Rotman Management

The Power of 'Onlyness'

How do you define ‘onlyness’?

The word actually doesn’t appear in the English dictionary, but I would argue that it should. Simply put, it means that anyone’s — and quite possibly everyone’s — ideas matter. The genesis of the word starts with the fact that You are standing in a spot in the world that only You stand in. It is a function of your history and experience, and from this spot where only You stand, You offer a distinct point of view, unique insights — and even groundbreaking ideas. The second aspect of onlyness is that today, thanks to network connectedness, we can scale and realize our ideas, bypassing the people and systems that traditionally filtered them out. As a result, every one of us has the power to unlock the innovation that the world needs so badly right now.

Regardless of their status, some people are able to seize this opportunity and make an impact, while others can’t. Why is that?

That is one of the biggest questions I had going into this project, because I honestly didn’t know. When I looked at the last 20 years. So, if you’re not being heard, that’s on you too.

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