“Connecting the dots” is a phrase I tend to use a lot. I think it’s a beautiful set of words that describes a particular phenomenon, a special skill that is critical to developing one’s leadership and life skills. The process begins with learning and drawing information or knowledge from various dissimilar sources across multiple disciplines. Then, the dots or pieces of information that we retain become part of our minds over a period of time.
When learning something new, or when learning something that is inter-disciplinary in nature, there are ample opportunities to connect the dots. Whatever we learn through our lifetime remains a speck, a dot, in our being somewhere. Over time, when we take the effort to connect them, the results are astonishing and extraordinary. May be you are a lawyer who is learning to speak Japanese. Or a software engineer who is learning to make cheese. Perhaps you are an Arts student who is enrolled in an elementary Quantum Mechanics course. Each time our mind is engaged in vastly different fields, we get an opportunity to compare, contrast and connect them.
See the pattern
It’s only when we start connecting these dots, observing a pattern and establishing a relationship between them, that these knowledge dots start making sense. The apparently incoherent dots that were perhaps mere blurs in the beginning now become distinct knowledge networks with fascinating clarity. I strongly believe that whatever we learn never truly goes to waste. We may not be good at everything we learn and the skills we develop will depend on our discipline and talent. Still, we end up connecting the dots present in everything we learn, if we are willing to sit down and engage in this exercise. It all comes together.
Over the years, I have studied a variety of subjects — sometimes for fun, sometimes out of necessity and sometimes, just to push myself and challenge my limits. Some people have asked me, “What good has learning foreign languages done you? Can music and dance classes help you solve problems at work? Why did you enrol in an elementary math class?” These are, of course, well-meaning people who are puzzled by my tendency to keep learning no matter how old I get.
I believe the dissimilar and wide-ranging subjects or languages I’ve had the good fortune of studying over the years have helped me form my worldview and shape my life skills. I still have a long way to go because there’s still so much left to discover, learn and study. But constant learning has helped me approach each day with new eyes, and as I move from one knowledge dot to another, I realise they are all connected one way or the other.
Recently, when I was researching something, I sat down with a pen and paper. I drew a knowledge chart or a tree diagram — call it what you like. The tree represented various topics I had studied and, in an attempt to connect the dots, I started drawing lines to connect the branches, arriving at a pattern. At that moment, whatever little knowledge I had gained from all the reading and studying started to make sense. In a similar way, I’m sure we will be able to arrive at patterns that connect what we have learnt over the years, relating them to practical experiences too.
Arriving at solutions
Whether it’s problem solving, decision-making, people management or day-to-day operational issues, there are myriad opportunities for us to apply a technique learnt from a seemingly unrelated field and then arrive at solutions. For example, in music, dance or even an adventure sport, we always begin with warming up. The same applies when we learn a new subject or a new language. We prepare ourselves for the intense activity that follows, no matter which faculty we use as part of that activity. It’s almost always about ensuring a strong foundation, slowly and steadily advancing our way through it. At work, when faced with a tough situation, all we need to do is take a minute, pause, reflect, take a deep breath and connect the dots. Like in music or dance or even a statistics class, I think of the basic rules. This is how I connect the dots.
Therefore, the point is this: Keep learning, keep learning something new no matter how old you are. And if the skills or subjects we are trying to learn are vastly different from the field we work in, even better. Constant learning is fun. And the rewards of connecting the dots make it even more enjoyable.
The author is a writer and literary journalist. She also heads Corporate Communications at UST. Views expressed are personal. @anupamaraju
