Did the headline of this article grab your attention? Did you think I was going to assert that dumb people are better innovators? Nothing of the sort. However, I think I can positively assert that bringing all of your knowledge to bear on a problem that needs an innovative solution is often exactly the opposite of what you should do. Here's why.

If you can solve a problem with all of the knowledge you possess, drawing on everything you know and expect to be true, you are narrowing your range of solutions and calling on past experience. Most likely you’re solving a problem the likes of which you've seen before, and replicating past solutions. There’s nothing wrong with that, but the solution is unlikely to be new and different. You see, drawing on all of your knowledge and experience is what the vast majority of us are paid to do each day, becoming “experts” in our specific domains—and the more knowledge and expertise you have, the less likely you are to draw on new information or question your frameworks or perspectives.

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