In a creative development process, a common problem I come across is the rush to jump headlong into solving, fixing, and idea mode.
Here’s why we need to trade assumptions and ambiguity for empathy and understanding.
When you come up with an idea, and go “aha!” and you fall in love with it. You assume it’s the right answer and keep moving forward. ~ Suzanne Pellican
Clinging onto ideas and falling for our first creative sparks can lead to heartbreak.
This is a common problem during a creative development process. We jump headlong into solving, fixing, and idea mode.
We want to share ideas too soon and then get smitten. Stuck, we trade ideas disconnected from the real issue.
One of the main reasons this is often ill-fated is we base our creative thinking on assumptions and ambiguity.
We need to slow the pace down and stay in the question or problem for longer. More empathy and understanding creates waves of benefit that ripple through the rest of the process:
- We increase our focus on exactly what it is we are solving.
- We clarify who needs our help the most.
- We challenge any assumptions that are floating around in the team.
- We are more precise when it comes to developing solutions.
The time we spend in the problem state is often much more important than jumping to ideas.
Be more in love with the problem than the solution.
Your Talking Points
- Don’t allow your tendency to want to fix things or jump to ideas, get in the way.
- Stay open to what the real challenge is for the people that you’re trying to help.