Mental Models & Creativity

 We live in a world of specialization. Scottish economist, Adam Smith pioneered the idea of specialization in a free-market system. Smith highlighted that a group of workers will be far more productive if they specialized in one aspect of production. This is how our world works today. And that is why we look for specific skills and experience when hiring someone. Some people among these 'specialists' will identify inefficiencies in the system and will find ways to make things - faster, better and cheaper. But this optimization will max out at some point. To take things to the next level, we need new thinking. 

Our world is large and complex. One cannot keep all the details in our brains. We need mental models - which is a representation of how things work. We need people who can simplify and model the various sub-worlds and develop an understanding of "How The World Works". These generalist can see the connections between the sub-systems of our world and therefore can foster innovation. They can create new opportunities. This is one way of bringing new thinking in our work.

An intellectually curious person who has travelled, who has met a variety of people, who listens, who has been in the trenches, who is well read, who has a range of interests, who loves to learn and experiment -  will generate lots of ideas. Some of those will be extraordinary!