"Don't Let What You Know Limit What You Imagine"

This article from the Harvard Business Review was referenced on Stephen Bell's blog, Designing Better Libraries. I love Stephen Bell, of Temple University.  I heard him speak recently at a local library conference, and all I could think was, "I would love to work for this guy!" I love his ideas about design principles in libraries, and about how professionals should not limit themselves to the literature and ideas that come out of their profession alone.

This HBR article gives some concrete examples of how companies have looked beyond their own industry to creatively solve problems and create innovation. It is common sense, really: how can libraries, or any organization or business, expect to grow and change in order to remain relevant and successful, if they don't actively seek new ways of looking at things?  How can we find new ways of looking at things if we keep asking the same people? This is basically the concept behind the "liberal arts" in academia as well, which has repeatedly come under criticism as being impractical, not directly linked to gainful employment. Yet many of the most innovative thinkers and leaders come from liberal arts educational backgrounds.  The liberal arts, at their core, teach people how to think. "Critical thinking" has become a buzzword in academia, and educators are asking, "Are we teaching critical thinking? Can we teach critical thinking? Has our instruction been effective in teaching critical thinking?"

It seems that, given the lack of innovation in the majority of industries and businesses, the answer would be, "no." Because isn't that essentially what innovative thinking is about: looking critically at a piece of information, and applying prior knowledge and other sources of information to develop new conclusions and insights? Yes.  It comes down to selecting, evaluating, and using information, from a variety of sources, as effectively as possible -- the core principles of information literacy, which incorporate critical thinking. Without those vital ingredients, creative and innovative ideas will not rise properly.