business model innovation design we're on a road to nowhere // on a quest to analyze and explore the design of business model innovations, i.e. 'hideous and hidden things' like organizational structures and capabilities, corporate strategies and all things related // on a yellow brick road with a girl, a lion and a straw-man wasting our time // …

Via Businesspundit I’ve learned of this research finding: “Rotten to the core: How workplace ‘bad apples’ spoil barrels of good employees” by William Felps and Terence Mitchell (professor of management and organization in the Business School and UW psychology) of the University of Washington.

Yes, no surprise here, Bob Sutton’s also arguing that a******s can have significant negative effects on a company (take the a*****e-test for a self-investigation if you like … I’ve done it, see here for the statistics of +11.000 people – yes, tongue in cheek)

Yet, this cautionary point is important:

The authors caution there’s a difference between “bad apples” and employees who think outside the box and challenge the status quo. Since these “positive deviants” rock the boat, they may not always be appreciated. And, as Felps and Mitchell argue, unlike “bad apples,” “positive deviants” actually help spark organizational innovation.

And thus I can sort this posting into innovation as well …