ITP Techblog

Are you a creative person? Before you answer - have a think about it. Most people are creative in some way. Did you know that some creative people are like Mozart and some are like Beethoven? And I am not even talking about music specifically. I am taking about the creative process. There is a significant difference in how people go about creating something new. Understanding this will help you understand yourself, and others, a whole lot better. It will also impact on your business.

Technical people create new technologies. Chefs create delightful meals. Music needs creative talent. Writers are creative people. Some accountants are creative too - but that is a little out of our scope of discussion today. So, before you say that you don't have a creative hair on your head, think again. The real question is, how do you go about it?

Some creative minds seem to be struck by inspiration. It all comes together in their head. They visualise. They imagine. The new stuff just seems to flow out of nowhere. The amazing inventor, Nikola Tesla, was like this. So was the well-known composer, Mozart.

Mozart

Apparently, when Mozart wrote a new symphony or other composition, it would seize him completely. He could hear it in his head. It would just flow out of his brain and onto the paper. He would write and write and write until it was finished. And once it was finished, that was it. No edits, no tweaking. It just was.

Beethoven

On the other hand, Beethoven wrote his music in completely different way. Beethoven would plan the outline and the phases. He would write the music and then spend days and weeks and sometimes months editing and tweaking to get it all perfect. Some of his work was never finished because he thought it was not good enough and still needed more work. 

Which one are you?

There is no doubt that both Mozart and Beethoven had great talent. They have both remained famous for their music since the late 1700s. But they each had their own creative style. Which style is more like your own? Do you get inspiration and create a finished article? Or do you spend many more hours tweaking and checking and aiming for perfection?

Understanding this is important. You will have your own style and therefore your own needs. What is the best creative environment for you? How do you cope with deadlines? 

What about others in your team?

Equally important is understanding the creative styles of others in your team. How do they operate? What do they need to do, to perform at their best? What environment works well for them?

Commercial Reality

The inventors and composers of the past did not operate in the fast-paced world we live in today. If you, or members of your team have the tendency to triple check and endlessly tweak before something is ready to be released, you may need to adjust your style.

Naturally, we don't want products being released with serious flaws. Revisions and testing and fixes are an incredibly important part of the process. 

The big question is: "How good is good enough?"

Commercial reality dictates that it is better to have something, than nothing - even if the something, is not quite perfect. For some people, nothing they do will ever be really perfect.

Ask yourself these 5 questions: 

"What might go wrong?" 

"What are the consequences of it going wrong?"

"Are these consequences catastrophic or minor?"

"How likely is it, that it goes wrong? Or how often?"

"How much time and effort is required to fix it?"

If the consequences of it are catastrophic, then you must voice your concerns, loud and clear. More fixing and tweaking and testing is required. 

But, if the consequences are minor and it is not very likely to impact many people, then you don't need to spend more time on it.  By asking yourself the five questions above, the answer will usually become clear.

Perfection evolves over time

In our fast-paced world, we are now conditioned to technology updates, new versions, new features, bug fixes and patches. Almost everything we do has become dynamic. Nothing is ever finished.

By the time we release version 3.0, we have enjoyed the collaborative input of users and team members and we know we have only just started the journey.

This applies to software development. It applies to your website. It applies to your knowledge base, your internal processes and systems. Get it up, get it out there, start using it. Then keep revising and tweaking and making it better. If you wait until it is perfect before you start using it, it will never be ready.

Success With Grace is home of the TechBiz Success Academy, coaching and training to help technology based businesses grow. For information about TechBiz programs go to www.techbizsuccess.com Also check out Business Communication and Customer Communication workshops in www.iitp.nz/courses/