Personal Creativity Reflection

Necessity of Strangers
The Necessity of Strangers exercise was a very interesting experience. The point of The Necessity of
Strangers is the following equation:
+
= +
+
We are innately wired to form groups, whether it is our company, department, areas of knowledge and
expertise, or closest friends and coconspirators, we find something that we have in common with a
person or a group of people, and we cling to it, because the world is a place full of unfamiliarities.
However, we can choose to change our mindset. We can develop the openness in other people, and in
ourselves.

We can choose how were wired or how we choose to engage in the world around
us Alan Gregerman
Innovation, according to Gregerman, is the quest to be different in ways that matter. Its about being
distracted. We must take these distractions and run with them. Gregerman also encouraged us to say
that it is OK to fail. Failure is eminent, and it is important; it is a learning experience.
Gregerman also says that we have a lot to learn from each other, collaboration and finding the right
people can make all the difference in the world. New hires can make all the difference in the world;
they have new ideas and perspectives, passion, and a burning desire to prove themselves. Gregerman
tells us that everyone has valuable ideas to give, so he tells us to search for the genius in everyone.

Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its
whole life believing that it is stupid. Albert Einstein
Over winter break I started to read Alan Gregermans book, and while I agreed with his message,
frankly, I was underwhelmed at the points he made. I believed that strangers could help us in the same
way that IDEO needed a diverse group of people for their ideation process to garner multiple
perspectives to make the best products possible. However, when I listened to Alan Gregerman speak

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before the trip on Sunday, I finally understood why he was so passionate about this concept.
Gregerman is a geographer by training, but he is currently president and CIO of Venture Works, a
prominent consulting company. He also an award-winning author of three books. Gregermans books:

Challenge our thinking about people, the world around us, where brilliant ideas
actually come from, and how to reach our full potential as individuals, leaders, and
organizations.3
People, or rather, strangers can help us accomplish what Jay
Rodgers calls the Golden Hour. The golden hour is a concept
that stresses investing in experts, passionate people, and
finding people who are right for the job. Reaching out to the
global community, very similarly to the Necessity of Strangers,
Rogers explains that he is able to find solutions faster to his
problems using people who are disaffiliated from the company
rather than engineers that were stumped with the problem.
So, the Necessity of Stranger concept can be applied to various
business challenges when a company has been stumped on a
problem for a while. This does not necessarily have to be
between companies, it can also happen within companies, but between departments. Jobs, and recently
many other companies, designed both Apple and Pixar campuses to accomplish exactly that they are
designed to encourage superfluous meeting spaces to create inspiration and collaboration between
employees. Traditionally, secrets have been kept because everyone is afraid that they will not make
money off of their own ideas, and that they will be ripped off. However, as proven by Strati and the
other vehicles produced by Local Motors, co-collaboration is not only effective, but it is efficient in both
cost and time.
During the Team Learning Exercise, I expected interactions with strangers to be awkward, but instead I
learned a lot and realized that some assumptions I had made about people previously were wrong. The

3

http://www.alangregerman.com/about/
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Personal Creativity Reflection

waiter at our restaurant was extremely knowledgeable and insightful about Daikaya and the rest of the
industry, and it turned out that he actually went to the University of Maryland. Though we didnt get
to visit Georgetown, our group had a wonderful time talking to the people that we did get a chance to
interact with. We explored DC, and found places that we had no idea existed. We used several different
types of transportation throughout the day, and saw some wonderful museum exhibits. We were able
to connect with other groups as well on the bus ride home, exchanging our experiences throughout the
day and talking about different things that we saw.
One of the chapters in Necessity of Strangers talks about travel. We learned a lot about traveling during
our time in DC, but I am excited to take it to the next level this summer when I study abroad in Spain. I
will definitely take the values Gregerman says to heart:
1. Dare to Explore
2. Meet New People
3. Gain a Fresh Perspective
4. Energize your thinking

On page 185 of Gregermans book, he tells us that the Necessity of Strangers toolkit has the things you
need to stretch your thinking. My goal this semester has been to do exactly that. Gregerman advises his
readers to carry a journal with them to record their questions, observations, questions, ideas, and
interactions with strangers. I have been journaling for my philosophy and practice of yoga class, and I
have actually found that it has been very helpful.
I did not expect to be moved by this experience, but I actually was. By being forced to go out of my
comfort zone, I am not as intimidated to talk to others and to ask for their thoughts, ideas, and opinions
on things. This will serve me well in the medical field because every day doctors consult with one
another about treatments for patients. I cannot afford to be opposed to talking to strangers, especially if
someones life is on the line.

Collaboration is potential that comes to fruition when everyones abilities are

brought together to achieve a bigger purpose than any one person might have
achieved or imagined, on his or her won.

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