Kathy Caprino* interviews two young entrepreneurs who succeeded in business despite being told their ideas were ‘absurd’ and they would inevitably fail.
We read about people we admire who are doing amazing things in the world.
Yet many of these individuals were at one time told they were too weird, audacious, abrasive, obsessive or otherwise unable to “fit in”.
Think Steve Jobs, Lady Gaga, Serena Williams, Gordon Ramsay and more.
What traits do these brave and unique individuals possess that allow them to achieve the heights and do it on their own terms?
To explore this question, I caught up with Sunny Bonnell and Ashleigh Hansberger to discuss their new book, Rare Breed: A Guide to Success for the Defiant, Dangerous, and Different.
They both dropped out of university in their early 20s to launch a creative branding agency with $250 and zero experience 15 years ago.
After being told hundreds of times that their ideas were unlikely or absurd, they’re thriving at the helm of the award-winning Motto agency.
Kathy Caprino: So, what is a ‘rare breed’ and why do we need to understand it?
Sunny Bonnell: A rare breed is someone whose greatest strengths come from traits that most people label as weaknesses, or as we call them, vices.
The rare breed are people whose greatest virtues defy everything that conventional wisdom tells us we need to be successful in our careers and lives.
We’ve identified seven traits: Rebellious, audacious, obsessed, hot-blooded, weird, hypnotic and emotional.
They can ignore the voices demanding that they follow the rules, stop asking so many questions and be like everyone else.
Instead, they can head for the exits and build something extraordinary on their terms.
The rare breed matters because it encourages people to accept and love themselves and realise their untapped potential.
Caprino: How can following the rules and conforming be dangerous to your career?
Ashleigh Hansberger: It isn’t dangerous for everyone. There’s nothing wrong with the straight-and-narrow path if that’s what you want.
The issue is that there are so many men and women who don’t want that.
They’re driven by a need to break things or correct injustices.
The risk is that they’ll settle and squander their potential.
That the small rewards for conformity — raises, a promotion, a bigger office — will fool them into thinking they’re happy.
In fact they’re miserable, and they know it, because we’ve seen it.
You can fool the folks at the office but you can’t fool yourself.
The idea of the rare breed says: “You can succeed on your terms, by being authentically you, rough edges and all.”
Caprino: Can anyone be a rare breed?
Bonnell: No, rare breeds are rare.
You don’t get credit just for showing up.
You might have the potential to be a difference maker and a rule breaker, but rare breeds take risks and do meaningful things.
Rare breeds aren’t petty, egotistical or nihilistic.
They don’t want to break things just to watch them shatter.
They know they have gifts, but they’re out to do more than build a spectacular life and career.
They want to be a source of light, make things better, and move us forward.
Rare breeds believe they deserve success and happiness and that the world is what they make of it.
They believe that by bringing all their gifts to bear, they can create a reality that looks like their dreams and get to live in it every day.
Caprino: Why should organisations embrace the rare breed virtues in their employees?
Hansberger: Because they’ll keep talented people — especially young, talented people — longer.
We all know about the high turnover rates among Gen-Z, but nobody seems to have an answer.
Quit taking the most informed, technically sophisticated, meaning-driven generation in history and making them conform to your one-size-fits-all corporate culture.
Build an environment that says: “We value you for who you are, not just what you can do, and we want this organisation to reflect your morals, aesthetics and personality.”
Sure, more conservative organisations might have prolonged adjustment periods.
You’d need HR guardrails to make sure things didn’t get too crazy, but this is a way to get employees more engaged and make organisations more innovative.
*Kathy Caprino runs a leadership and career coaching and consulting firm for women. A therapist and coach, she has worked with more than 10,000 emerging women leaders and can be contacted at kathycaprino.com.
A longer version of this article first appeared on Kathy’s blogsite.
