These are the background slides from my presentation on June 21, 2008 at Interesting 2008 in London. www.CreativeGeneralist.com

2. what, specifically,
do generalists do?

3. possibility
information
ideas
people
worldview

4. wander & wonder
finding possibility

5. wander & wonder {account planning}
“The way to be interesting is to be interested. Youʼve got to find
whatʼs interesting in everything, youʼve got to be good at
noticing things, youʼve got to be good at listening.”
Russell Davies

6. wander & wonder {eclectic curiosity}
“The point about Connectors is that by having a foot in so many
different worlds, they have the effect of bringing them together.”
Malcolm Gladwell

7. synthesize & summarize
presenting information

8. synthesize & summarize
{the nature of economies}
“Development is differentiation emerging from generality. Even the
most obscure and frivolous generalities are potentially economically
fertile, provided that somebody who needs them can find them.”
Jane Jacobs

9. synthesize & summarize
{blue ocean strategy}
“The business environment in which most strategy...of the 20th
century evolved is increasingly disappearing.”
W. Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne

10. link & leap
generating ideas

11. link & leap
{epidemiology}
“Once youʼve become a specialist there is the danger of
developing a skewed viewpoint on the things you research.
It is vital to communicate with ʻnormalʼ human beings.”
Dirk Brockmann

12. link & leap
{postmodern cuisine}
“Who wants to make the same salad everyday?!
Have fun.”
Homaro Cantu

13. mix & match
connecting people

14. mix & match {rhode island}
“I now believe in sorting the world to identify the innovators
across every imaginable discipline and silo, and then finding
ways to connect them in purposeful ways.”
Saul Kaplan

15. mix & match{pirate supplies}
“It brought in so many people: teachers, donors, volunteers,
everybody - because it was street-level, it was open to the
public,...it was right in the neighborhood it was serving.”
Dave Eggers

16. experience & empathize
understanding worldview

17. experience & empathize {canada}
“It helps to be non-judgmental, perceptive about peopleʼs
behavior and motivations, and genuinely interested in other
peopleʼs points of reference.”
Jane Fulton Suri

18. experience & empathize {gaia}
“The highly compartmentalized approach doesnʼt work in a world of
converging and synergistic stresses. We must bring experts together
across disciplinary boundaries, just as we bring governments
together across cultural, ideological, and political barriers.”
Thomas Homer-Dixon