The future resides at the crossroads, the intersection points, the places where many disciplines, experiences, cultures and ideas collide:
“In every arena, whether in the sciences or the humanities, business or politics, there is a growing need to connect and combine concepts from disparate fields. That is how we will find new opportunities, surmount new challenges and gain insights. That is the way we will create our future.” Frans Johansson
Recently reading The Medici Effect by Frans Johansson, I was re-energized by his emphatic message and fabulous metaphor that we can re-create the same environment that the Medici family created spawning one of the most innovative periods in human history – the Renaissance. Bringing together top practitioners from many different disciplines, and the subsequent open discussion and exchange of ideas between them, led to a remarkable burst of creativity in fifteenth century Italy. He terms this “the Medici Effect”.
The core premise as to why this necessarily happens, in a diverse mixing bowl of knowledge, rests on the difference between directional thinking (next step, linear, improving what is) and inter-sectional thinking (from left field, nonlinear, creating something new & unexpected). Simply put, bold change and explosive new ideas are not incremental by definition and need a richly varied collision of ideas and experiences.
The book's message captivates us with the imagery of a period of explosive creativity, bold innovation and a world of expansive debate; of launching a broad mix of multidisciplinary discussions and collaborative exploration; of becoming today’s equivalent of Renaissance men and women. This is a robust enticement for business leaders in today's society that love to continuously learn, think, and challenge themselves to grow. Why wouldn’t we be working towards this? Creating a new burst of learning and innovation that will help us progress as individuals, teams, organizations, and a society.
This is a very important message as many pundits, the media, and board rooms everywhere are clamoring for more “innovation” to meet our challenges which are multiplying in complexity and uncertainty. But how do we innovate? We need road maps and processes that define and break down the steps we need to take to create new ideas and solutions, ways that we can understand and be motivated to follow through on.
Through examples, research and real world stories, The Medici Effect powerfully makes its points and clearly illustrates the formula necessary to unleash a creative explosion: work collaboratively with a diverse range of multidisciplinary experts, open up your thinking by breaking through your “associative barriers” and build habits of greater awareness and presence of mind. It comes down to developing a specific mindset for innovation and a healthy respect for how ideas are created.
Click here to read my full review of The Medici Effect with action points on the Actionable Books website.
Johansson’s call to action is that we must become adept at looking for intersections between fields and actively mix people together; creating multidisciplinary and diverse teams that can discuss, argue, and imagine together.
Acknowledging this, we already have what we need. The diverse experience, culture, opinions, and interests that already exist in our organizations and professional networks have immense innovative power - if we know how to actively tap into them. Add to that by opening up to and "inviting in" the smartest people from our top vendors, strategic partners and top clients. Then, consider adding another dimension and exchange ideas with friends and acquaintances in other industries, at conferences outside our fields, in our local communities. The internet and social media sites empower us to readily, cheaply, efficiently build these connections and discussions. The ground is already laid for another Renaissance of mind and an amazing future.