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1-Page Summary of Messy
Overview
Messy is an exploration of the benefits of disorder in different aspects of life. It argues that messy situations can help people be more creative and innovative. Unexpected problems arising from a messy environment force people to think outside their comfort zones, which often leads to better solutions. People who are frequently distracted tend to have more creativity, and switching topics helps them improvise new ideas.
Improvisation is a messy process, but it can be helpful in unexpected situations. Some of the world’s most famous entrepreneurs and military leaders were improvisers who used their skills to outsmart their opponents.
Teams do better when members are not the best of friends, as long as they’re familiar with each other. They also benefit from a certain amount of novelty and diversity in their membership, as in teams that have newcomers or team members who represent different ethnicities. When it comes to workspace, having a casual environment that people feel comfortable wandering into is more efficient than forcing teamwork through design (open vs. closed spaces), or making workers conform to one particular style (tidy).
Many people choose to use data analysis when trying to impose order on chaos. However, that can lead to the manipulation of scores and inaccurate results. A simple rule of thumb is just as useful, but it’s impossible for a person to manipulate it in their favor. The result is quality metrics without loopholes or ways to game the system.
People use computers to avoid the asynchronicity of crisis situations, but that automation is not necessarily a good thing. It’s better for people to do work and have computers monitor their process for errors. Children should be allowed more room to play without being restricted by adult rules. Scattered approaches are good because they allow people to make mistakes instead of trying everything in a precise manner. Randomization helps things go smoother than organized plans and schedules.
Key Takeaways
Distractions and changes in working strategies can push people to find more focus.
The best team members are those who bring different ideas, work styles and perspectives. The best teams meet often in spaces customized to each member’s needs, which encourages new relationships between people. It is likely that a person will find inspiration from other areas of expertise when they spend time with people outside their normal sphere. For the most complex problems or competitions involving many disorganized factors, improvisation yields impressive solutions—that is why it works well in drama classes for students getting ready for performances. In an improvisational setting where a competition for speed and accuracy exists,the winner gains an advantage as he can react faster. He gets the general idea then reacts appropriately before his opponent has any chance to determine how to react based on data analysis. Rules-of detail, although important,are not necessarily preferable guidelines because too much focus can result in poor judgment (however certain rules must still be followed such as traffic lights and warning labels).
Diverse groups of people in different situations, such as economics and academia, create good systems.
The best organizational strategies are ones that require little effort. These strategies fail because computers can’t deal with human interactions, which aren’t quantifiable.
Key Takeaway 1: Distractions and changes in working strategies can push people to find more focus and lead them to creative solutions.
There are two ways to find solutions. One way is by making incremental improvements and changing one variable at a time until the solution is found. The other way is to change many variables at once, which can lead to great leaps in progress. Doing something difficult also makes you focus more on the task at hand, which could result in better results because of increased focus.
