Being Contrarian

It is not easy to challenge the status quo, senior executives and HR managers often cite Change as a tectonic shift. Stock Brokers, market analysts and people of similar ilk, understand the concept of contrarian stocks very well. But, in organizations being a contrarian in spirit and soul is not easy.

Question arises why and for what reasons can one be a contrarian at work in today’s work environments? For some people it is just being an answer for standing out, for others it is part of their value system. For yours truly it could be in genes or let’s say as an Aquarian I was born to be a rebelJ

The answer lies in the “disruption” being caused by new technologies, new business models and new businesses especially for consumer products. Entry criteria’s into existing industries are being bulldozed, concept of loyalty with brands (Unless one has been Applized or Googleized!) is becoming more and more blurred.

Do organizations generally espouse a culture to promote contrarian behavior and how do they promote a safe environment for it? Few postulates might explain it:

·         Providing a platform for discussing such “contrarian views”

·         Making creative thinking part of everyday work

·         Appraisal and Performance reviews including and encouraging  “creative thinking” initiatives

·         Incentivizing “contrarian view” to take tangible shape and

·         Senior stakeholders being “Referees” in cultivating the rules of engagement

Sticking one’s neck out and sailing against the tide has never been easy. It generally gets harder where more established opinionated colleagues create roadblocks! Coercive and benign diplomacy along with selling/sharing a piece of “contrarian view” is the way to tackle such hurdles.

More and more examples of contrarian practices can be seen in business world and individuals in 21^st century. From the refurbished growth in “organic” market, return of e-commerce wave to the fashion of being “Vegan” are some examples of the shift. Ask a stock market analyst who while buying “Blue chip” stocks still manages to balance his portfolio with old world industrial stocks like metals what “Being Contrarian” means. It is certainly paying off swimming against the tide in 21^st century against the established order!