The Advantages of a Multidisciplinary Approach in Business
The TED talk in the video "Why Some of Us Don't Have One True Calling" (below) brings to light a certain type of person who does not want to be just one thing, but is interested in becoming many things and whose interests move and shift in phases.
Those who are of this type can feel guilty about this seeming flightiness, and others might consider them as lacking in focus and commitment, but they have their own strengths that bring a competitive edge to whatever field of business they may find themselves in. People whose expertise spans multiple disciplines can bring more depth and freshness into their varied fields.
Now more than ever, the world has not only gotten so much smaller, but new worlds are opening up--new fields and new paradigms, converging and forming vast new avenues for collaboration and consolidation. Such intersections can bring challenge and a fresh new zing into traditional patterns and long-held attitudes in fields that may have become more than just a bit blah.
Interdisciplinary is the way to go about it now. One wonders how the previous generations ever managed. Life is not just one thing; it has many layers and facets. We could say its very nature is interdisciplinary. And just as with life, so it is in business. The situations and problems that businesses face today are interdisciplinary, and thus require interdisciplinary solutions.
Enhancement Within Disciplines
Knowledge in psychology has a lot of useful applications in other fields. After all, most companies have human resources departments, and psychology is what they’re all about. But we’re not just talking about aptitude tests and recruitment here. Sure, an office could filter out the psychos from its pool of applicants when its HR goes all "criminal minds."
A little knowledge in forensic psychology is good business, especially if, say, you’re in the middle of a huge decision. Psychologist William Stern put up a fake fight in one of his lectures that came to blows. When the students (i.e., witnesses) recounted how it all went down, Stern noted mistakes in their accounts, and concluded that emotions can distort “truth.” A practical application of this in the world of business is to avoid making big decisions when one’s emotions are heightened.
Fodder for Inspiration and Innovation
Consider the case of Meshu Jewelry. It is the brainchild of two people who combined their myriad interests in math and maps, data and design, travel and fashion. Who else would have thought to make jewelry with designs inspired by patterns created by customers’ travels? This just illustrates the awesome things that happen when worlds come together. It’s absurd and brilliant!
Challenge and Integration
Who would think that origami and automotive could go together? But they do. Automobile manufactures use origami principles in assembling and installing airbags in cars. Airbags have to deploy quickly and efficiently. Imagine what tragedy would result if an airbag got “stuck” and was unable to inflate quickly and properly?
Origami principles have somehow integrated with engineering principles and helped car designers figure out a way to make the three-dimensional airbag fold up into a flat two-dimensional object that can easily fit into a car’s airbag compartment. And it's done, in such a way that it can inflate in fraction of a second should the car crash into something.
So if you’re a multipotentialite, embrace it. You are the future. And even if you’re not and are a specialist by heart, you can bring an interdisciplinary sensibility to your business by entering into collaborations with other people with interests and expertise different from your own. You’re sure to find it an illuminating and enriching endeavor.
