What is a Maverick?
Samuel A. Maverick (1803–70), the Texas pioneer who, unlike other ranchers, left his calves unbranded and non-identifiable. The term maverick has since come to mean one who is a lone dissenter, an intellectual, artist, or a politician, who takes an independent
stand apart from his or her associates. They are often known to be
nonconformist, individualist, free thinkers and lone wolves.
They stray from and do not follow the thinking of a group they belong to, or they
rebel against accepted ideas or herd mentality.
They buck current trends.
Now, more than ever, we need our mavericks.
Who might we consider a maverick?
Then….
What is a Maverick?
Samuel A. Maverick (1803–70), the Texas pioneer who, unlike other ranchers, left his calves unbranded and non-identifiable. The term maverick has since come to mean one who is a lone dissenter, an intellectual, artist, or a politician, who takes an independent
stand apart from his or her associates. They are often known to be
nonconformist, individualist, free thinkers and lone wolves.
They stray from and do not follow the thinking of a group they belong to, or they
rebel against accepted ideas or herd mentality.
They buck current trends.
Now, more than ever, we need our mavericks.
Who might we consider a maverick?
Then….
THOMAS EDISON
Edison was an inventor, scientist, and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world including the light bulb, phonograph, motion picture camera, alkaline batteries, electric trains, fluoroscope which allowed us to take x-rays. In total, he held 1.093 patents and founded 14 different companies, one of which is General Electric. Edison patented a system for electricity distribution 1880 which started in New York City and now powers the planet.
WALT DISNEY
“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” Walt’s business was happiness. He taught us to dream big. He created some of the most popular animated characters, the first full length animated feature (Snow White) and in 1955 he opened Disneyland in California, the first big modern theme park. Pinocchio, Fantasia, Bambi, Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan followed.
Imagine a world without Walt Disney. A world without the magic, whimsy, and optimism he conveyed. Walt Disney transformed the entertainment industry through his pioneering of animation. Walt had a very specific recipe for making dreams come true. His recipe was the four C’s: Curiosity, Confidence, Courage, and Constancy. “If you can dream it, you can do it.”
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
was a printer, postmaster, author, diplomat, inventor, philosopher and philanthropist. He made invaluable contributions to fields like print and journalism, political and economic theory, the science of electricity and heating, and moral philosophy. He was a signer of the Declarations of Independence, the peace treaty with Britain, the United States Constitution and he signed a petition to the first Congress of the United State’s asking for an end to slavery. Other significant contributions he made to America was to start the first police and fire departments, cofound the first hospital and to found the first circulating library. His inventions included the odometer and bifocals
HENRY FORD
The founder of the Ford Motor Company that introduced the Model T which revolutionized transportation and American industry. His mass production through the development of the assembly line, lowered costs and made it affordable to the middle class for the first time. Henry Ford freed common people from the limitations of their geography, and our world changed.
MARTIN LUTHER KING
A leader of the American Civil Rights Movement. King was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence and believed that resistance to non-violence is the only weapon to fight against inequality and injustice. Luther fought for the civil rights of blacks, the right to vote, labor rights, etc. These rights were incorporated with the enactment of the Civil Rights Act, 1964 and the Voting Rights Act, 1965 in the United States.
He won the Nobel Peace Prize on October 14, 1964 for his significant role in bringing racial discrimination to an end in the United States. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character”, is a line from one of his most recognizable speeches, “I Have a Dream”. The third Monday of January is celebrated as Martin Luther King Jr. Day in his commemoration and is an official holiday in the United States.
GANDHI
Born in 1869 in Porbandar, India. He was one of the most respected political and spiritual leaders of the time. He helped in the freeing the Indian people from the oppressive hands of the British through the use of nonviolent resistance. India finally gained independence in the year 1947 after a rigorous process and tribulations faced by Gandhi and other Indians. Gandhi therefore played a key role in winning independence for his country. His role for a just society is not only of great magnitude in India, but in the entire world.
And Now……
And Now……
BUSINESS
Great business thinkers are those who have the ability to consistently see around the corner.
These are the game changers who have had a significant and lasting effect on business and sometimes even the world.
In the early 1900’s it was the British, in the early 1800’s it was the Indians and Chinese and in the 20th century, the United States has risen to the top of entrepreneurial talent.
Here is a very short list of mavericks of our current time, particularly in the past 30 years.
(Note: those who command this sort of influence on society through innovation bear a particular responsibility towards humanity. Being on this list of early innovators does not guarantee that the founders have upheld their responsibilities. History will show how well they did or did not achieve this.)
BUSINESS
Great business thinkers are those who have the ability to consistently see around the corner.
These are the game changers who have had a significant and lasting effect on business and sometimes even the world.
In the early 1900’s it was the British, in the early 1800’s it was the Indians and Chinese and in the 20th century, the United States has risen to the top of entrepreneurial talent.
Here is a very short list of mavericks of our current time, particularly in the past 30 years.
(Note: those who command this sort of influence on society through innovation bear a particular responsibility towards humanity. Being on this list of early innovators does not guarantee that the founders have upheld their responsibilities. History will show how well they did or did not achieve this.)
.
Segey Brin and Larry Page
Innovators of the most successful search engines in the world, Google. They have invested more in technology than any other search engine, and their search algorithm is by far the most sophisticated. Their success has come because they provide the best search results for their users. So much so that we now consider Google a verb.
Steve Jobs
APPLE: Innovator of the design for Macintosh, Helped popularize the idea of the personal computer revolutionizing the way that we work, I Tunes, largest online music retailer, IPAD, tablet, portable, lightweight computing, IPhone, pioneered the Smartphone revolution, MAC OS, simple. easy-to-use , accessible
Jeff Bezos
Founder of Amazon.com (the largest retailer on the Web, innovator of Amazon Kindle (wireless reading device which could change the face of publishing as more turn toward self publishing), Founder of Blue Origin, a human spaceflight start up company.
Sir Tim Berner
British computer scientist, is best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web. He is now the director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which oversees the Web’s continued development.
Anita Roddick
British businesswoman, founder of The Body Shop, a cosmetics company that shaped ethical consumerism. She was a pioneer of the whole concept of ethical, moral leadership and socially responsible business practices along with green consumerism. She believed and proved that business could be run this way and still make a profit.
Ricardo Semler
Brazilian CEO and majority owner of Semco SA, is best known for his radical form of industrial democracy and corporate re-engineering. The transformation within his workplace has been revolutionary. World Economic Forum named him as one of the Global Leaders of Tomorrow and BBC included Semco in its series on Re-Engineering the Business for creating one of the most successful management structures in business. He authored the books, Maverick! : The Success Story Behind the World’s Most Unusual Workplace and The Seven-Day Weekend: Changing the Way Work Works
Social Mavericks
Social Mavericks
Russel Brand
Here he speaks powerfully about the nature of reality and the truth about what we are allowing on the planet.
Who do you consider to be the mavericks of our past and present?
Let us know!
Who do you consider to be the mavericks of our past and present?
Let us know!