deviant’s advantage

From a traditional sense people tend to relate deviant behavior as behavior that is a violation of social norms – particularly anything criminal or other negative elements.

I tend to classify deviance more constructively and share the definition provided by the authors (Watts Wacker & Ryan Matthews) of the Deviant’s Advantage – something or someone operating in a defined measure away from the norm.

The book examines the transformation that takes fringe ideas such as jazz, holistic medicine, and even personal computing into mass markets. Using examples such as Richard Branson (founder of Virgin & “poster boy” for deviance), they show the process of taking a peripheral (fringe) idea to the mainstream and applying it to one’s business. Richard Branson’s deviance comes from his notion that everyday people should be able to have a lifestyle that would normally be closed to them. A regional deviant that comes to mind is Tony Fernandes – CEO of AirAsia.

The seeds of deviance are rooted within us; it is a part of our DNA. The only hurdle is learning how to channel it constructively to yield revolutionary results. This doesn’t just apply to businesses, the emergence of social enterprises is a sure-fire sign that deviance can transform a once laggard sector into one that creates alot of positive impact.