Seeing creative projects through to the end

I often get described as the "ideas guy" - someone who can tell stories, paint strategic pictures of the future, come up with ways to solve problems and more. This is exactly what I help clients with - dreaming big then overcoming obstacles to get there.

Ideas are indeed something I have no short supply of. However, an idea is not worth anything without implementation and creativity.

For each new idea, project or initiative - there is a need to bring it to life - to create the end thing.

Ideas are everywhere - the creative grind and action to bring them to life is more scarce.

I struggle with this - and no doubt many people do. It's even more scarce in many workplaces.

Every company has initiatives or projects that go nowhere. Good ideas that garnered enthusiasm, but that enthusiasm has since waned. Projects half finished, murals and whiteboards full of cool stuff that could be done but aren't being done.

Half completed websites, partially built code, three pages of a document here, some more over there.

Every company has this problem. Good ideas with no execution, good ideas with partial execution - a few good ideas that are seen through to the end.

Interest in the idea is good. Interest and commitment to bringing it to life is just as important.

Chase Rabbits

There’s an ancient Chinese Proverb that goes something like this:

A man who chases two rabbits catches neither

This is the story of my life. Its the story of many companies too. Too many ideas, too much to do, too many plan Bs - not enough execution and action.

I like to create projects, I struggle to stick with them long enough to make a go of it.

I have a long list of failed personal projects:

Parent car scene, Parent Brain, Moschops the rapping bear, Steal city, Tape casts, posters, podcasts, youtube channels, books, business ideas - a large list of failed creative pursuits.

Any one of them could have been a success if I'd stuck with it.

One such failed project was The Wright Building podcast. We were having our house renovated and I thought it would be a good idea to capture the audio and share our experience via a podcast.

I suspect, if I’d given this project the right level of focus, it could have been a lot of fun - and maybe garnered some listeners.

It lasted just one episode.

I loved recording the audio and being outside with the builders capturing the sounds of machinery, laughter, digging, cutting and banter. I enjoyed recording the prose and narration.

Expectations can ruin creativity

Then I set targets and expectations (listener numbers, no. of posts per week). And I ruined it. The joy was lost.

I then pivoted to the project being solely an IG channel - after all, some of the house accounts get tonnes of followers.

But it was hard work juggling this with my work commitments - and I realised I was chasing an outcome, a goal, some sort of payback for the work - and I ruined it. I lost interest.

Creativity seems to get killed the moment there’s some sort of expectation or outcome for the work.

The same is true in work.

We rush to set an outcome, some sort of return on investment, some kind of control that maybe some projects just don't need.

Maybe there is a problem to solve or a new product to explore, or a new way of doing something.

So, we gather people around and we ideate, and we have something that feels right. We get giddy, we assign people and we start.

At some point we set deadlines and goals and financial constraints - and the energy wanes and the enthusiasm is lost.

Momentum slows down. Creativity is quickly killed by managers who want results, timeframes, progress updates....and the project mothballs.

Then it sits there - a potentially great idea, partially created - left to fester on a shelf, or in a folder, or in the source code, or on someone's computer.

And we move on to something else shiny, never really giving it a chance - all because we couldn't spare the time, energy and attention needed to see what it could become.

We need time for ideation, and a time for action. But we need to be careful about setting too many goals and deadlines - and a financial return isn't needed for everything in work.

Sure, we shouldn't spend company resource chasing a phantom - indulging in our creativity at the expense of business results. But surely, there is a balance.

Innovation is needed, creative solutions help us get better, new products could emerge that lead to the company's next growth.

Let's not try to kill all creative projects with the temptation to put boundaries, goals and deliverables around it.

Yes, we need to move from ideate to action - but let the enthusiasm and passion remain - and the project will get done (likely quicker with better outcomes).

As soon as I personally set a target, goal or outcome, it becomes a diluting force that takes away the seed of inspiration.

It's no longer a project that feels like a fun thing to do. It becomes a project that needs a process, some form of monetisation, an audience. In my experience, these things kill the passion. It becomes a job. It's the same in work.

There is always a tension.

Create and be free versus delivering something of value. You need both. There is a time and a place for both aspects. We ideate, then we create. This tension needs managing. This tension needs keeping alive - too much either way will kill the project. Either the love is gone or nothing is delivered.

It requires skill to manage this tension. But that tension is there with creative work - especially so in work.

It's also important to balance the number of creative projects being tackled - too many and you'll lose momentum and traction.

Move fast with creative inspiration

And that ramble leads me to a fun project that I did for the Wright Building podcast - some stupid promotional photos of me pretending to record audio around the building site.

Why am I sharing this?

Well, it was a fun mini project (the photo shoot).

It popped into my head and was executed straight away.

I had no expectations. I put myself out there. I enjoyed the process. I had no goals. My kids joined in and took the photos. It felt good. It had a problem to solve - content for the channel.

And this, at least to me, is creativity summed up.

• A problem to be solved
• An idea
• Rapid energy-filled action
• Joy, fun, passion
• Something created
• Minor expectations
• Iterate, build or move on to the next one.

It's not that easy in work, using company resources, but the spirit should remain whilst the tension to deliver something of value is kept in check.

Otherwise all we'll do is chase outcomes and lose the spirit of innovation and creativity, or we'll have a lot of fun and not create anything of any value.

But be careful.

If you chase too many things at once, you'll never deliver anything. That's true for creative work, and our value driven work for our customers too.

Photos from the shoot