The Creative Process
On most Fridays, I write a memo to the whole company. I’ve written hundreds over the years and decided to start publishing some of them publicly, maybe with some light edits.
Feb 9, 2024
We’re getting philosophical today — hang with me. 😜
As an organization grows, it increasingly depends on linear processes to optimize for quality and efficiency. A linear process looks something like this:
I’m sure you can think of many examples of a linear process at Help Scout (hiring, for instance). It’s a great tool that keeps everyone aligned.
However, the creative process is non-linear. It doesn’t fit into a tidy, predictable sequence of events. There are few, if any, handoffs in a creative process. It’s a constant collaboration from beginning to end. It’s circular:
A creative process often fits within a linear process, but it’s critical to treat the creative process with care. For example, writing a screenplay is intensely creative, but it’s part of a broader linear process of things that must happen to make a show or film.
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You’ve probably heard me say many times that for Help Scout to succeed, we must be more creative than our competition. We’re out-resourced and outnumbered. The only way to win is to be more creative than everyone else. As a result, we must treat creative processes with extraordinary care. It’s the secret sauce.
So, how does this show up in our work? Here’s an example. Many people think of the process of building a product as a linear one:
But it’s not — at least, it’s not supposed to be. Following a linear progression to build a product robs it of its creative potential.
When I see teams — product teams, in this case — doing their best work, it’s when they go on the journey together. The same steps of the process happen, but the arrows go all over the place, over and over. It’s constantly back and forth … iterate, iterate, iterate, with product, design, and engineering in complete harmony. Everyone is contributing at every stage. That’s how you know a team is going to make something great. They are embracing the way the creative process works.
The opposite is also true, though. When you see a team running a process in which individuals only focus on the step they specialize in, all sorts of negative things happen (silos, finger-pointing, lack of context). The quality of the work deteriorates, it takes longer, and it’s honestly just not as fun. I don’t know about you, but I insist on having fun at work.
A collective understanding of this concept as a company enables us to be intentional about how we create things. It’s been our intention to operate this way from the beginning, but the challenge of growing a company puts it under constant stress.
I hope you have an amazing weekend!
The king of memos! Your communication style has helped me over the years and continues to today!
Thanks for sharing! I miss the good old Friday notes. I am still religious about presenting clarity.
Feedback is critical for successful systems to function. As an endocrinologist I know that feedback loops amplify and dampen systems. Other mechanical and electronic systems require feedback. My feedback to you: I have watched you grow and mature from your high school years at FRA into a successful entrepreneur. Congratulations and keep going! My question: Why is this a counterclockwise loop? Bill
Great read. This is so true in all elements of product development. The process should be a circle, with continuous testing, learning, and evolving. Without collaboration at every step, it is much harder to stay aligned and get to the desired results - and there are a lot of other impactful consequences.
Love this. I'm actually going to start adding "what would make this fun for you" to product syncs and 1 on ones. Thanks for the inspiration! (Edited because autocorrect went rogue on "product")