I was in Rome with my husband for our wedding anniversary. It was a big treat for our stomachs as well as our eyes and mind. (Not so big a treat for our feet though, they are still hurting.) We had great food, saw all kinds of finest art and marveled at how such beauty could be created. One of the peak moments of our stay was our visit to the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum. Even though many people know Leonardo as an artist (thanks to Mona Lisa) and a mysterious man (thanks to the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown), he is so much more than these that anybody interested in creative thinking or innovation should have a close look at him to learn what it takes to be so creative.
Leonardo has often been described as the archetype of the Renaissance Man, a man of "unquenchable curiosity" and "feverishly inventive imagination". Curiosity was constant in Leonardo’s entire life; like a devouring fever, this curiosity lead him, through the years, to concern himself with practically all matters. He was a Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer.
Apparently Leonardo made continual observations of the world around him and recorded these daily throughout his life. His 13,000 pages of notes and drawings display an enormous range of interests and preoccupations, which he incorporated in an uninterrupted stream of research, study and experiments. In his codices one can see designs for wings, shoes for walking on water, military machines, studies of faces emotions, animals, babies, plants, rock formations, architecture etc. He actually conceptualized a helicopter, a wet suit, a tank, concentrated solar power and a calculator. Relatively few of his designs were constructed or were even feasible during his lifetime, but some of his smaller inventions entered the world of manufacturing. If he were living today, he would be a billionaire uncovering unmet needs of consumers.
I think we all have something to learn from Leonardo. He embodied all the values of an innovator (as we teach in our workshops): humility, curiosity, courage, tenacity and integrity. He was so humble and curious that there was no end to his desire for learning. Because he had such a broad knowledge, he excelled at connecting dots. For example, attracted by the ingenious arrangement of the rooms in a famous bordello, he drew a similar floor plan for a cathedral.* He was courageous enough to voice the unvoiced in spite of the danger of being branded as a lunatic. “He was again the first man to speak of channeling the Arno River between Florence and Pisa” said Giorgio Vasari. And continued, “Everyday he made models and drawings to enable him to dig out mountains easily and to tunnel them from one level to another. Among these models there was one which he showed several times to many ingenious citizens who governed Florence, demonstrating how he wanted to raise the temple of San Giovanni and put steps under it without ruining it.” If this is not courage and tenacity, what is it?
* “Beside one of the rooms sketched Leonardo notes: “Le putte”, an abbreviation for “putane” (whores). Below this he drew a young man seen in profile, standing and with an erection. The little drawing is still visible in spite of attempts made to delete it at some time in the past by rubbing it with a finger dampened in water or saliva.” Close-up of a Genius by Carlo Pedretti, Leonardo - Art and Science, p.8, Giunti Publications
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