Combinatorial Imagination: Lessons from Leo Da Vinci
How to Think Like a Renaissance Master in Your Marketing
Picture Leonardo da Vinci in a modern marketing meeting. He's sitting there, notebook in hand (written in his famous mirror script, of course), while someone drones on about "brand guidelines" and "best practices." Can you imagine his reaction? The guy who merged art and science, who studied birds to understand human flight, who dissected corpses to paint better portraits. Do you think he'd politely nod along to rigid rules about "staying in your lane"?
Earlier this year, I read Walter Isaacson's biography of da Vinci (which I very much recommend, by the way), and it hit me like a ton of perfectly proportioned bricks: we've lost something vital in modern marketing. Da Vinci had what Isaacson calls combinatorial imagination—the ability to connect insights across disciplines, to see patterns where others saw chaos, to bring his whole universe of knowledge to bear on every problem he faced.
Meanwhile, we're out here building marketing silos, following templates, and trying to fit our creativity into pre-approved boxes. We've traded da Vinci's workshop for something that looks more like an assembly line.
But here's the thing: the best and most breakthrough marketing comes from bringing your entire self—all your interests, passions, and random knowledge—and channeling them through your brand like light through a prism. Let me show you what I mean.
The Power of Being Multi-Disciplinary
I remember exactly when it hit me. I was driving to a coffee shop, deep into Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings (another instant recommendation) completely lost in the Cosmere universe he'd created. As I pulled my headphones out and walked into the shop, something clicked. The epic scope of Sanderson's world-building collided with the technical specs of ANCORE's products I'd been mulling over, and suddenly I saw a different way to tell our story.
The email that emerged wasn't your typical product feature spotlight. Instead of dry specifications, I wrote about our components as if they were artifacts from a fantasy realm: butter from Apollo’s cows, metal forged from dying stars. Was it different? Yes. Did it work? Also yes.
The message worked because it tapped into something authentic—my love of Brandon Sanderson novels and fantasy world-building. It was a marketing message filtered through the prism of who I am and what I love.
That's combinatorial imagination in action. It's about taking everything you know, everything you love, and letting it color your work in unexpected ways.
Breaking Free from Marketing Monotony
Here's a hard truth: most marketing reads like it was written by a committee of robots trying to imitate human excitement. Every industry has its templated approaches—the same carousel of "game-changing solutions" and "innovative disruptions" that somehow say nothing at all and make you want to roll your eyes so far back into your head that you can see your brain.
But what if we took da Vinci's approach instead? What if we let ourselves be curious about everything?
Take my dad—a former D1 golfer turned sales executive—who saw the golf course as a master class in business strategy. He showed me that reading a crucial putt mirrors closing a major deal: you study the terrain, trust your gut, and once you choose your path, you commit without hesitation. Building lasting client relationships? That's your short game—a daily practice of small, precise adjustments that compound over time into something remarkable.
This is how a combinatorial imagination makes business more engaging, more memorable, and more human. When you bring your whole self to your work—your weird hobbies, your random interests, your endless curiosity—you create something that couldn't have come from anyone else.
Building Your Own Combinatorial Toolkit
So how do we cultivate this da Vinci-like ability to connect seemingly unrelated dots? Here are a few approaches I've found helpful:
Let Your Interests Cross-Pollinate
I read fantasy novels and write marketing emails. I play golf and think about business strategy. I study da Vinci and contemplate creativity. These interests blend together like ingredients, creating unique combinations that enrich my work. Let your passions flow freely into your projects.
Use Your Brand as a Prism, Not a Prison
Think of your brand guidelines as a focusing lens for your creativity, not a cage for it. At ANCORE, our brand is about performance and precision, but that doesn't mean we can't tell stories about mythical metallurgy or cosmic forces. The key is channeling these creative elements through your brand's core message.
Collect Ideas Like da Vinci
Leonardo filled notebooks with observations about everything from human anatomy to the way light reflects off curved surfaces. I keep a running text thread to myself of random connections and ideas. Sometimes it's a line from a fantasy novel that perfectly describes a marketing concept. Other times it's a golf insight that illuminates a business problem. The point isn't to use everything. It's to build a library of possibilities.
Test and Learn
Not every creative connection will land. That fantasy-inspired email could have fallen flat. But here's the thing about combinatorial imagination: it gives you more chances to find what works. If one connection doesn't resonate, you have a whole universe of other possibilities to try.
The beauty of this approach is that it's uniquely yours. Nobody else has your exact combination of interests, experiences, and insights.
Making Combinatorial Imagination Work For You
Let's get practical. How do you actually start bringing your own combinatorial imagination into your work? Here's a framework I use that you can adapt for yourself:
Step 1: Map Your Interest Universe
Start by taking inventory of what fascinates you outside of marketing. And I mean everything—not just the "professional" interests. For me, this includes:
Science-fiction and fantasy novels — Anything by Brandon Sanderson, Andy Weir, and Isaac Asimov rank amongst my favorites.
Golf — Both playing and analyzing the game even though I don’t play it particularly well.
History — I have a soft spot for business history in particular or any kind of biography.
Movies — My dad raised me on 80’s and 90’s action movies. Some of my earliest memories involve watching Marty McFly’s Delorean hit 88 mph.
Step 2: Find Your Connection Points
Look at your current marketing challenges and ask:
What patterns from your interests mirror these challenges?
What frameworks from your hobbies could apply here?
What metaphors naturally emerge?
For example, when I'm thinking about:
Managing a Campaign Budget → I think about Warren Buffet and his shareholder letters.
Brand Voice → I think about fantasy world-building rules
Decision-making → I consider golf statistics and scoring
Step 3: Start Small and Test
Don't try to revolutionize your entire marketing approach overnight. Pick one small project where you can test a connection. Maybe it's:
A single email (like my fantasy-inspired product announcement)
One social post
A team presentation
Step 4: Build Your Library
Create a system for capturing connections as they occur to you. I use Lex, but you could use:
A physical notebook
Voice notes
A dedicated Slack channel
Whatever works for your brain
The goal isn't to use every connection—it's to build a personal repository of ideas you can draw from when needed.
Making Your Marketing More da Vinci
So what would da Vinci think if he walked into that marketing meeting today? He'd probably see what we're finally starting to realize: that the best marketing doesn't come from staying in pre-approved lanes, it comes from drawing connections across disciplines, from bringing our whole selves to the work.
The tools for combinatorial imagination are all around us. They're in the books we read, the games we play, the random Wikipedia holes we fall into at 2 AM. They're in our lived experiences, our weird obsessions, and our endless curiosity about how things work.
The next time you're stuck on a marketing challenge, don't reach for another template or best practice guide. Instead, channel your inner da Vinci. Pull from everything you know. Let your interests cross-pollinate. Build your library of possibilities. And most importantly, give yourself permission to connect dots that others might miss.
Because in a world of cookie-cutter marketing, the real breakthroughs come from bringing your whole universe of knowledge to bear on every problem you face. Just like da Vinci would have done.