I’m reading Tom Kelley and Jonathan Littman’s book Ten Faces of Innovation. The first of the ten personas he describes is the anthropologist, master of inquisitiveness. In the creative process, their ability to set aside what they know to see situations with fresh eyes is essential. The anthropologist is in stark contrast to subject experts whose breadth of knowledge can limit the exploration with presumed boundaries.

Kelley names ten personalities which, in different combinations, cultivate the chaos from which real innovation erupts. A diverse team forces itself into unknown territory where results are unpredictable. This is where innovation is born. This mix of personalities dispels the devil’s advocate perspective of the subject expert.
Frans Johansson, author of The Medici Effect, focuses on the importance of intersectional thinking where the mix is the source of the new.
I’m looking forward to chaos later this month in Boston at The Front End of Innovation Conference (May 23-24). Tom Kelley will be among an incredible mix of authors, achievers, academics and inventors who will present and discuss the many facets of innovation. I plan to attend and to report what I learn.