Creativity Through Constraints

Adam Richardson pushes back against the idea that “the best way to boost a team’s creativity is to unshackle them from constraints”:

Constraints have a Goldilocks quality: too many and you will indeed suffocate in stale thinking, too few and you risk a rambling vision quest. The key to spurring creativity isn’t the removal of all constraints. Ideally you should impose only those constraints (beyond the truly non-negotiable ones) that move you toward clarity of purpose.

If a constraint enhances your understanding of the problem scope and why you’re doing what you’re doing, leave it in. Insights into user needs, for example, are great because they provide focus and rationale. If the constraint confuses or overly narrows scope without good reason, remove or replace it. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different combinations of constraints; it’s not always easy to tell ahead of time what the right mix will be for a particular project or circumstance. Beautiful, brutal clarity is your goal.