I'm being a bit flip with the title of Steven Johnson's newest book, Where Good Ideas Come From.  Honestly, I loved the book.  Here's what I wrote about the book, using the Reading List application on LinkedIn:

"I love this book, as it validates the value of boundary crossing–being immersed in more than one world. Johnson provides example after example of how moving between multiple worlds helps to cross-pollinate ideas, resulting in innovation. It was also fun to see a term that a physics major turned opera singer friend (a boundary crosser if I ever met one!) told me about many years ago–the adjacent possible.

Johnson lays out a set of environmental characteristics where innovation thrives and ends with a tidy model that refutes the popular notion of a lone genius, working in isolation, to come up with the next big thing. Instead, he advocates the type of open-source, crowdsourcing approach that has become so viable with social media and the Internet.

This book is a fast read that will inject some fresh thinking into your work, no matter what your discipline."

Okay, if you can stand to put another book on your reading list, here's another one I recently recommended on my LinkedIn profile, Superconnect by Richard Koch and Greg Lockwood. 

My comments:

"Fabulous book that covers concepts related to networking, business growth, and the spread of ideas. Sort of what you would get if you combined the writing styles of Malcolm Gladwell with Chip and Dan Heath with Keith Ferrazzi. Thoroughly enjoyable."

One of most fascinating ideas from this book is the concept of connectors between hubs–like boundary crossers–who are the pipeline to opportunity.  These people serve a valuable role, by connecting worlds that otherwise would be isolated.  

Dang it, I love being a boundary crosser! How about you?

PS. My long absence on this blog is no indication of my love for boundary crossing.  It's just that my ideas on boundary crossing have new outlets for sharing (like the Reading List on LinkedIn.) So if you find yourself hungry for a new post here, reach out to me, carol [at] carolrossandassociates [dot] com and nudge me along.  Or follow me on Twitter (@carolross)  and direct message me.