By Jane Terepocki, CHRP

While “doing more with less” is a familiar refrain in HR, less often is it considered a core strength.

As Malcolm Gladwell states in his most recent book, David and Goliath, “We have a definition in our heads of what an advantage is—and the definition isn’t right. And what happens as a result? It means that we make mistakes. It means that we misread battles between underdogs and giants. It means that we underestimate how much freedom there can be in what looks like a disadvantage.”

Case in point, though proverbially misunderstood, who stood to win the Biblical battle between David and Goliath was never in question according to Gladwell— Goliath never stood a chance.

Giants Are Shortsighted Too
A master of turning pop culture on its head, Gladwell argues that Goliath, besides being clad in heavy armour, suffered from near blindness as well, a condition betrayed by his being guided by a ‘shield-carrier’ to the battle field. The sight of David taking the field without a visible weapon aside from a sling would have otherwise been a clear indication of outcome for Goliath.

In a time of when ‘heavies, horsemen and slingers’ defined the battlefields, the latter always fought from a distance, able to launch their stones with deadly accuracy at rates of 30 meters per second—with the stopping power of a .45 calibre handgun. There could have been no other result than the shepherd boy slaying the giant.

Gladwell insists that perpetuating the myth that David was the underdog is completely irrational and posits that we commonly misread many more present day scenarios as well. Moreover, the lessons which emerge from revealing such presumptions expose the “advantages of perceived disadvantages”.

Doing More With Less is Always More
This is where Gladwell’s book speaks most directly to both the theme of innovation and our practice of human resources. “Doing more with less” is not only possible, it is an invaluable strength. Adopted as a mindset, it becomes a sustainable driver of adaptable practice and ongoing innovation as a result.

Gladwell supports this thesis with examples that range from the Bible to the basketball court to the Ivy League academia to the courtroom. With his unique storytelling style and use of statistics—criticized as selective by his critics—Gladwell makes a persuasive case for both the advantage and continued need to think outside the box.

Adversity Enables Potential
From the story of an underdog girls basketball team rising to the National championships on the strength of their unorthodox ‘always on’ use of the full court press to the tale of a dyslexic individual becoming a top trial lawyer—Gladwell argues that adversity is more useful than learning in a situation without constraints.

As per Gladwell’s argument, the dyslexic lawyer worked harder and memorized more, which is very handy in becoming a trial lawyer. Without the advantage of his disadvantage, he may not have developed such a strong memory. Thus, “the act of facing overwhelming odds produces greatness and beauty.”

The Big Pond Paradox
Or at least most of the time. Aside from making a case for the advantage of disadvantage, Gladwell holds the inverse to be true as well.

Using the metaphor of little fish in the big pond, he posits that pursuing science at an elite Ivy League school is actually a dream killer for most. As beacons for the brightest minds, the likelihood of being a big fish in such a pond is not only greatly diminished—it results in many extremely smart individuals quitting science entirely.

Gladwell believes you are generally better off choosing to be part of a lesser-known organization where you have a greater chance of standing out. In academia particularly, he says, “The big pond takes really bright students and demoralizes them.”

As with his previous books, there has been criticism of Gladwell’s most recent, focused particularly on his research methods and oversimplification of situations. However, as from the The Tipping Point onwards, with his latest collection of questions and insights, he raises many salient points that encourage us to challenge preconceived ideas.

Big Fish, Small Ponds and Passion
And while there are many other lessons for HR to be gleaned from David and Goliath, perhaps the most poignant for me is power of choosing to be a big fish in a little pond. Such thinking has repeatedly served bigger pictures, delivered greater profits and changed the meaning of the workplace in the process.

Patagonia’s founder Yvon Chouinard provides a relevant example of the impact of a “big fish in a small pond”. Inspired by his love of the outdoors, in 1973, he founded Patagonia out of his blacksmith shop in Ventura, California. From the start, Chouinard determined to do business differently.

Chouinard’s greater passion is sustainability and he co-founded 1% For the Planet, an alliance of businesses which commit at least one per cent of their total sales to the environment.

He hired and hires people who can work independently and one of his main hiring criteria is “would we like to have dinner with this person?” His staff can take off and surf for a few hours as long as they get their work done. His definition of an MBA remains “managing by absence”—unorthodox yet it works.

Patagonia and Giant Change
Patagonia’s story also provides an apt illustration of Gladwell’s “advantage of a disadvantage”—and even brings a few giants into the picture.

Upon discovering the employee and environmental impact of the pesticides used on the fields used to procure their cotton, Patagonia switched to organic cotton and turned a very real disadvantage around—albeit not with significant challenge.

For starters, Patagonia had to find farmers who grew organic cotton and there were few to none. Then came resistance from banks with interests tied to major chemical companies. Even after overcoming these challenges, and finding new gins and mills, Patagonia went a full year without making a profit on their organic cotton products.

Patagonia has since grown to 1,350 employees worldwide with $540 million in annual revenue.

Perhaps Malcolm Gladwell could have saved the closing chapter for Patagonia. After all, while Chouinard might not be in the giant slaying business, he has had great success in persuading giants such as Nike, Timberland and Wal-Mart to be begin switching to organic cotton.

Lessons for Life in HR
What lessons can HR learn from this?

Gladwell makes it clear in David and Goliath that when it comes to the stories we hear most often in business and life, things are rarely as they seem—and often quite the opposite. The opportunity to innovate and evolve, both in business and life, lies in asking new questions.

Which of your disadvantages is actually your previously hidden mega-advantage? Which of your competitor’s multiple advantages are really their Achilles’ heel?

We have learned to do more with less and now need to apply that ability in the broadest, most beneficial organizational sense possible. We can “think outside of the box,” go against the flow, and dare to be different in finding solutions to people problems and in doing so we will create “greatness and beauty”.

Jane Terepocki, CHRP is a recruiter and trainer in the human resources department at Mountain Equipment Co-op—Canada’s leading outdoor retailer.

(PeopleTalk Winter 2013)