Collect varied experiences, people and projects now without knowing how they'll connect, then review the collection for surprising combinations.
The idea
Steve Jobs said you can only connect the dots looking backward. Dharmesh Shah of HubSpot flipped that in a way I love: be a "dot collector," and actively gather varied experiences, relationships and knowledge that might connect someday in ways you can't predict. Depth matters, but breadth creates the unexpected openings. The most valuable dots often seem useless when you pick them up.
How to do it
Follow curiosity outside your field (the pottery class, if you work in finance).
Collect people across different spheres, as well as ideas.
Say yes to the random coffee with no clear agenda.
Write your dots down: interesting people, ideas, experiences.
Regularly review the collection and ask: "What connections am I seeing? What unusual combinations might work?"
Example
I met my co-founders through a random website I started, and my wife through a student group unrelated to my career. None of it would have happened if I'd stayed in my lane.
Watch out for
Skipping something because "it's not relevant to my work."
Worrying that your collection looks messy. If it does, you're on the right track.
Relatable: I use Relatable to document my dots (naturally), but a simple doc of interesting people and ideas does the job too. How-to: Manage a contact's profile.
Related frameworks
The Medici Effect: A homogeneous network feeds you sameness; people from other fields, ages and backgrounds bring the ideas and contacts you'd never find alone.
Three Connector Personalities: Conveners build dense networks, Brokers bridge worlds, Expansionists cast wide nets; find your natural style and lean into it.
Twelve Open Questions: Keep about a dozen open questions in your head, Feynman-style. Being interesting starts with being curious.
Engineered Serendipity: Build a simple process that resurfaces people you'd otherwise forget, then add a little deliberate randomness on top.