How you think is more important than what you think
Einstein said, “Never commit to memory anything you can look up,” however that was way before the internet. It’s tempting to search first vs. thinking first. Thinking first is something that engineers do naturally and was reinforced when I attended MIT: how you think is more important than what you think. Take a step back and really think about the problem using the, “brains in your head and feet in your shoes – you decide which direction to choose,” (Dr. Seuss, 1990).
In this article, Harvard lecturer Vikram Mansharamani underscores the unique value propositions holistic thinkers bring to the table, versus those that have specific skills. Time tells us that being too narrowly focused causes obsolescence; think newspapers, home phones, dial-up internet, faxing, PowerBuilder… and potentially soon to be disrupted: E-bay, SalesForce, Amazon, automobiles, business trips, office space, and commuting to work. Think about it.
It was a good read Geoff! While many of the tech firms are recognizing the value of generalists, many industries are still too focused on just hiring the "dot generators" versus the "dot connectors". Firms that profess to innovate need to start looking at hiring and organizing teams more holistically. Your commentary was also very insightful - looking for more from you!
Great article, Geoff, and great insight...thanks for sharing. As you and I have been trained as Systems Engineers, and "Systems Thinkers", you might think of us as Generalists and you wouldn't be wrong. However, I'd argue that our training/experience has made us "Specialists" in simplifying complexity, resolving ambiguity, and focusing creativity. We often play key roles in architecting complex products or service solutions by defining system boundaries, goals, and functions; anticipating failure modes; planning for mitigation and recovery; and defining and managing subsystem interfaces. These are trained specialties to effectively operate within broad, multi-functional domains. Thanks again.
I could not agree more Geoffrey. I clearly remember the interview for my first tech job at Sun Microsystems in 1989. One of the questions was to solve a riddle. They didn't care if I solved it in the interview. They wanted to see what my thought process was to solve it. They were looking for creative minds, not textbook answers. I've used this approach personally and with teams my entire career. Take the time to understand what you are trying to solve then remove the preconceived notions and boundaries on how to solve it. That generates pretty amazing results.
I think your comment about the article is as good as if not better than the article itself.
Very good reminder! The big view and thinking generally!