The Cross-Pollinator draws associations and connections between seemingly unrelated ideas or concepts to break new ground. Armed with a wide set of interests, an avid curiosity, and an aptitude for learning and teaching, the Cross-Pollinator brings in big ideas from the outside world to enliven their organization. People in this role can often be identified by their open mindedness, diligent note-taking, tendency to think in metaphors, and ability to reap inspiration from constraints.
The Cross-Pollinator
I suspect the folks involve are from all over the pallette of Faces but please see the Medical Banking Project Cooperative Open-source Medical Banking Architecture & Technology initiative http://www.mbproject.org/combat-homepage.php
Ed Dodds
Convergence Strategist
dodds@conmergence.com
ed_dodds_skype skype
615. 301.8507 tel
ed1dodds aim
49457096 icq
conmergence.com
ebxmlforum.org
healthcare.xml.org
mbproject.org
Two early imprints:
1. Fire-breathing dragons … steel mills and factories surrounding my working-class Pittsburgh home. Smoke. Fear. Walls. A narrowing at every turn.
2. America through the window of a Trailways bus. Vast. Changing. Open.
How could any one person in America not know or want to know of every other person, place, circumstance, reality, culture? How did such a big country/premise fragment into small, ever-shrinking worlds and viewpoints? Class. Race. Education. Gender. Psychographics. Image tribes. Zip codes.
My goal. Teach a different kind of history and geography. Experiential. Irresistable. Flavorful. Where the little things that matter connect us to wider and wider worlds, and just about everything.
http://www.sportstownusa.com
This is not the story. The story comes after the jump (2 hops and a handclap). I submit the following link in the frame of note-taking and metaphor-making.
http://www.lift06.org/blog/index.php?id=77
I enjoy finding needed connections between people, or finding out what they need to know and getting people together. I’ve found that it takes knowledge of change management to help some people see importance of connections especially when they’re used to working in silos.
My favorite cross pollination experience: I designed and ran a technology and media education program for public shcool high school kids in the Bronx. We taught the students how to make movies using consumer point and shoot cameras, and to upload them to blogs. We also used the web video medium to build a sense of community among the kids who were spread across 5 high schools. In addition to seeing each others videos on the web, we had a screening in a real movie theater where they could see there work larger than life. For me it was heaven. I got to bounce from high school to high school helping kids with all kinds of backgrounds (many immigrants) share their unique visions using a mashup of emerging technologies. Although we hit plenty of bumps on the road during the year, it ended up being pretty damned successful.
Currently I provide visual thinking services and workshops for all kinds of organizations. Also a great cross pollinator activity.
I appreciate finding this group defined in “The Ten Faces of Innovation.” I have often felt like a bit of an outlier, so somehow it’s comforting to find out there are other people like me out there.
If anyone is interesting in learning more about the life of this cross pollinator, check out
http://jonnygoldstein.info
or my business site
http://envizualize.com