Maverick
A maverick brings fresh ideas into the project team — often from other companies, industries or disciplines — and energises the teamwork. When the goal is to create ideas that go beyond today's core business, a maverick can make all the difference.
Bernhard Doll
Business Design Maverick
A maverick is a temporary Team Member, usually provided by Orange Hills, and an expert in the Business Design methodology. They support the Team Coach from within the team with methodological guidance, and they trigger new discussions through fresh thinking and inspiration from other companies or industries. A maverick doesn't care about internal politics and doesn't worry about what's "common" in the company. That fresh mind is exactly what leads to new ideas.
The job is to make people push their mental boundaries and leave traditional patterns. In practice, that means:
Creating fresh ideas with the team while leaving traditional patterns
Changing perspectives and "altitude" while creating ideas
Making connections to other industries
Working on everyday tasks as a full member of the Project Team
Spurring on the team's performance with an entrepreneurial attitude and methodological experience
A maverick is optional. Where they pay off most is in the kick-off workshops and the Design Workshop — the moments where a team either opens up or falls back into what it already knows.
As a maverick, you carry the same responsibilities as every other Team Member: you prepare and attend the workshops, you work on your own tasks between them, and you are accountable for the results of the project. The twist is what you add on top. Here is the difference side by side:
A Maverick... | A Team Member... |
...joins the team for a limited time and is usually provided by Orange Hills | ...comes from the organisation and stays for the whole project |
...brings inspiration from other companies, industries and disciplines | ...brings expertise in engineering, sales, marketing or finance |
...doesn't care about internal politics or about what is "common" in the company | ...works inside the organisation's relationships and history |
...is an expert in the Business Design methodology already and supports the Team Coach from within the team | ...is trained in Business Design before joining the Project Team |
...is an optional role — you add one when the ideas need to leave traditional patterns | ...is a core role — two to four per Project Team |
Both roles sit in the same team and run through the same End-to-End Innovation Process. Add a maverick when the team knows its own business inside out and needs someone who doesn't — someone who still asks the questions nobody inside the company asks any more.