Five Patterns of Businesses That Stay Original Over Time

What does originality actually look like inside a business? Not as an abstract idea, but as something that shows up consistently: in decisions, in how the organisation is designed, in what gets rewarded, and in how the business responds when things do not go to plan.

Here are five patterns that appear in organisations that manage to stay original over time. Not just at the start, but even as they grow.

One: Originality is a business decision

Originality does not come from talent alone. It is not about hiring creative people and hoping for the best. It is a decision: a decision about how the business is designed, how it is led, and what actually gets rewarded. Because if everything in a system pushes towards efficiency, speed, and predictability, originality does not stand much of a chance at all.

Deya Roberts, founder of CBT Hub, on what originality means to her, a reminder that it does not start with standing out, but with knowing who you are:

Deya Roberts, CBT Hub

I think for me, originality means being true to yourself. There is only one of me, one of you. So, I guess it’s staying very close to that, to your identity, to your values, and I guess to the reason you started to do something in the first place, rather than becoming distracted by, you know, what somebody else is doing or or saying. It means creating something from a place of purpose, experience, and honesty, and I think it’s less about trying to look unique to somebody else and more about being willing to build something that genuinely reflects your values and who you are as an original person.

As a founder, I think it also means listening very carefully, especially to the people that you’re trying to help. We live in a world where we are rushing around all the time, we don’t listen enough, so I think just the act of listening is something very original at the minute, and allowing that to shape what you create.

Two: Sameness limits movement

Copied models can feel reassuring. They give you a sense that you are on the right track. But the trade-off is flexibility. Because when the market shifts, and it will, if you are built on someone else’s models and ideas, you have got very little room to adapt. Sameness might help you start, but it rarely helps you last.

Tash Meredith, co-owner of Car & Kitchen, leads a third-generation family business built around carefully curated products and thoughtful experiences:

Tash Meredith, Car & Kitchen

Originality for me is about having the confidence to trust your own taste and instincts. It’s choosing things because you love them, not just because they’re expected or proven to work. And I think people can really feel that when they come into our store. It makes the business feel more personal, more considered, and a bit different from anywhere else.

Three: Belief comes before proof

This is the uncomfortable one. Originality asks you to back something before you have evidence that it will work. Before the numbers, before the validation, before the case studies. That is where most businesses hesitate, because it feels safer to wait. But if you wait for proof, you are usually following, not leading.

The businesses that stay original are the ones willing to commit to an idea before it has been proven, and to hold that commitment through the uncertainty that follows.

Four: Failure accelerates learning

Original ideas expose things quickly. They show you what works and what does not, and that is incredibly valuable. But only if the organisation treats failure as learning, not as something to avoid or hide. Because when failure is punished, people stop taking the very risks that originality depends on.

Deya Roberts on what this means in practice, and why she would rather fail with integrity than succeed without it:

Deya Roberts, CBT Hub

I would rather fail creating something that I know is really good and I know is aligned with my values, rather than launch something that doesn’t reflect me, who I am as a person. I need to maintain clinical depth and I need to continue putting children and young people at the centre of what we’re trying to do, rather than trying to chase quick wins.

Five: Originality compounds over time

This is probably the most important one. Originality is not a one-off moment. It is not a campaign, a launch, or a big idea. It is a capability, something that builds over time. The more a business learns how to adapt, how to reshape, how to respond without losing itself, the stronger that capability becomes. And that is what creates real resilience. Not just surviving change, but being able to move with it.

What this means for your business

If there is one thing to take from these five patterns, it is this: originality is not about being bold for the sake of it. It is about building something that can hold its shape even when everything around it is shifting.

The businesses that do this well run small, fast experiments. They separate ego from idea. They learn publicly and early. And they have the agility to change direction without starting from zero, because what makes them original is not a single idea, but the conditions they have built around original thinking.

This article is drawn from episode two of the Blackline Originals podcast.