The Necessity of Strangers:  The Intriguing Truth of Insight, Innovation and Success

By: Dr. Alan Gregerman

Head: (3 out of 5)
Heart: (4 out of 5)
Leadership Applicability: (5 out of 5)

Growing up, many of us were told not to talk to strangers.  We were taught to fear or avoid people we didn’t know.  Early on, we were conditioned to believe people who were different than we were could pose a threat to our beliefs, knowledge and habits by taking us out of our comfort zone.  The author of this book, Dr. Alan Gregerman, proposes a counterintuitive challenge to this conditioning.

Strangers, Dr. Gregerman contends, should be seen as an opportunity, not a threat.  They – not the people we know and are familiar with – are the key to our success.  Strangers are a necessity because of their differences, what they know that we don’t know, and their objectivity and ability to be honest about what matters.  This challenges us to think differently about ourselves, our problems and to see more possibilities. Learning from strangers, and engaging and collaborating with people different from us enable us to find breakthroughs, delight customers, grow businesses and lead the life we were meant to.

Some of the concepts explored in this book include:

• How to develop a stranger-centric mindset
• How strangers can offer fresh insights that lead to innovation
• How to leverage the differences of strangers, while bringing out the best of ourselves to collaborate and become more effective leaders
• How connecting with and learning from the right strangers can help a business grow
• Practical tools to use right away to unlock the potential of strangers

Leaders interested in pursuing consumer-led innovation strategies to deliver more value to their customers will want to read this book.  Buy it now.