Innovate Like Leonardo da Vinci

If you’re an entrepreneur, you’re in the business of executing on great ideas. But first you need to have a great idea.

Ideas happen at the “interface” between different, sometimes wildly different, domains, as this article on the genius of Leonardo da Vinci reminds us.

There is a long history of art informing science, and vice versa. Early computer programming was adapted from punch-cards used in Jacquard tapestry looms, Alexis Carrel won a Nobel Prize for developing the suturing techniques used in heart surgery by reapplying techniques from lace making, and much of the creativity of the Beatles exploded in the studio, where the emerging science of recording, enabled by fifth Beatle George Martin, merged with the writing talent of Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison.

Very few people in history have had the genius of these individuals. But the next time you’re stuck, pick up a book or take a long walk and be absorbed in a favorite hobby. The relaxed mind is much more likely to make that unlikely connection.

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Image: Some rights reserved by Gregory Bastien