According to Frans Johansson, “When you step into an intersection of fields, disciplines, or cultures, you can combine existing concepts into a large number of extraordinary new ideas. The name I have give this phenomenon, the Medici Effect, comes from a remarkable burst of creativity in fifteenth-century Italy.”
He agrees with Richard Dawkins who suggests (in The Selfish Gene) that ideas, or memes, compete, in a real sense, for space in our minds. Hence the importance of a process for collective, collaborative generation and refinement of ideas. In terms of both the number of people and the number of ideas, “the more the merrier.”
Here is what Johansson recommends
What to Avoid
1. Associative limits and barriers that exclude anyone and anything that is “different,” “doesn’t fit,” etc. from the process
2. Arbitrary deadlines that eliminate ideas too soon
3. Disagreement and conflict that become personal
4. Failure to execute ideas (“the greatest failure of all”)
5. Loss of motivation
What to Ensure
1. Diversification of participants (e.g. expertise, perspectives, and approaches)
2. Recognition of trends and patterns that can be integrated
3. “Intersection hunting” (i.e. searches for connections in unlikely places and see where they lead)
4. Ignition and explosion of ideas
5. Sufficient time for evaluation of ideas
Frans Johansson is the author of The Medici Effect: Breakthrough Insights at the Intersection of Ideas, Concepts, and Cultures, published by Harvard Business Review Press (2006). His latest book is The Click Moment: Seizing Opportunity in an Unpredictable World, published by Portfolio/The Penguin Group ((August 30, 2012).
Other Suggested Readings:
The Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity from IDEO, America’s Leading Design Firm (2001)
The Ten Faces of Innovation: IDEO’s Strategies for Defeating the Devil’s Advocate and Driving Creativity Throughout Your Organization (2005)
Tom Kelley with Jonathan Littman
The Little Black Book of Innovation: How It Works, How to Do It
Also: Scott D. Anthony
Collaboration: How Leaders Avoid the Traps, Create Unity, and Reap Big Results (2009)
Morten T. Hansen