Some of our most brilliant thinkers use the "Habitudes" of Imagination and Curiosity ("Imaginosity"?) to solve problems and engage with seemingly unrelated fields.
While our strongest connections (online AND offline) may be with like-minded or like-disciplined thought leaders, we should look for opportunities to connect with what I call "the fringe."
It's important someone like Angela Maiers (an educator) might reach out to marketing and PR pros and why someone like Fred Wilson (a venture capitalist) should seek out practices in Hacking Education.
It's part of IDEO's line of design thinking
It's practicing the practice of SCAMPER.
It's combining "basketball" and "laundry" and coming up with a new design for a laundry hamper ("all net").
It's taking the assembly line practice of Subway Sandwiches, and tweaking things into a Cold Stone Creamery or Panchero's.
It's creating a network of superstar thinkers so that, as Angela says so often – Together We're Smarter — and collectively that can be true — if we open our minds, eyes, and ears to the "fringe."
The challenge comes in when one "field" or another believes they exist in a silo. That they are the experts in their domain and no one else should (or could) enter. That's limiting and stunting to their own growth.
I've shared my views about Talking With the Fringe in earlier postings, and as we move forward — these connections are becoming more important.
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Find Your Social Media ROI
I hear it from a lot of business owners: “Where is the ROI with all this Social Media?“ If this is a question you ask yourself, maybe we should work together a bit more. We can work together solo, or via a professional learning community. Find and increase your ROI. There is a “there” there.
