what, specifically,
do generalists do?

possibility
information
ideas
people
worldview

wander & wonder
finding possibility

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

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

synthesize & summarize
presenting information

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

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

link & leap
generating ideas

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

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

mix & match
connecting people

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

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

experience & empathize
understanding worldview

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

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