--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Almost always great new ideas don't…" description: "\"Almost always great new ideas don't emerge from within a single person or function, but at the intersection of functions or people that have never met ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/564/clayton-christensen-2433_function_almost-always-great-new-ideas-don-t-emer_2373648.png" --- # Almost always great new ideas don't emerge from within a… ![“Almost always great new ideas don't emerge from within a single person or function, but at the intersection of functions or people that have never met before.” quote by Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/564/clayton-christensen-2433_function_almost-always-great-new-ideas-don-t-emer_2373648.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/564/clayton-christensen-2433_function_almost-always-great-new-ideas-don-t-emer_2373648.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/564/clayton-christensen-2433_function_almost-always-great-new-ideas-don-t-emer_2373648.png) > “Almost always great new ideas don't emerge from within a single person or function, but at the intersection of functions or people that have never met before.” [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Breakthrough ideas often arise when diverse disciplines intersect, not from isolated individuals. **In simple terms:** Collaboration sparks innovation. Key Takeaway Foster cross‑functional teamwork. Themes innovation collaboration diversity creativity Mood inspirational practical Type strategic organizational When to use this quote - product development - research labs - startup ecosystems Key Concepts interdisciplinary synergy network effects Questions to Reflect On - How can organizations balance breadth and depth? - What structures enable effective interdisciplinary work? A Different Perspective Too many perspectives can dilute focus; manage coordination. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Function](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/function/) [Functions People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/functions-people-2955511/) [Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Ideas Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas-don-476173/) [New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new/) [New ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-ideas/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Met](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-met/) [Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person/) [Single person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single-person/) ## Related quotes > [Organize around business functions, not people. Build systems within each business function. Let systems run the business and people run the systems. People come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gerber/organize-around-business-functions-not-people-build-systems-within/) [Michael Gerber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gerber/) > [People buy ideas, they don't buy photographs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-leibovitz/people-buy-ideas-they-don-t-buy-photographs/) [Annie Leibovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-leibovitz/) > [“Good ideas don’t stand a chance against good bureaucracy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiroshi-sakurazaka/good-ideas-don-t-stand-a-chance-against-good-bureaucracy/) [Hiroshi Sakurazaka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiroshi-sakurazaka/) > [“Ideas we don't know we have, have us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hill/ideas-we-don-t-know-we-have-have-us/) [James Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hill/) > [Inspiration is hogwash. My work comes directly out of my loves and hates. Muses don't whisper in my ear, and ideas don't flow over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-victore/inspiration-is-hogwash-my-work-comes-directly-out-of-my-loves-and/) [James Victore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-victore/) > [I have big ideas. If you don't like them, don't vote for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcauliffe/i-have-big-ideas-if-you-don-t-like-them-don-t-vote-for-me/) [Terry McAuliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcauliffe/) > [“It's really hard to know what's a good idea when you're growing and these ideas don't hold still and neither do you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ryan-hyde/it-s-really-hard-to-know-what-s-a-good-idea-when-you-re-growing-and/) [Catherine Ryan Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ryan-hyde/) > [If you're working on ideas, and you don't know what they are, keep working on them. You don't know what they'll be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-griffin/if-you-re-working-on-ideas-and-you-don-t-know-what-they-are-keep/) [Patty Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patty-griffin/) > [Ideas don’t make money, effort does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-michalowicz/ideas-don-t-make-money-effort-does/) [Mike Michalowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-michalowicz/) > [C++ is designed to allow you to express ideas, but if you don't have ideas or don't have any clue about how to express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjarne-stroustrup/c-is-designed-to-allow-you-to-express-ideas-but-if-you-don-t-have/) [Bjarne Stroustrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjarne-stroustrup/) > [“Ideas don’t come out fully formed , they only become clearer as you work on them . You just have to get started.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/ideas-don-t-come-out-fully-formed-they-only-become-clearer-as-you/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [Ideas don't desert you; ideas aren't treasonous to you, but people can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/ideas-don-t-desert-you-ideas-aren-t-treasonous-to-you-but-people-can/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [A lot of times, people start out with a lot of good ideas, but then they don't execute. They lose the purity of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/a-lot-of-times-people-start-out-with-a-lot-of-good-ideas-but-then/) [Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/) > [There are always a bunch of ideas floating around and I do the best that I can to try to not do them. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-j-abrams/there-are-always-a-bunch-of-ideas-floating-around-and-i-do-the-best/) [J. J. Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-j-abrams/) > [Ideas don't get smaller when they're shared, they get bigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/ideas-don-t-get-smaller-when-they-re-shared-they-get-bigger/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## More by Clayton Christensen > [But actually theory is very practical. Gravity is a theory, for example. It allows you to predict that if you step off a cliff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/but-actually-theory-is-very-practical-gravity-is-a-theory-for-example/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [In our lives and in our careers, whether we are aware of it or not, we are constantly navigating a path by deciding between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/in-our-lives-and-in-our-careers-whether-we-are-aware-of-it-or-not-we/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [Many of the factors that we think will cause motivation, such as fair pay and a good manager, won't make you love your job.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/many-of-the-factors-that-we-think-will-cause-motivation-such-as-fair/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [People in private equity complain that they have so much capital and so few places to invest. 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I commend to all this same search for happiness and for the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/this-is-why-i-belong-and-why-i-believe-i-commend-to-all-this-same/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [I think this is one reason why the Lord invented the Internet - so members can teach one another how to succeed in assignments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/i-think-this-is-one-reason-why-the-lord-invented-the-internet-so/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [Because these firms listened to their customers, invested aggressively in new technologies that would provide their customers more and better products of the sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/because-these-firms-listened-to-their-customers-invested-aggressively/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [At the beginning of almost every industry, the available products and services are so expensive to own and complicated to use that only people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/at-the-beginning-of-almost-every-industry-the-available-products-and/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [Management has to provide the coordinating mechanism between what the supplier provides and what the user needs in not-good-enough situations where product architecture is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/management-has-to-provide-the-coordinating-mechanism-between-what-the/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [When you're thinking about your next product or current product and wondering how to make it different so you don't have competition, understand the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/when-you-re-thinking-about-your-next-product-or-current-product-and/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) [Explore all 166 Clayton Christensen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) ## More Function quotes > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) > [If I don't have pressure, I don't function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/if-i-don-t-have-pressure-i-don-t-function/) [Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/) > [If I had to guess and put a name on it, I'd say that at some point, the drug war was as much a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simon/if-i-had-to-guess-and-put-a-name-on-it-i-d-say-that-at-some-point-the/) [David Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simon/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. 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