3 ways to embrace constraint to unlock creativity

When was the last time you worked on a project that had unlimited resources, no guidelines, and no timeline? Probably never.

It’s not realistic to receive a prompt without parameters. And that can actually be a good thing, because creativity requires some constraint.

I’m not talking about the types of restrictions that reinforce unhealthy expectations, but I am talking about the guardrails that enable teams to move their ideas from concept to a living, breathing product or service that exists in the real world.

Why don’t most creative ideas see the light of day?

Without guardrails, I typically see teams with great ideas get stalled for a few specific reasons:

• The timeline to bring the idea to life is too long. By the time it launches, the idea is just a watered-down version of the original.

• A rogue stakeholder comes in and shuts down an idea before it even gets off the ground.

• People lose momentum and focus, abandoning the concept for their day-to-day work or other distractions.

How can we make sure creative ideas don’t die before they have a chance? Constraint.

Constraint is just our reality — once we learn to embrace it, we can use it to our advantage and actually create better ideas. I would even go so far as to say that most teams need to add more constraint to their work. It has the power to drive clarity, increase focus and accelerate time to market for new ideas, which prevents them from being forgotten or diluted.

Here are the three categories of constraint that will have a significant impact on your team’s ability to do their best work and support the company’s desired outcomes.

1. Timeline

Parameters around timing are paramount to bringing an idea to fruition. Without a timeline, you risk losing steam on a project. As a Design Sprint evangelist, you know I love a tight timeline to help teams focus and work on bringing new ideas to life quickly.

This example illuminates how quickly complex offerings can make it into the world: Amazon’s Prime Now team had a goal to launch what is now part of their core offerings in just 90 days. They were able to create a distribution center, decide which items to stock, develop software and launch in only 111 days. Without that assertive timeline, you can see how this project could have just as easily taken two years (and where would so many of us be without Prime delivery?!).

2. Resources

Budget, available people, materials and talent. These are the types of things that often feel constraining when embarking upon a new project. We think “if only we had more___.” But the reality is, more isn’t always more. More can be overwhelming and paralyzing. Embracing the reality of your situation and working within the resource constraints you have can lead to more creativity.

Here’s another example: When former iPod designer, Tony Fadell, wanted to create a new thermostat that he could control remotely, he was forced to work within existing HVAC systems and determined that the best path was to go direct to the customer vs through an HVAC tech. The result? Nest: a beautiful, energy saving, easy-to-install thermostat AND a company that was eventually sold to Google for 3.2 billion dollars.

3. Requirements

What does the team want to say is true for the final product? What promises do you need to deliver on for the customer? Which questions do you need answered before something can launch?

In the case of Relay Robot — an endearing little AI designed to serve hotel guests — the engineers wanted to learn if users would even be willing to interact with a robot. Would it scare them? Would they find it creepy? How much personality should it have? To find out, they embarked on a 5-day Design Sprint that would accelerate the process. During this window they were able to create and test a robot personality, get real feedback from testers and guests, and make alterations to the model. Three weeks later, Relay Robot went into full-time service, and the company had to increase production to keep up with demand. Because of the constraints applied by the Design Sprint, the team was able to make leaps and bounds over just one week.

Constraint is critical to making sure ideas come to fruition. When we stop perceiving it as a barrier to success and instead embrace it as a necessary component to innovation, only then can teams tap into their best creative ideas — the ones that move the needle for the business, and provide deep value to the customer.