every one, whether experimental or theoretical, no matter how trivial it seemed. Invariably, I would find a flawed assumption. Correcting that assumption redirected my thinking and improved my understanding of the particular slice of nature I was investigating.

[working girl]

I agree with the principle but have seen companies go too far with inefficient collaborative processes in order to 'bring everyone along' and get everyone's input. Diverse opinions are a source of strength so long as they don't turn into rule by uninformed committee. In my opinion a topic should have a clear owner and that owner should get out and talk to people - it's important to strike a balance between innovation and efficiency. Well, maybe it's not important but it's kind of annoying for the experienced people if you don't.

[Carol Murchie]

I'm not sure where I "got" this concept but I will say something after I preface the comment with the statement that I'm being a "naive questioner" and need someone who has a history with an organization or project to explain why something is done a certain way.

Most places I've worked I end up being the kid in the fairy tale.

[Randy Bosch]

The clear-eyed newcomer is not just young and naive, but often someone mature and experienced experiencing a new setting - - Dennis Berman's capability to write the referenced article, for example!

Leaders who don't strive to stay the clear-eyed newcomer are not leaders.