The book ‘A Beautiful Constraint’ is a handbook for inventiveness.
It’s authors, Adam Morgan and Mark Barden, show how organisations use contraints to kindle creativity and to innovate.
The book tells many inspirational stories, including the story of a British bakery Warburton’s. Twenty years ago Warburton’s was a regional brand, but its now ‘The UK’s brand leader in bread and baked goods.”
What impressed me most?
How the Director of Research and Development instigated a tiny change to boost creativity and facilitate growth:
“He didn’t let people start with, “We can’t because…” He forced them to start with “We can if …” So, for example instead of saying, “We can’t use that type of new packaging because it will slow the line down”, the person would be forced to say “We can use that kind of new packaging if we run it on someone else’s line.”
This made me think what a simple way to stop blocking our creativity and to force us to think deeper.
How can we apply the same thinking to personal constraints like time and energy?
How often we do say, “I can’t because…?”
The reasons for not getting started are numerous:
- I don’t know how to write this.
- I have too many other things to do.
- I am too tired today.
- It’s not going to be good enough.
- My head hurts.
Such reasons block our creativity. They prevent us from looking for solutions. They can turn the weakest excuses into immovable obstacles.
I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. It won’t work.
Do you recognise the negative loop?
Explore the possibilities
The “We can if…” question invites us to explore new possibilities.
So, for instance, instead of telling yourself you can’t write because you don’t know how to write about a particular problem, you could try:
- I can write for this modlette if only I can work out how to introduce it.
- I can find a way to introduce this topic if I brainstorm it.
- I can find a way to produce this course if I do more research.
“I can if…” encourages us to work around our constraints, to look for the things we can control and find ways to do what we desperately want to.
“I can’t because…” in contrast, gives us permission to stop looking for solutions, and it allows us to keep fretting.
Make the impossible possible
The book ‘A Beautiful Constraint’ discusses inspirational innovations like:
- The Kibbutz that invented a drip irrigation system to reduce the use of water by 50% while increasing fruit harvests by double digits.
- The school that launched a student performance app and hired a chief information officer; and got 97% of students (up from 10%) accepted into college.
- A team at Ikea which designed a table that could sell profitably at the crazy price of 5 Euro.
The challenges that these people were set seemed impossible. A table for 5 Euro. Almost 100% acceptance.
How do people solve such seemingly impossible problems?
Morgan and Barden argue that the key to inventiveness is mindset, and they discuss two different mindsets:
- The victim mindset encourages people to lower their ambitions when they recognise a constraint.
- The transformer mindset uses constraints as a catalyst to find fresh approaches and innovative solutions.
Victims and transformers aren’t two different types of people. Everyone can move between the two mindsets.