While unwavering commitment to solving a problem is central to many of the great discoveries in history, this isn’t the only way of stumbling upon a breakthrough. (Almost) every time I find that elusive bolt of lightning, I’m completely immersed in an unrelated topic. Exploring movements like Voluntary Human Extinction (thanks to Maddie Lawn), studying sustainable alternatives in the Future Materials Bank, awaiting the Roden Crater (thanks to Zack Sears), drooling over Aesop’s Design Taxonomy, or trying new tools like Lazy.so.
Keeping one foot out creates an essential partition, protecting cognitive diversity and increasing your ability to unlock problems from a new angle. This stance is embodied perfectly by 3M’s 15% culture “encouraging employees to set aside a portion of their work time to proactively cultivate and pursue innovative ideas that excite them” (link). Keeping one foot out of the work is not a lack of commitment, but a habit of nurturing your brain’s ability to subconsciously draw new connections between unrelated concepts, the essence of strategy and innovation.
Wandering (physically and digitally) is fundamental to being an interesting thinker. Take the afternoon off and go to the museum, wander into that bookstore, talk to a stranger, and go to the concert alone.
02 Create a system to capture and collect what you find.
Whether it’s a Google document, notion, or something else, always save the link and jot a note to remind you why it mattered. More on that can be read here.
03 Defend your algorithm at all costs.
Stop reading, watching, and listening to what everyone else is already talking about. If you want to think differently you should consume differently.
With one foot in and one foot out, you’ll see that great ideas are all around, waiting to be found.