Ideas worth spreading

The surprising habits of original thinkers

20,774,645 views | Adam Grant • TED2016

How do creative people come up with great ideas? Organizational psychologist Adam Grant studies "originals": thinkers who dream up new ideas and take action to put them into the world. In this talk, learn three unexpected habits of originals -- including embracing failure. "The greatest originals are the ones who fail the most, because they're the ones who try the most," Grant says. "You need a lot of bad ideas in order to get a few good ones."

How do creative people come up with great ideas? Organizational psychologist Adam Grant studies "originals": thinkers who dream up new ideas and take action to put them into the world. In this talk, learn three unexpected habits of originals -- including embracing failure. "The greatest originals are the ones who fail the most, because they're the ones who try the most," Grant says. "You need a lot of bad ideas in order to get a few good ones."

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Subscribe to Adam Grant's monthly newsletter, where he shares his favorite new ideas on work and psychology. We’d invite you to join lots of other subscribers, but are you really the kind of person who conforms to what other people are doing?

About the speaker

Organizational psychologist

See speaker profile

One of Adam Grant’s guiding principles is to argue like he's right and listen like he's wrong.

Adam Grant | Viking, 2016 | Book

Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World

My talk is based on the ideas in this book—I explore how individuals can champion new ideas, leaders can fight groupthink, and parents can raise creative children.

Elizabeth Gilbert | ideas.ted.com | Article

Fear Is Boring, and Other Tips for Living a Creative Life

The starting point for creativity is curiosity. This brilliant reflection covers that ground and much more.

Tim Urban | Wait But Why | Article

Why Procrastinators Procrastinate

A hilarious, insightful post on Wait But Why about the dark side of procrastination. I read it while teaching myself to procrastinate.

Dan Pink | Riverhead Books, 2006 | Book

A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future

This fascinating book convinced me that the MFA might be the new MBA, and offers a host of fun, practical steps for becoming more original.

Shane Snow | Fast Company, October 2015 | Article

The Problem With Best Practices

Beware of following best practices: you might just become the average of all the people who conform to them.

Chip Heath and Dan Heath | Crown Business, 2010 | Book

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

My favorite read on shifting sticky attitudes and actions.

Adam Grant | The New York Times | Book

How to Raise a Creative Child. Step One: Back Off

I wrote this to show Tiger Moms and Lombardi Dads that practice makes perfect, but it doesn't make new.

Sheryl Sandberg | Knopf, 2013 | Book

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

An eye-opening, inspiring, and evidence-based book on overcoming fear and doubt to improve the world for women—and men.

Learn more

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Subscribe to Adam Grant's monthly newsletter, where he shares his favorite new ideas on work and psychology. We’d invite you to join lots of other subscribers, but are you really the kind of person who conforms to what other people are doing?