Creativity and innovation seems to flow from dedication to a particular type of work, but productivity and ideas blog the 99u noticed a trend: the best stuff seems to come from generalists, or people who know about a wide variety of topics.


You can't know about just one thing. Not only does that make you an often boring conversationalist, but it prevents you from connecting with others through your work as well. Thinking of things without any connection, without multiple perspectives, leads to work that's often un-relatable. Being more of a generalist makes it possible to take something personal and share it with others in a way they not only understand but can appreciate:

At the same time, creativity often requires drawing analogies between one body of knowledge and another. Pablo Picasso merged Western art techniques with elements of African art. He was struck by the way African artists combined multiple perspectives into a single work, and that helped lead to the development of cubism. Similarly, great scientists often draw parallels between different areas to create new ideas. In the history of science, Johannes Kepler struggled to understand how the planets could move around the sun, and drew on his knowledge of light and magnetism to try to understand the force that moved the planets.


So don't feel you have to be incredible at one single thing. Often the best work comes from those who attempt to understand everything they can.

Picasso, Kepler, and the Benefits of Being an Expert Generalist | The 99u