I have not yet read this book but have skimmed it.  The basis of the book is around a common tool used in ideation called "medici".  The concept is to randomly combine ideas to create new ideas that you would have never come up with.

It's all about using randomness to get us out of a rut - to explore the unknown and to look beyond the obvious.

A number of you have sent me emails/comments/questions on a recent interview that appeared in the San Jose Mercury News.  For those of you haven't seen it, you can read it here ... or click on the extended content link below.

So here are the answers to the most common questions:

Q:  Do you really have two interns living with you at your house?

A: Yes -- this is the second year I've invited a few of my summer college interns to live at the house.  One objective is to have an opportunity to provide 1:1 mentoring to college students with the hope they find it a useful experience before they graduate.  The other objective is for me to learn from them (reverse mentoring).  You have one kind of relationship with your kids (my kids are either married or about to graduate from college) and a different one with young professionals anxious to make their mark on the world. 

Q: So ... you're the "Chief Seer"!  Is that an official title?

A:  That's a tag that Stuart Sikes, the president of Parks Associates (an industry analyst firm) gave me.  I'm not even sure what it means ... does it mean I'm supposed to use a crystal ball?

Q: Why do you believe it will take so long for some of your predictions to become reality?

A: One thing I've learned over the years is that predicting the future is dangerous.  History has shown that we tend to over estimate what will happen in the next 10 years while under estimating what will happen in the next 20.  Keep in mind that the dates I used in the interview are when I believe the prediction will be mainstream - not when the they first appear.

As a final comment, I tend to not like these kinds of interviews/articles since it ignores the fact that there is an entire team involved.  Its not about me ... its about the team. 

Needless to say, I have a killer team.