Creative Generalist

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"Everyone's an expert on something," says the tagline at the top of the page. It's true. And Squidoo itself validates the idea that specialized expertise succeeds only when it is synthesized, made accessible, and presented in context with all of the other areas of focused knowledge out there. In other words, generalism and generalists are important in a world of ideas. Breadth complements depth.

This lense is about the curiosity, creativity, ecclecticism, intersectional thinking and the big picture.

ChangeThis Manifesto

Creative Generalist: How Broad Thinking Leads to Big Ideas: If breakthrough insights are at the intersection of ideas, concepts and cultures, it will be generalists-those so-called dabblers and experts of nothing-who find them, who connect them with the specialists that need them, and who shepherd into existence the ideas that will change our world. Nothing can substitute for depth of analysis, and there's proven value in specialization-it's what education, career paths, scientific research, and technological innovation are built on-but generalism is the hidden talent. With so much complex information that is fragmented in so many ways and developing faster and faster, it is increasingly important to have generalists around to make sense of it all. People who appreciate diversity, who are in the know about the wider world and who understand how things interact are invaluable observers, matchmakers, and pioneers of the intersectional ideas so vital for success in today's global knowledge economy and conceptual age.
What Specifically Do Generalists Do?: The five core areas at which Creative Generalists excel.

The Eclectic Curiosity Interviews

Creative Generalist's Q&A Series

Frans Johansson: Author of The Medici Effect
Susan August: Blogger, Requirements Storyteller, and Technical Analyst
Russell Davies: Author, Blogger, and former Global Planning Director of Nike
Terry Rock: Executive Director of Calgary Arts Development
Tim Westergren: Founder & Chief Strategy Officer of Pandora
Alan Wiggan: Retired Marketing Communications Entrepreneur
Jane Fulton Suri: Chief Creative Officer at IDEO
Steve Callaghan: Writer and Producer for "Family Guy"
Daniel Fraser: Cultural Travel Enthusiast & Co-founder of Smiling Albino
Steven Rechtschaffner: CCO of Humanature Studio at Nexon Publishing North America
Adrian Chernoff: Inventor & Chief Creative Officer of Ideation Genesis
Homaro Cantu: Executive Chef at Moto & Founder of Cantu Designs
Dirk Brockmann: Theoretical Physicist & Associate Professor for Complexity
Matt Mason: Author of The Pirate's Dilemma
Saul Kaplan: Chief Catalyst of Rhode Island's Business Innovation Factory

12 Most Recent CG Blog Posts

An outpost for curious divergent thinkers who appreciate new ideas from a wide mix of sources. Completely random and updated regularly, inspiration drawn from - and relevant to - the larger creative world.

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15 Favourite CG Blog Posts

Thinking, Linking, Doing: The three stages to realizing ideas.
Two Sides of the Same Coin: A creative generalist is that ideal state between deep specialized innovation and diverse wide-ranging ideation.
Versatilists: People who are "able to apply a depth of skill to a progressively widening scope of situations and experiences."
The Big Picture Burden: How can one engage in processing everything going on with the world and honestly not feel some sense of disappointment and dread?
Interdisciplinary Academia: The problem with being interdisciplinary is it that means staying in a state of perpetual identity crisis.
The Internet: Paradoxically, it has also accelerated the rate at which the volume of both general and specific knowledge is growing, thereby reinforcing the need to either generalize or specialize.
Bigger Does Not Mean Better: Big ideas do not need big ideamakers. And the fundamental difference between ideation and creation.
Leaders as Generalists: Leaders are, ideally, generalists that can understand and handle many different parts of an organization.
Silent Silos: Fragmentation is progress of an unpredictable nature and it will continue to make it harder for traditionalists to make the pieces whole again in the same way that they once were.
Colonizing and Consolidating: Generalists and specialists have fundamentally different approaches when it comes to problem solving.
Fractals: Diversity fuels further diversity. Niches lead to generalities to niches to generalities.
Immediacy is a Tyrant: "I think for songwriters it takes a bit more time to percolate ideas. Journalists write the first draft of history. Songwriters need more time to reflect."
A Receptive Mind: You have to be open to the unexpected so that if you come upon a discovery you'll recognize it and act upon it.
Marketing General Interest Magazines: The overspecialization of everything - from TV channels to jobs to the shelf categories at your neighbourhood video store - has restored general interest as a legitimate counterbalancing niche category.
Rule 33: There are three things that a strong team absolutely must have and there are three things that a strong team must absolutely do away with.