Product review (5 stars): Definitely something that I needed to read
I had zero expectations of Alan Gregerman's "The Necessity of Strangers." In fact, I forgot that I got it until it arrived and I probably would have set it aside except that I read the book flap and was intrigued again.

I'm a creature of habit but Gregerman's theorizes (successfully) that it isn't the team you know but perhaps the constructive team that you don't know that pushes individuals and businesses towards innovation.

After reading this very concise and well laid out book, I'm inclined to agree when I think of my own work history. It was when there was a constant flow of 'strangers' that I stayed on my toes and my mind was sharp.

Being in the 'back' now, I'm not as exposed to clients, internal or external, so this book is actually very timely for me.

Gregerman organizes the book into 3 parts. The first is Framework that explains why we need 'strangers' and the second part is 'Practice' in how it can work and it makes up the bulk of the book. The final part is Possibilities which is almost superfluous compared to the previous parts but it was like a reward of sorts.

Very well done.