Make Connections

Written By Jeremy Utley

Steve Jobs once said, “Creativity is just connecting things.”

I don’t know how many people deliberately attempt making new connections, but it’s a good skill to develop. Multi-sport-athlete (world record holder!) and entrepreneur Laura D’Asaro pushes herself to make connections every single day. She is hands-down one of the most creative people I know, and one of the most inventive entrepreneurs I have met. In our fantastic conversation (available here) she described her process.

What’s your process for connecting things?

A couple of our favorites at the d.school are the Wonder Wander, Analogous Exploration, Divergent Diversions, and radical collaboration. Or you could tempt lightning with scrappy experiments.

The fundamental task of the innovator is to make connections.

As obvious as that sounds, I wonder how many folks go connection hunting.

Related: Seek Random Inputs
Related: Explore Analogies
Related: Divergent Diversions
Related: Recombine Existing Parts
Related: Tempt Lightning

Click here to subscribe to Paint & Pipette, the weekly digest of these daily posts.

Featured
The First Time AI Blew My Mind
The First Time AI Blew My Mind

Standing in my hallway surrounded by broken glass, I asked AI for 10 terrible ways to respond. What came back changed how I think about parenting—and about AI.

Stop Being a Hypocrite
Stop Being a Hypocrite

Here's what I've noticed over the past year. (And yes, I include myself in this.) Leaders are really good at telling their teams to embrace AI. They're much less good at embracing it themselves.

The Advisor You Didn't Know You Had
The Advisor You Didn't Know You Had

A generation ago, you had to be independently wealthy to have access to intelligent assistance. Not anymore. I’ve got a team of advisors at my fingertips. And so do you.

The AI Multiplier: Why Your "Organic Capabilities" Matter More Than Ever
The AI Multiplier: Why Your "Organic Capabilities" Matter More Than Ever

Your organization spent years building innovation capability. Now AI arrives, and folks ask: 'Should we keep investing in creativity, or redirect that budget to AI tools?' The answer will determine whether you dominate the next decade—or get left behind.

You're a Manager Now (But Most Don't Know It)
You're a Manager Now (But Most Don't Know It)

Satya Nadella, Brice Challamel, Garry Tan, and Andrej Karpathy agree: you just took on a new role at work, but nobody told you. Most people don't even know it yet. Are you one of them?

"Have You Tried AI?" The Answer Every Leader Should Give
"Have You Tried AI?" The Answer Every Leader Should Give

What if the most powerful AI leadership move isn't answering your team's questions, but asking them one simple question instead? Five words that build capacity, create permission, and get you out of the bottleneck.

If You Were an AI, I'd Think You Were Terrible
If You Were an AI, I'd Think You Were Terrible

There’s a dangerous double standard that's killing our AI collaboration: abrilliant friend makes an honest mistake? We easily overlooked it. But if AI had done the exactly same thing we’d be furious. We'd conclude AI is either incompetent or broken. Our loss.

Malpractice
Malpractice

Last email: did AI help? Last presentation: did you get AI feedback? Last difficult conversation: did you practice with AI first? If you're answering "no" to most of these, you're not behind on AI adoption. You're committing professional negligence.

The Recursive Loop: How Sharing Creates What's Worth Sharing
The Recursive Loop: How Sharing Creates What's Worth Sharing

Most teams think they need more AI training. What they actually need is a loop: a reason to share, experiment, and learn in public. Here’s how to build that culture—one commitment at a time.

Update Your Priors
Update Your Priors

If the MIT study of AI failure rates surprised you, you need to update your priors. Innovation is about shots on goal, not perfect plans. Time to recalibrate how many attempts you’re making.

Jeremy Utley
Previous

Be Brave
Next

Diagram Your Last Breakthrough