Synthesis in life and business

During the course of a conversation this last week I realize that something an Oxford professor said to me years ago applies not only to academic writing, but also to business.

Synthesis is an act of creation.

Abby Kerr has been writing recently about unintentional mimicry. Several posts have been devoted to the topic. The conversation is fascinating and I suggest you check it out.

This last week I was involved in a discussion regarding the experience of using mimicry as a learning tool. But by the time you’re building out your own business, the last thing you want to be doing is imitating someone else. What value does that bring to the market? Similarly, in academia the expectation is that you contribute something new to the academic community. Full-on mimicry = plagiarism.

So what do you do, as a thinker, a businessperson, an integrous being, when you catch yourself not just sounding like, but producing the same thing as another, regurgitating content that you have recently devoured, or infringing on intellectual property rights? Or what if you discover someone else is already doing your “big idea”?

It’s time to dig deeper and figure out what it is that you, brilliant and unique, have to offer.

Sometimes digging deeper might lead you to choose a new path. Other times, it might mean absolutely owning the unique nature of what you’re offering, even if there are similarities to others in the market. Just be explicit and honest about what sets you apart. Maybe it’s the method. Maybe it’s the location. Maybe it’s behind-the-scenes access. Maybe you’re covering similar topics, but you’re also making clear connections to other areas that no one has ever done before. (See where this is going?)

Back to Oxford… I was studying Boethius (an early 6th century philosopher). I read translations of primary texts (my Latin was awful!) and read secondary texts to better understand his work. In the end, however, as I discussed my essay face to face with a professor whose intellect made me sweat, what helped me pass was that apparently I had taken a variety of sources, had understood them, and had then combined ideas in a new way, had offered a different slant on the subject matter. My professor then went on — leaving behind the specific content of my essay — to extol the virtues of synthesis and praise the great “act of creation” that is taking separate elements and combining them in fresh ways, thus creating something new and (hopefully) of lasting value to the community. He was worked into quite a glorious frenzy and it made the moment stick.

We each have our own thought patterns, personalities, and stories that shape our perception and experience of the world.

I grew up bouncing back and forth between two worlds:

middle-class living complete with private schools

a rural commercial fishing outpost with no electricity or running water and long hours of demanding physical labor.

The repeating seasonal cycle of my move between these two worlds gives me a specific set of experiences and memories, assigned meanings and cultural understandings, that shape my view and understanding of the world. And these are only a small part of all that has shaped me.

You grew up with your own stories, your own set of experiences. And I can guarantee that even the people you shared those experiences with have a slightly (or drastically) different version of events. Even if the stories sound almost the same, if you dig down just a little, there’s something that differentiates each of us.

What does this have to do with business?

For those of us in the building stages, whether we are just starting out or we are expanding, beware of mimicry. There is no need for mimicry and it doesn’t add value. You can, however, draw on the things that you love, the content that inspires you, in the process of synthesis. You can create something new. You can start out with Idea A from Source X and look at how it interacts with Idea B from Source Y and you might just find that by putting these two ideas together, an interesting new thing (idea, product, writing project, etc.) emerges when filtered through your unique lens.

Hint: The most interesting results often come from using disparate elements rather than elements that are highly similar to begin with.

Think of the The Tao of Pooh. Benjamin Hoff saw the similarity between A.A. Milne’s stories about Winnie the Pooh and the ancient principles of Taoism. He was able to talk about Taoism in a new way and reached an audience with a fresh perspective on ancient principles and teachings. Hoff wasn’t the only one talking about Taoism, but his approach was unique. He explained Taoism through Winnie the Pooh and vice versa.

Look for the points of connection. See where new ideas are pushing through the cracks. Listen for that little voice of insight that tells you you’re onto something fresh. Follow a hunch. Take what you’ve learned, and instead of “doing what everyone else is doing,” take the time to find what is uniquely you. What have you already synthesized? What connections are you ready to make to bring value to the community?

We don’t create in a vacuum. That is why my synthesis-promoting professor loved academia, the community of thinkers, and why he pushed me harder than anyone (except Ann Kaloski, a kick-ass professor at the University of York) to put my own thoughts out there, to STOP HIDING behind other people’s ideas and analysis.

We each have something valuable to bring to the table. Do it with integrity. Create from your unique place of purpose and understanding. You can help me see the world in a new way.

(Special thanks to Illana Burk and Pema Teeter for helping to draw this out.)

Related posts:

Lamberton and Pink: Two Dans and Life Skills
Transforming fear into your greatest strength.

Tagged as: creativity, synthesis, writing