How to Navigate Creative Processes

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝘁. I learned this watching a marketing director walk her own floor. She was brilliant. Her team was talented. But when I asked her to show me how a campaign brief moved from insight to approval, she hesitated. Not because she didn't know her business. Because no one had made the work visible. Within twenty minutes, we'd uncovered three places where very good ideas were quietly dying. Not from lack of creativity - because no-one could see the process. It made me think about how we've been taught to separate creativity from discipline. That structure somehow diminishes spark. That artists and operators speak different languages. But as I spent years working with teams at P&G and Danaher, I've learned a different perspective. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘂𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆. It's 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. It's the 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. Deming understood this: 𝐼𝑓 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑑𝑜 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑡. That's why, when I go to Gemba - the real place where work happens - I ask three questions: 1. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀? Not the org chart. The actual process. 2. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴? If you can't tell, you're not managing it. 3. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁? Not what you plan to do. What you're doing now. And guess what? The best leaders don't resist these questions. They lean in. Because once you can see how the work is really done, you can improve it. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆. ✅ It's what makes creativity repeatable. ✅ And once you can improve it, you can scale it. ✅ That's what separates good organisations from world-class ones. 👉 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝘁. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. 📌Save this to revisit before your next strategy review.

The biggest myth about creativity? That structure kills it. I used to think that too. When I first started leading creative teams, I worried that too much process would stifle innovation. I was wrong. Here's what I learned: Creative people don't need less structure. They need better structure. The right systems don't limit creativity. They unleash it. Why structure actually enables creativity: ▶ It removes boring routine decisions ▶ It gives people space to focus on what matters ▶ It prevents projects from stagnating ▶ It creates psychological safety to take risks At Zappi, I introduced something on our Marketing team we call the "OM" (operating model). It's just a couple of pages that outline how we work as a team. Simple. Clear. Freeing. The result? Our team is not wasting energy figuring out how to work. They can focus entirely on what to create. Think about the most creative people you know. Musicians have scales and time signatures. Writers have deadlines and word counts. Artists have canvases and color palettes. Constraints don't kill creativity. They channel it. The lesson for leaders: Stop thinking systems vs. creativity. Start thinking systems for creativity. Give your team: Clear frameworks for collaboration Consistent processes for feedback Reliable timelines for delivery Safe spaces for experimentation Structure the "how," so your creative team can focus on the "wow."

just spent three hours staring at the same problem and getting nowhere... until i tried something that completely changed my approach to innovation hey linkedin fam, wanted to share some thoughts on creative thinking that's been transforming how we approach r&d at our medical device company we're always told to "think outside the box" but neuroscience actually shows that creativity isn't about wild, unstructured thinking it's about creating the right conditions for your brain to make unexpected connections here's what's been working for me based on actual research (not just motivational poster advice): ✨ constraint-based innovation: we now deliberately impose weird limitations on our design sessions. example: "solve this problem without using any electronics" or "design as if it's 1985." stanford research shows that constraints paradoxically expand creativity by forcing new neural pathways. last month this led to our simplest and most elegant solution yet. ✨ the 70/20/10 thinking model: i structure my team's creative work like this - 70% of time thinking about the core problem, 20% exploring adjacent domains, and 10% in completely unrelated fields. the journal of creative behavior confirmed this ratio significantly increases breakthrough ideas vs. focused-only approaches. ✨ cognitive diversity sessions: we bring together people with completely different expertise (our engineer + marketing person + someone from logistics) to solve the same problem. mit research demonstrates that diverse thinking styles create cognitive friction that sparks novel solutions. uncomfortable but incredibly effective. ✨ physical movement triggers: whenever we hit a creative wall, we literally get up and move. harvard neurologists have mapped how walking increases blood flow to the hippocampus and triggers divergent thinking. our best product breakthrough came during an impromptu walk around the building. ✨ dedicated connection time: i now schedule 30 minutes weekly just for making random connections between our current projects and weird stuff i've read/seen. there's solid neuroscience behind this - your brain's default mode network needs dedicated time to process information and find patterns. what's fascinating is that creativity isn't magical - it's a process that can be structured and optimized. once you understand the science, you can create systems that reliably produce innovative thinking. what methods do you use to spark creativity in your team? would love to hear what's working for you. #creativethinking #innovation #neuroscience #productdevelopment #leadershiplessons

🔢 Rules for creative process success: Here’s something no one tells you until you’re in it: creative work is hard. Not hard like spreadsheets. Hard like wrestling ambiguity into something beautiful. What looks like it took 2 hours probably took 20. One tiny change can fracture the entire feel. It’s fragile. It’s frustrating. And it’s absolutely worth protecting. Which is why you cannot iterate your way to success. Creative work is not a numbers game. There are infinite ways to get it wrong and only a few ways to get it right. Iteration is a race to the bottom. Every new round destroys trust, erodes momentum, and eats time. What works? Structure. Process. Mutual respect. And above all, collaboration. As a creative, your job is to lead, not just with ideas, but with process. You help clients articulate what’s in their heads, stage by stage, with just enough flexibility to explore but enough rigor to move forward. Here are the rules we use. They work when we have the courage to stick to them: 1. Every decision maker is in every meeting. No exceptions. No “I’ll loop them in later.” Every time we break this rule, things go off the rails. If their opinion matters, they’re in the room. 2. All feedback must be collected at once, within 24 hours. No piecemeal emails from five different people over the next week. Clear, consolidated, and on time. 3. Momentum is everything. Every week: a deliverable, a review, a decision. No backtracking. Revisit old decisions? That’s a scope change. This creates a healthy pressure to be thoughtful and decisive. Creative work is as much method as it is magic. Guide the process, and the work will shine. #creative #design #branding #aesthetics

One of my biggest challenges scaling WKND to 8-figures was creating processes in the Creative team. I had to think outside the box... Creatives are notoriously anti-process, and it wasn’t any different here. I had to sell the team… Here’s what I told them: Processes don't kill creativity. They amplify it: 1. They provide a framework for ideation Great processes give your team a baseline to think from, sparking new ideas 2. They reduce decision fatigue When your team knows exactly what to do and how, they can focus mental energy on being creative. 3. They eliminate unnecessary back and forth Streamlined processes cut out time wasting communication, giving your team more time to create. 4. They prevent burnout Clear processes allow your team to support each other, take time off, and stay fresh. 5. They create space for experimentation When the basics are handled efficiently, there's room to try new approaches. The key to this is: - Design processes that guide, not restrict - Give the team the ability to make process changes - Give them complete freedom on a limited % of deliverables to still express themselves Give your team a clear path, then let their creativity run wild within it. What processes have you implemented that boosted creativity in your agency?

One of the biggest unlocks for more flow and creativity has been moving from: What do I want this to become? To incorporate… What does THIS want to become? This development goes beyond simply creating from willpower, to co-creation with life’s intelligence. In willpower world, you view the entirety of your circumstances as a function of taking action and intelligent decision making. This often comes with a feeling of "it's all up to me" which is useful for learning to take responsibility of your life. However, it is not the end. Moving into co-creativity is more like viewing yourself as an instrument to steward the natural direction of life’s creativity energy. The precipice of co-creativity can be confusing. It forces you to face the fact that maybe life is being orchestrated in a way that expands beyond the function of how well you do things. I see a lot of people get stuck here, thinking that it has to be one or the other. This is a misconception. It's not an abandonment, but an expansion and integration that layers on the added component of interpreting life’s unfolding. In co-creation you always start with an intention, but it is accompanied by a consistent awareness of: What does what I’m working on want to become? From this vantage point, the unfolding of life itself becomes your creative partner. It works by offering continuous signs and gestures that you can learn to see and calibrate with. One way directionality presents itself is through friction vs. ease. Ease tends to signify the natural direction something wants to take. You can imagine how a river or jetstream has a natural flow. When you align to it, there’s power there. When you go against it, you exhaust yourself with little progress to show for it. Continued friction tends to signify there is a lesson to be learned or that you may be forcing something against its natural way. Your capacity for co-creativity is a skill that tightly aligns to your depth of awareness. The more you can see things clearly, the easier it is to notice all the ways that life around you is guiding the creative flow. Honing this capacity is a continuous process, but well worth it in my opinions. I’ve done it both ways and co-creativity makes life far more wondrous, aligned, and interesting, without the need to sacrifice the quality of outcomes. This can only be something you learn for yourself though.

For years, I thought the best creative process was as little process as possible. But I was wrong. At the end of last year, we reinvented how we work; I love what it’s done to us. No process is entirely new. In 1962, London held a conference that launched design methodology as a field of study. The term “wicked problems” emerged, stating that challenges and solutions are complex, ambiguous, subjective and always evolving. That term was before the personal computer, the internet, smartphones, social media and AI. Ever since, the design process has orbited around similar themes: → Consumer participation and co-creation → Exploring, prototyping and iterating → Understanding needs through research → (An agency agenda wanting to do 'great work') Most follow a define, develop, and deliver structure. Every idea begins ugly and iterates toward something new and beautiful. Then Google's 'sprint' method tried to speed things up because, in today's world, it's hard to keep up. All this stuff is good and clever. But we saw something different at our pilot Retreat & Rise Up last year—something the office, meetings, and corporate speak are all bad at. Ideas, plans and support were in abundance, from very little process. The retreat is a personal journey of settling into your space, connecting with nature and breathing, opening the heart, letting go of limiting beliefs, setting intentions, and finding your power. So what if we took a blender and crammed in a design process and a retreat journey? I give you our brand growth programme: → Arriving: This is a phase of nothing except stepping out of the stress of daily life. Don't be surprised if we weave in some breathwork, stretching, and moments in nature. → Grounding: An expansive phase fostering empathy for ourselves, opening our hearts to our end users, and developing intentions. → Connecting: This is a classic design phase where creative exploration meets strategy—finding the design, ideas and campaigns that fit the intentions. → Rising: Bringing it all together, finalising outputs, and building the support needed for production or implementation. A revolution? Hardly. Would love to know your thoughts, it's a work-in-progress. Stay gold. 🙏🏻