Eric Siu argues that copying and adapting others' ideas is a legitimate business strategy when you make it your own. He cites Xerox and Steve Jobs as examples of how adaptation differs from plagiarism and can drive real success.
Copying, it is a part of strategy, and people don't like the word because it's very precious. Xerox was the big company back in the day. What did Steve Jobs do? He copied the mouse. He took the mouse, he copied it, and then Apple became one of the biggest companies in the world, right? Now, we're not saying go out there and plagiarize, like that will never work. We're really just saying go out there, look at what people are doing, and figure out how you can bring that into your company and make it your own version. That's what true creativity is.
