In The Importance of Being Smart, I wrote how smart people can achieve much more – with much less effort – than those who just work hard. There’s a comment there by Frode that I’d like to discuss:

… lazy people seem to be smarter, as they use a lot of brain energy on finding an easier way to do stuff.

Interesting, isn’t it? Lazy people seem to be smarter. But I agree that thinking like lazy people is a good way to work smart. Here are two reasons:

1. Lazy people find ways to accomplish something with the least amount of effort. If you are lazy, you will diligently find ways not to work. Applied to finishing tasks, it means that you try to accomplish it with the least amount of work possible.
2. Lazy people ensure that when they work, they do things that have impact. Why? Because it allows them to gain more with less. They don’t bother doing something that won’t give them results.

Of course, what I mean here is thinking like lazy people, not actually being lazy. You still need to have strong work ethic. But you also need to do things the smart way.

Here are four things you will do if you think like a lazy person:

1. Question whether or not something is worth doing. Don’t do something just because everyone else does it. Ask yourself: is it really necessary? Is it really worth doing? If the answer is no then there is no reason to do it.

2. Do only things with the most impact. Your resources are limited so invest them only on things that give you the most return. Think ROI.

3. Take the shortest path. Don’t waste your time on unnecessary bells and whistles. Do only the things that are necessary to get the job done. Cut everything else.

4. Use as much leverage as possible. Before doing something, find the things you can leverage. Do you know someone in your network who can do it better or faster than you? Can you market it to your existing customers? Can you achieve more than one thing at once? Whatever you do, always use the power of leverage to your advantage.

Photo by Per Ola Wiberg

In The Medici Effect (here is my review), there’s a term I’m interested in: the Intersection. It’s a place where ideas and experiences from different fields meet and form new ideas. It’s a fascinating place to be because excitement from different fields come together at one place. Even more, you can get a lot of fresh ideas that make your and other people’s lives better.

Living in the Intersection has always been a dream of mine. The question, of course, is how. One good way to answer it is by learning from those who are already there. Specifically, there is a certain kind of people with Intersection experience I want to discuss here. They are the polymaths.

Polymaths are people who are extraordinarily intelligent in multiple fields. They live and thrive in the Intersection. Perhaps the most famous one is Leonardo da Vinci but there are still many others. Two examples of modern polymaths are Nathan Myhrvold and Jared Diamond.

I’m not saying that we should be polymaths but I believe we can learn from them about how to live in the Intersection. Here are several lessons I learn:

1. Be curious

Curiosity is perhaps the most obvious characteristic of a polymath. It’s their deep curiosity that fuels them to explore many different fields. They want to know about the world from different perspectives. They want to experience new adventures.

So build your curiosity. Don’t take things for granted. Keep an open mind and be on the lookout of interesting things.

2. Be enthusiastic

One thing I notice when watching polymaths speak is their level of energy and enthusiasm. Often their energy and enthusiasm are so contagious you can feel a fire ignited within you. They don’t do something because they have to. They do something because they love it.

So find things that make you excited. Find things you are passionate about and follow them.

3. Focus on one field before moving to a new one

I especially notice this with modern polymaths. Nathan Myhrvold got his doctoral degree in quantum physics and worked on cosmology. Later he moved to information technology until he became Microsoft’s Chief Technology Officer. Jared Diamond, whose book Guns, Germs and Steel requires deep understanding of multiple disciplines to write, has similar story:

After graduating from Cambridge, he returned to Harvard as a Junior Fellow until 1965, and, in 1968, became Professor of Physiology at UCLA Medical School. While in his twenties, he also developed a second, parallel, career in the ornithology of New Guinea, and has since undertaken numerous research projects in New Guinea and nearby islands. In his fifties, Diamond gradually developed a third career in environmental history, and become a Professor of Geography at UCLA, his current position.

A polymath is like a serial entrepreneur who focuses on one business and makes it successful before creating a new business. By doing it this way, he doesn’t spread his effort too thin. He has the focus necessary to gain deep understanding of the field.

So dig deep into a field before moving to a new one. This will later help you connect the different fields better.

4. Connect different fields

This a big advantage the polymaths have over many other people. While specialists usually just see from the perspective of their field, polymaths can connect one field with another. When they approach a field, they bring their knowledge and experiences in other fields with them. This enables them to see things with fresh eyes. They can see things that other people can’t.

You should do the same. When you are dealing with a field, bring your experiences and ideas in other fields with you and find connections. This is how you get fresh ideas.

Photo by OliBac

Note: This is a guest post by Jered Slusher of Copper Copy

Everywhere I go, I have this little green monster telling me what I should and should not do. The monster criticizes everything and tells me that if I want to be the very best I have to avoid certain things, and embrace others. He tells me to shave and to brush my teeth so that I look presentable. He also tells me to avoid picking my nose because it’s embarrassing. This can be overwhelming at times, especially when he tells me how to write.

Yes. This ugly monster happens to be my inner critic. And just now, as I sat down to write this article, he jabbed his elbow into my neck and told me that I had to start this article off just perfect. “You’ve got to hook the reader,” he says, “grab the reader’s attention.”

All the time he pokes and prods. “That comma doesn’t belong there… You shouldn’t use the passive voice… Why on earth would you phrase that sentence like that?”

He’s so frustrating, so demanding, he exhausts me to the point where I can’t write anymore and I feel like running and jumping off a cliff.

And it’s not just when I sit down to write articles. It’s when I sit down to journal too. He’s sitting there waiting to critique my every move, pounce at the slightest opportunity to tell me I’m wrong. A lot of times I listen because I don’t want to feel like an idiot or look stupid. But then again, I did tell you that a little green monster follows me around.

Well, if we want to become stronger writers and get the most out of our journaling, we’ve got to stop this monster now. Allowing the inner critic to stifle our journal writing is extremely damaging to our personal development. If we get hung up on backspacing, revising, and editing as we journal, we’re really just feeding the inner critic to get stronger and better at revising, editing, and backspacing our thoughts as well.

So how do we get rid of this annoying little monster so we can start focusing on the real issues at hand?

We poke his eyes out… literally and figuratively…

Well, that may sound violent, but it’s true. The secret to good journaling is to get rid of the inner critic’s ability to see what the heck is going on. What results is what we highly sophisticated and jargon prone writer’s have coined blind journaling.

To partake in this highly effective personal development project, all you have to do is set a timer for five to ten minutes, sit down at the computer, shut your eyes and start writing. Write whatever comes to mind as quickly as possible. Perhaps instead of shutting your eyes you can turn the monitor off, but whatever the case may be you should not review what you’ve already written during the time you’re writing.

The key to this is to not think about what you’re writing, but to write out your thoughts as they occur to you. Because you are blind, you are not allowed to edit your thoughts in any way. You may find it beneficial to pause and to think about a specific situation that interests you, but the goal should be to compose as much as possible without letting your inner critic intervene.

After you’re done blind journaling, it may help to go back and review what you’ve written. Expand upon an idea that catches your eye. Ask yourself questions about what you’ve written and perhaps why it is important to you.

This type of journaling is most beneficial because it gets you thinking primarily about ideas and allows you to take chances by not letting anything influence what you write. By disabling your inner critic, you enable your ability to reflect upon the world in meaningful ways without being distracted by that limiting little monster.

If done correctly, the ultimate result is that you will relieve yourself of the traditional inhibitions that most writers have when journaling. Instead of thinking about what others will think of you, you are engaging in a truly individual and organic experience that is focused on your ideas, rather than harshly judging your writing ability or ideas.

Whatever you do, don’t let the overly critical little green monster win.

Jered Slusher is the editor of CopperCopy.com and is also a Senior English Major at The Ohio State University. Jered has worked with hundreds of clients to help them improve their communication and business skills to achieve their goals. For more information on how to improve your writing, visit http://www.coppercopy.com

Photo by fotographix.ca

There are some interesting comments in the post The Importance of Being Smart and here I’d like to discuss one of them. It’s a comment by Chew:

I have something to add to being smart. It’s about beginning with the end in mind.

The objective was to acquire 100,000 arrows, which is not the same as making 100,000 arrows. Most of us would have framed the challenge as “making 100,000 arrows” instead of “acquiring 100,000 arrows”.

No amount of smartness can outsmart the need to begin with the end in mind.

I love it. I don’t know about you, but I often find myself in such a situation. When I need to achieve a goal, I often frame it as achieving the goal in a certain way. As a result, I exclude other ways to achieve it.

This, I’m afraid, is a common problem. When people need to get a task done, they tend to do it in the most obvious way or the way that most other people do. This is a bad idea because by definition following the crowd means being average.

That’s why it’s important to begin with the end in mind. Instead of taking the most obvious route, take a step back and get a complete picture of the goal. Then ask yourself: what are the possible ways to achieve the goal? Notice that the question is not whether or not there is other way because there are always other ways. The question helps you find new possibilities you might never think of before.

You can take the concept further by questioning the goal itself. Why? Because a goal is just a way to achieve an even bigger goal.

Just take acquiring arrows as an example. Acquiring arrows is a way to achieve the bigger goal of winning the battle. So you should ask yourself: is acquiring arrows necessary to win the battle? What are other ways to win the battle? Thinking that you need to acquire arrows without considering other options means that you don’t begin with the end in mind.

You can still move further because winning the battle is a way to win the war, but you get the idea.

Applying this principle in your life will give you interesting insights. Just look at something that you do and ask yourself the bigger goal you want to achieve through it. By keep questioning you will eventually find the ultimate goal of your life. You should then work backward and find the best way to accomplish your goals at each level.

Here is an example:

• Q: Why do I need to do this job?
  A: To make money
• Q: Why do I need to make money?
  A: To be able to buy what I want.
• Q: Why do I need to buy what I want?
  A: To make me happy.

Let’s stop at this point. You should now work backward by asking this question:

• What are the possible ways to make me happy?

From your answers you might realize that you don’t need to buy stuff to be happy. Instead, there are other possibilities. Let’s say that the best answer you find is giving. Then the next question is:

• What are the possible ways for me to give?

This way you begin with the end and move backward to the point where you are now.

Beginning with the end in mind is important. Not only will it help you find more creative ways to achieve your goals, but it will also help you find the right goals in life.

Photo by muha

I recently watched the movie Red Cliff II. It’s about a famous battle in the Three Kingdoms era in China. The battle was between Cao Cao who had about 800,000 soldiers and Liu Bei – Sun Quan alliance who had less than 100,000 soldiers.

Despite being greatly outnumbered, Liu Bei and Sun Quan eventually won the battle. One reason for their success was the role of an advisor named Zhuge Liang.

Again and again, Zhuge Liang devised tactics that cleverly turned the situation around. One of my favorites is when he was asked to provide 100,000 arrows for the alliance. He was given ten days to complete the task but he confidently asked for just three.

After two days, he didn’t make a single arrow. All he did was sitting beside the river, watching the weather, and waiting for some boats he asked.

When the boats arrived, he took them to attack the enemy. The river was foggy so the enemy couldn’t see clearly how many boats were attacking them. Zhuge Liang attacked first with some archers, but the enemy – being far stronger – fought back fiercely. They overwhelmed Zhuge Liang’s boats with arrows.

Guess what? All Zhuge Liang’s boats were covered with straw so he got all the arrows shot to him. When he eventually went home after “losing” the fight, he brought with him 100,000 arrows as requested – and he didn’t make even one of them.

Watching this movie makes me understand what a difference being smart can make. Those who are smart can achieve much more – with much less effort – than those just work hard.

Photo by Esparta

Have you ever faced a situation where you need to choose between two good options? When one option is good and the other one is bad, making the decision is easy. But when both options are good, it’s often difficult to decide.

There is a good lesson in the book Built to Last for such a situation. It’s about making smart choices using the “Genius of the AND” instead of the “Tyranny of the OR”:

Instead of being oppressed by the “Tyranny of the OR,” highly visionary companies liberate themselves with the “Genius of the AND” — the ability to embrace both extremes of a number of dimensions at the same time.

When a visionary company needs to choose between two good options, it doesn’t choose one at the expense of the other. Instead, it finds a way to get both of them at the same time. That way the company gets A and B instead of A or B.

This is a useful principle to apply in your life. When you need to choose between two good options, it may seem that you can only choose A at the expense of B or B at the expense of A. But don’t be oppressed by the “Tyranny of the OR”. Instead, make a smart choice with the “Genius of the AND”. When you need to choose between two good options, find a way to get both of them.

This requires you to think creatively. You need to think outside of the box.

I remember an example in the book Never Eat Alone:

I had two days, three people I wanted to see, and only one available time slot to see them all. How do you manage a situation like this?

I “cloned” the dinner and invited all of them to join me.

That’s the “Genius of the AND” at work.

Now think about all the choices you need to make in your life. Can you find a way to get both of the options without sacrificing any of them?

Here are some possible situations where you need to make a smart choice with the “Genius of the AND”:

• Following your passions or making money
  Possible solution: turn your passions into your career (by the way, the book Career Renegade covers exactly this topic).
• Advancing your career or spending more time with your family
  Possible solution: work from home. With the Internet, there are many opportunities to work from home.
• Being more productive or being more social
  Possible solution: involve other people in your work so that you are more productive and more social at the same time.
• Working more or playing more
  Possible solution: make your work feel like playing by creating contests with your colleagues.

The key here is to think outside of the box. Most people don’t spend the time to think creatively and that’s why they stay with the tyranny of the OR.

It also explains why those who think creatively can achieve much more in life than those who don’t. Just think about it. After a few years, someone who consistently applies the “Genius of the AND” will be far ahead of the one who just applies the “Tyranny of the OR.”

It reminds me of a quote by George Bernard Shaw:

Few people think more than two or three times a year; I have made an international reputation for myself by thinking once or twice a week.

Think creatively and befriend the “genius of the AND” or think like everyone else and stay with the “tyranny of the OR.”

Which one do you choose?

Photo by .A.A.

Improving my mind has always been one of my interests. That’s because I believe that the quality of the mind has significant influence on success. But of course, improving the mind can’t be separated from knowing how the brain works. You need to know how the brain works in order to use your mind effectively.

That’s why the book Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School by John Medina is interesting to me. It aims to introduce you to the latest discoveries in brain science while giving you practical ways to apply them. In the author’s words:

Most of us have no idea how our brain works… Unless you have the Journal of Neuroscience sitting on your coffee table, you’re out of the loop.

This book is meant to get you into the loop.

Let’s look inside the book.

Inside Brain Rules

Brain Rules covers 12 principles of how the brain works that are called the “brain rules”. Accordingly, the book is divided into twelve chapters.

1. Exercise

Rule #1: Exercise boosts brain power.

Exercise can improve your cognitive performance. The exact amount of exercise you need is different from person to person, but a good rule of thumb is doing aerobic exercise two or three times a week for 30 minutes each time. If possible, integrate exercise into your workday. Take regular breaks and fill them with exercise.

2. Survival

Rule #2: The human brain evolved, too.

Human brain evolved through the ages. There are three parts of the brain: “lizard brain” that keeps you breathing, “mammalian brain” that helps you survive (by allowing you to feel fear, for instance), and “human brain” (the cortex) that gives you abilities like vision, memory, and speech.

3. Wiring

Rule #3: Every brain is wired differently.

Your brain is unique and because of that you should ensure that you are doing what your brain is wired to do.  In education, it’s good to have smaller class size because the teacher can then track everybody in the class. In business, there should be “mass customization” to treat every employee as an individual.

4. Attention

Rule #4: We don’t pay attention to boring things.

Better attention means better learning. So it’s important to grab the attention of your audience early and keep it along the way.  It’s also important to keep your attention undivided when you are learning. Using emotions (like fear or laughter) is good to grab attention.

5. Short-term Memory

Rule #5: Repeat to remember

Memories have different life spans. To increase the life span of a memory,  focus on the meaning of the information rather than just the details. You can do this by finding real-world examples that are relevant.

6. Long-term Memory

Rule #6: Remember to repeat.

To have good retrieval of a memory, you should repeat the information in timed intervals. It’s also helpful to think or talk about the information soon after you receive it.

7. Sleep

Rule #7: Sleep well, think well.

Healthy sleep can improve learning while lack of sleep can hurt learning. One good sleeping habit is napping. A NASA study showed that 26-minute nap improved pilot’s performance by more than 34 percent.

8. Stress

Rule #8: Stressed brains don’t learn the same way.

Stress adversely affects your brain and health. That’s why it’s essential to create healthy environment at home and work. The worst kind of stress is the feeling that you have no control over the problem.

9. Sensory Integration

Rule #9: Stimulate more of the senses

You can enhance learning by creating multisensory environment. Multisensory environment allows people to learn in a more elaborate fashion and therefore retain more. The two most popular senses are vision and hearing, but smell is becoming increasingly popular.

10. Vision

Rule #10: Vision trumps all other senses.

Vision is the most dominant sense that takes half of the brain’s resources. For that reason, make the information visual.

11. Gender

Rule #11: Male and female brains are different.

Men tend to remember the gist of an emotional experience while women tend to remember the details. Having both of them work together as a team will give the team complete perspective of a stressful situation.

12. Exploration

Rule #12: We are powerful and natural explorers.

Babies naturally explore new things and test everything in their environment. You should keep this curiosity alive. Curiosity is the fuel that keeps your intellectual engine run.

Conclusion

Brain Rules is a useful book that gives you solid understanding of how the brain works. Rather than giving you unproven myths, the book gives you scientific truth on the subject. It dispels popular myths such as “left brain is for analytical thinking” and “right brain is for creative thinking” and gives you explanation of what actually happens. In each chapter, there are ideas on how to apply the rule in business and education.

I enjoy the stories inside the book that shows the power of the brain. For example, there was a person who could read both pages of a book simultaneously (using left eye for the left page and right eye for the right page) and memorize them perfectly.

I also like the fact that many scientific explanations inside the book are explained using metaphors that make them easy to understand.

Do you want to have good, high-quality ideas? In this age of knowledge, having good ideas can separate you from others and put you ahead of the pack.

But how can we get high-quality ideas? As it turns out, a great way to get high-quality ideas is to have a lot of ideas. The Medici Effect (here is my review) says it clearly:

The strongest correlation for quality of ideas is, in fact, quantity of ideas… Pablo Picasso, for instance, produced 20,000 pieces of art; Einstein wrote more than 240 papers; Bach wrote a cantata every week; Thomas Edison filed a record 1,039 patents.

Here is a study cited in the book that proves the relationship between quantity and quality of ideas:

Simonton verified that the relationship between quantity and quality indeed holds true. The number of papers a scientist publishes, for instance, is correlated with the number of citations the scientist receives for his or her top three works. In other words, the best way to see who has written groundbreaking papers is to look at who has published the most.

So here is a tip for finding good ideas:

Simple, isn’t it? The more ideas you produce, the more likely you will find high-quality ones.

Here are several ways to produce more ideas:

1. Capture all ideas

A basic way to increase the quantity of ideas is simply to avoid losing ideas. Don’t let an idea slip by once it comes to you. Whenever you get an idea, capture it as soon as possible. Write it down or record it with a recording device. Read 4 Simple Ways to Never Lose Your Ideas for more tips about it.

2. Don’t filter your ideas

By definition, filtering your ideas will reduce the number of ideas you have. Even if an idea doesn’t look good, let it sit for now. Later you might see it from a different perspective which shows the usefulness of the idea. If it doesn’t, you can always trash it later.

3. Find more ideas than you need

If you need five ideas, find ten. If you need ten ideas, find twenty. Finding more ideas than you need is good because you can then choose the best out of them.

4. Produce ideas consistently

Keep producing ideas regardless of your mood. If you are a blogger, keep writing posts. If you are a designer, keep creating new designs. If you are a programmer, keep writing codes. Allocate time for it and make it a habit.

5. Set an idea quota

Related to the previous point, one good way to ensure that you keep producing ideas is to set a target for your output. A writer, for instance, may aim to write at least 1000 words every day. A designer may aim to create one new design each week. Setting a target pushes you to be more productive.

6. Avoid perfectionism

One thing that may hinder you from producing a lot of ideas is perfectionism. If it takes one week to take an idea to 80% quality, it may take one month to take it to 90% and one year to take it to 100%. This is the law of diminishing returns at work. Perfectionism could make you spend the whole year on just one idea while you can actually produce 51 other ideas. It’s better to produce a lot of ideas first, test them, and only then devote more resources to improve the winners.

***

This tip works well for me, but I’m sure there are a lot of other tips on finding good ideas. Do you have any? I would love to hear it.

Photo by re_birf

Do you want to have creative ideas? The Medici Effect (a book I review a few months ago) has an important advice to follow: live in the Intersection. As the book says:

When you step into an intersection of fields, disciplines, or cultures, you can combine existing concepts into a large number of extraordinary new ideas.

There are many ways to live in the Intersection, but here I’d like to share with you a simple way you can apply right now. It covers only one aspect of the Intersection (that is, the intersection of different fields of knowledge), but it’s very easy to apply. Here it is:

Read random articles on Wikipedia.

Wikipedia has millions of articles that cover virtually everything you can think of. Reading random articles from it will give you a diversity of knowledge. To read random articles on Wikipedia:

1. Go to Wikipedia homepage.
2. Press the keyboard shortcut to load a random article. The shortcut depends on your browser and operating system. In my case, I use Firefox 3 on Windows and the keyboard shortcut is Alt-Shift-X. You can see shortcuts for other browsers and operating systems here.
3. To get another random article, press the keyboard shortcut again.

Doing this doesn’t take much time and you may do it in your spare time. Even spending only five minutes on it will enrich you knowledge.

Here are some tips to improve your “Intersection experience”:

1. For most articles, read only the introduction

Every Wikipedia article has an introduction section which consists of a few sentences. You only need to read this part when you get a new random article. This way you won’t spend too much time on an article and can quickly move to new articles (there are 11 million of them waiting for you!). You will cover more articles in the same amount of time.

2. Read more if the article is interesting

If the article is interesting, you can read more than just the introduction. In fact, many Wikipedia articles have See Also section that gives you links to related articles. You could read them too.

3. Connect what you read with what you already know

When you read random articles on Wikipedia, there is a good chance that you will find things you’ve never known before. In such a situation, you should connect it with things you already know. For example, you may read about a particular field in mathematics. You should find the connection between that field and other fields in mathematics you know. You may also connect it with other disciplines such as physics or economics. The more connections you make, the more benefit you will get.

4. Apply what you read to a problem you face

Trying to apply what you read to your problem will take you beyond diversifying your knowledge to improving your creative thinking. Even if what you read seems unrelated, try to find a connection between it and your problem. That may help you see your problem in a new perspective and give you fresh ideas to solve it.

***

As I wrote above, applying this doesn’t take much time. Even five minutes a day is helpful to give you an “Intersection experience.”

Photo by elbfoto

Since I’m in the business of creating ideas (mainly for this blog), I’m always interested in books about idea creation. Recently I found a book on this topic entitled The Medici Effect: What Elephants and Epidemics Can Teach Us About Innovation by Frans Johansson.

Medici Effect is the name given by the author for the explosion of remarkable innovations at the place where different fields meet. The place itself is called the Intersection. Here is the main idea of the book:

The idea behind this book is simple: When you step into an intersection of fields, disciplines, or cultures, you can combine existing concepts into a large number of extraordinary new ideas.

It’s definitely something that interests me. Let’s dig deeper into the book.

Inside The Medici Effect

The book is divided into three parts with a total of fifteen chapters.

Part One. The Intersection

1. The Intersection—Your Best Chance to Innovate

There are two kinds of innovation: directional and intersectional. Directional innovations take a particular direction as results of combining ideas within a field. Intersectional innovations, on the other hand, leap to new directions as results of combining ideas from different fields.

Intersectional innovations happen in the Intersection. That’s why the Intersection is the best place for us to innovate.

2. The Rise of Intersections

There were a lot of Intersections in the Renaissance era that produced people like Leonardo da Vinci. But the world then changed and people became more and more specialized. Recently though, the world changed again and Intersections rise. There are three forces behind this rise:

• The movement of people
  Globalization makes more and more people move between nations.
• The convergence of science
  The previously separated fields of science converges and creates combinations like bioengineering.
• The leap of computation
  The increasing power of computation frees people to be more creative and increases communication between them.

Part Two: Creating the Medici Effect

3. Break Down the Barriers Between Fields

Whenever we think about an idea, we usually associate it with other ideas. A knife, for instance, is normally associated with cutting. But most people only see the obvious associations.  It’s difficult for them to associate knife with, say, music. This difficulty is called associative barrier and it inhibits creativity. If you want to be creative, you should break the barriers between fields.

4. How to Make the Barriers Fall

How can you break down associative barriers? The key is diversity. You should expose yourself to different cultures, learn differently, and see from multiple perspectives. The more you have diversity, the more likely it is for you to associate different ideas.

5. Randomly Combine Concepts

A creative idea has two important characteristics. First, it’s a combination of different concepts. Second, it’s random which is why it’s difficult to trace the origin of an insight. Like it or not, luck is an important factor of innovation.

6. How to Find the Combinations

Luck is essential for innovation. But is there anything you can do about it? Fortunately, yes. While you can’t completely control random factors, you can increase the chance of succeeding.

There are three ways to do it: by diversifying occupations, by interacting with diverse groups of people, and by introducing randomness into your thinking pattern.

7. Ignite an Explosion of Ideas

Here is a defining characteristic of successful innovators: they produce and realize a huge amount of ideas. Though it may seem counterintuitive, the strongest correlation for quality of ideas is quantity of ideas. Linus Pauling said, “The best way to get a good idea is to have a lot of ideas.” It has been proven that scientists, artists, and writers with the best ideas are those who produce the most ideas.

This is an important insight for me. I’ve been thinking about increasing my writing skill by writing more but I was afraid that it will lead to lower quality writings. This insight confirms the opposite.

8. How to Capture the Explosion

There are three things you should do to capture creative ideas at the Intersection. First, you must have deep enough understanding of the fields involved. Find the balance between depth and breadth. Second, you must generate many ideas before evaluating them. One way to do this is through brainstorming. Third, you must have enough time for evaluating the ideas. Research shows that, contrary to common belief, being under time pressure actually inhibits creativity.

Part Three: Making Intersectional Ideas Happen

9. Execute Past Your Failures

Getting creative ideas is one thing, but realizing them is another thing. This is the difficult part for many people. Since innovative people pursue more ideas, they also fail more. The key here is to execute past your failures.

10. How to Succeed in the Face of Failure

Since failure is part of innovation, you must plan for it. You must be ready to change your execution plan and don’t think that you will get it right on the first try. To be able to do that, you should reserve resources for trial and error and have intrinsic motivation to remain motivated.

11. Break Out of Your Network

To execute intersectional ideas, often you need to break out of your existing network. Why? Because the network - which consists of your current colleagues, mentors, and customers – often inhibits you from executing intersectional idea. They want you to stay within the field and execute directional ideas that are more predictable.

12. How to Leave the Network Behind

Leaving your network doesn’t mean alienating them. You should keep your relationships with them. Leaving the network means stop relying on them. But, in case you face opposition from them, you should also be prepared to fight.

13. Take Risks and Overcome Fear

Executing intersectional ideas involves taking risk. A logical way to overcome it is by acquiring more resources (time, money) to minimize risk. Unfortunately, this is the wrong way to take. Acquiring more resources doesn’t reduce risk. The reason is because someone’s behavior becomes riskier when the environment is safer.

Therefore, don’t try to minimize risk. Once you have enough resources to execute your idea, do it without waiting for more resources.

14. How to Adopt a Balanced View of Risk

To find the courage to execute your ideas, you should avoid behavioral traps relating to risk. One such behavioral traps is the tendency to stay within a field when things are going well. The reason is because we fear losing. Being aware of the traps is an effective way to overcome them. Another effective way to overcome fear is by  acknowledging your fear.

15. Step into the Intersection . . .

This chapter reminds you of the main idea of the book. The future lies at the Intersection. It’s where breakthrough ideas are. If you want to help create the future, find your way to the Intersection.

Conclusion

For me, The Medici Effect is a surprisingly good book on idea creation. It covers practically every aspect of idea creation from getting creative ideas to realizing them. I especially like the fact that The Medici Effect supports its tips with relevant studies. That way, the tips are scientifically proven.

In my case, I will focus on applying the tips in chapter 4, 6, and 7. Breaking down associative barriers (chapter 4), increasing the chance of finding good combinations (chapter 6), and getting quality ideas through quantity (chapter 7) are particularly relevant to my current situation.