I like it when I mention a name and I get “Oh him, he does things his way.”, or “Oh her, you got to be careful with her.”. These are the people I want to meet, these people pull companies into the future and I want to see how they do it. In Japan there is a widely accepted expression “出る釘は打たれる” or, “The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.” This culture is openly acknowledged by all with written and unwritten rules that are clearly laid out to let any “nail” know they are sticking out.
“Nails’ or outliers who push boundaries and constantly challenge rules lead to progress. They bend rules to accommodate, they bend rules to innovate, they push boundaries to solve problems yet they are constantly reprimanded. . Unfortunately, we don’t have a widely accepted expression that people acknowledge and are comfortable with. We just have punitive reprimands, demotions, and write-ups. This stifles creativity and innovation. But the hammers like it that way because they tend to have trouble keeping up.
Status quo is comfortable and being the nail willingly or by nature is very frustrating. The outliers will always be nails because there will always be challenges to overcome.
Great things come from outliers but they are constantly labeled “That guy/lady”. I know many outliers and they are the ones who push departments for change, who bring the organization and those within to the next level.
Let the outliers. Support your local outliner. Put the hammer down, Nails are fine sticking out when they are given space and placed high so you don’t brain yourself walking by.
HKKS Education 