MY most valuable skill

I’m often complimented for my ability to come up with ideas for people. (And what happened, then? Well, in Whoville, they say—that Ajay’s giant ego grew three sizes that day.)

In all seriousness, I think I can attribute this to one specific skill that’s hard to cultivate but extremely valuable.

I’ve kept this issue relatively short because I believe it’s one of the MOST important skills I have in my personal toolkit—and it's something I only became consciously aware of recently. I’d been doing it passively for years.

It’s called Analogical Thinking.

Analogical thinking is the process of using information from one domain to solve a problem in another. For example, you might use your experience in the fitness industry to apply better accountability systems in education.

Even Nobel Laureates have demonstrated that hobbies outside their fields, like music or art, can create analogical thinking pathways that fuel scientific breakthroughs. Research in cognitive science also shows that people who use analogies are better at solving complex problems. Analogies allow us to map known concepts onto new problems, making unfamiliar challenges more approachable and easier to understand.

Take Velcro, for example—it was inspired by how burrs stick to dog fur, a perfect analogy between nature and engineering. Or the “pull-to-refresh” feature in mobile apps, which borrowed from the analog concept of pulling down a window shade. Everyday physical experiences can inspire digital solutions.

Analogies provide a structure upon which new ideas can be built. In Range by David Epstein, he explains how, when people are exposed to unfamiliar concepts, analogies act as cognitive bridges, helping them understand and manipulate new information—ultimately leading to creative solutions. This makes sense because we often use past experiences to inform how we deal with unfamiliar ones.

So, how can we improve this skill?

Start by building a wide range of experiences—different jobs, hobbies, even consuming media you wouldn’t typically go for. The more varied your experiences, the more you’ll have to draw from. Then, actively try to pull ideas together by asking yourself: “Hmm, I have this problem. What other domains might have a similar problem or solution that I could draw inspiration from?”

Let me know on how you go with improving this specific skill!

Until next time,

Ajay