The Rare-Combination Innovation Model
Combine distant reference points and transfer strengths into new domains
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 88%
Bartlett and Priestley argue that innovation frequently appears when someone connects reference points that other people encounter separately. The method starts by resisting an identity built around one narrow specialty and deliberately becoming curious about unfamiliar domains. The person then looks for mechanisms, problems, or materials that can cross boundaries. Existing strengths should also be moved into environments where they are scarce: Priestley notes that a social-media capability shared by everyone inside the social-media industry can become a major differentiator in another field. Examples discussed include combining a non-stick fishing material with cookware, putting internet, music, and telecommunications into one device, and bringing calligraphy into computer typography. Breadth does not guarantee innovation, but it increases the raw combinations available for testing and can reveal applications that a single-field perspective misses.
Origin
The model emerges in The Diary of a CEO from Bartlett's account of innovation as connecting reference points and Priestley's recommendation to become more generalist, curious, and willing to transfer a superpower into a new setting.
Core principles
- 01Innovation often connects ideas that others keep separate
- 02Breadth increases the number of possible combinations
- 03A common strength becomes distinctive in an unfamiliar domain
- 04Curiosity outside a professional identity creates useful reference points
- 05Specialization can improve efficiency while narrowing discovery
How to run it
- 1
Resist the narrow label
Notice the professional identity that determines what you read, whom you meet, and which opportunities you accept. Deliberately make room for interests beyond it.
Pro tip Choose a domain that attracts genuine curiosity rather than one selected only for status.
Watch out Breadth does not require abandoning the skill or job that currently supports you.
- 2
Collect distant reference points
Learn how unfamiliar fields solve problems and create value. Build enough understanding to recognize a mechanism that might travel.
Pro tip Seek direct experiences, practitioners, and concrete examples.
Watch out Superficial novelty without understanding produces weak combinations.
- 3
Connect uncommon pairs
Ask where a material, practice, or model from one domain could solve a problem in another. Prefer pairings that are useful, not merely surprising.
Watch out An unusual combination still needs a real user benefit.
- 4
Transfer a proven strength
Take a capability that is ordinary in its home field into a setting where it is scarce. Use the new context to make the strength differentiating again.
Pro tip Compare how common the capability is in both environments.
Watch out Adapt the skill to the new domain rather than copying its old implementation unchanged.
- 5
Test the combination
Create a small experiment that reveals whether the connection produces practical value. Keep the combination only if users or outcomes validate it.
Watch out A memorable origin story is not evidence of demand.
In the wild
Bartlett and Priestley discuss Steve Jobs's exposure to calligraphy and typography. They say that reference point contributed to fonts becoming a differentiator for the early Mac, combining an artistic discipline with computing.
→ A capability uncommon in computer products helped distinguish the product experience.
Bartlett describes working in psychedelics, cancer biotechnology, DJing, and podcasting after leaving a social-media business. Priestley observes that social-media strengths common inside their original industry can become unusually valuable when applied somewhere new.
→ Moving a mature skill into less familiar domains creates new combinations and potential differentiation.
Common mistakes
Confusing breadth with random distraction
The mechanism requires retaining and transferring useful reference points, not collecting unrelated activities without reflection.
Staying where the strength is common
A capability offers less differentiation when everyone in the current field shares it. Search for adjacent domains where it is scarce.
Skipping the practical test
A clever combination must still solve a problem or improve an experience before it counts as innovation.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for innovators and experienced professionals whose current field has made their strongest skills commonplace.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal when a task demands deep regulated expertise that broad curiosity cannot replace.
From the transcript
“Innovation is the connection of like two ideas or thoughts or principles that someone else hasn't put together.”
“Become more of a generalist, become more curious and go out of your comfort zones”
“Your superpowers are extra superpowers when you take them somewhere new.”
From the episode
Daniel Priestley: Plumbers Will Earn More Than Lawyers! I Predicted 2008, Now I'm Warning About 2029