Being Creative as a Professional Isn't Just About Connecting Dots But to Ship

Creativity comes from connecting dots

If you would like to create a unique color, you need to mix different kinds of colors to make it unique. I believe having a unique idea is also the same. In order to create unique ideas, you need to mix different kinds of ideas. We also say this creativity as connecting dots. Most of the greatest innovations are not truly new ideas but the combination of two or more ideas. In addition, I think many of the new innovations come from thinking "what if". For example, John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich wanted to have a meal which he doesn't need to move while he is playing cards. This led to him thinking what if there is a portable meal. Then, the food sandwich was invented, connecting meals with portability.

What if there is a computer which an individual can use. This is a personal computer. Nowadays, it is really common to see computers used by individuals. But in the early ages, it was quite unlikely to connect mainframe computers to consumers. Everyone thought mainframe computers were so expensive that consumers could not afford them. But Apple made it possible to connect those irrelevant ideas and led to great diffusion of personal computers.

I understand that creativity comes from connecting ideas. However, how to connect ideas might be difficult. I figured it would be easier to connect different ideas by thinking "what if".

Importance of "Good Enough"

I believe the art of creativity isn't just about connecting dots. There are too many ways to simply connect different ideas. For example, what if there is a fridge that will cook automatically? Or, what if there are clothes that don't require washing. These kinds of ideas can be really irrelevant and unrealistic.

In order to make ideas more relevant, we need to figure out which can be done and which can not be done. But if we simply wonder whether the solution is feasible or not, it won't lead us anywhere. Therefore, at some point, we will need to take a step further to take the idea or innovation into reality. But initially, when there is no product or visible solution, it is difficult to foresee whether the idea will work or not. Since we are not fortune tellers, the best way to know is to just try it out and see how it turns out. If we feel like the idea would work after evaluating the outcome, we can take the next step.

If we try to wait until the idea is perfect, we will never take the first step. And if we try to make a perfect solution, we will never finish the solution. Hence, I believe it is important to have a concept of "good enough". Feeling "good enough" may differ from person to person, but if a person has an affirmative feeling to move forward, or if the person has some action plans to verify the facts, I think the situation is good enough to move forward. However, moving forward doesn't mean accomplishing something. Moving forward just means taking the next step to realize the idea.

In many cases, outcomes can be determined in different ways. It would be far easier if the result is as clear as black and white. But, usually it is difficult to determine whether the idea is working well or not. In these situations, it is important to be able to have a mindset of "good enough".

Being a happy loser can be the way to success

Again, moving forward with a "good enough" mindset doesn't always mean you are going in the right direction. Since we are heading in a direction without having 100% confidence, there are good chances of making mistakes and stepping forward in different directions. But making mistakes or going in different directions is a necessary process to make innovative ideas into reality. As Thomas Edison said "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.", failures or making mistakes are just a part of the process to make creative ideas into an innovative solution.

French marketing consultant Clotaire Rapaille described a successful salesperson as "Happy Loser". He found out that successful salespeople are not the ones who have less rejection of proposals but have more rejections of proposals than others. This means the successful salespeople are the people who keep challenging themselves even if the proposal is rejected.

If we truly believe in creativity, the creative idea needs to be realized. And every failure is a part of experiments to realize the creative idea. Plus, everything we challenge to realize the idea is a part of on-going processes unless we declare to give up.

Professional must deliver the solution

The difference between a professional and an amateur is that a professional delivers value to others. If you are an amateur, the most important thing is to amuse yourself so that as long as you are happy doing it, the goal is already achieved. However, if you would like to be a professional, you need to deliver value to others.

Steve Jobs said "real artists ship". No matter how bright and creative an idea a person has, it is just an idea unless there are people who think the idea has value and delivers value to those people.

Mona Lisa is a famous painting drawn by Leonaldo Da Vinci. He continued drawing it until his death and never finished it. Today, Mona Lisa is one of the most famous and most viewed paintings in the world. However, I believe for Leonardo Da Vince, it is just one of his personal belongings with no intentions of it becoming a professional masterpiece.

On the other hand, let's say someone bakes cake and sells it on the street. If there are people who purchase and think the cake tastes good, no matter how much baking experience the person has, the person is a professional patissier.

Therefore, quality doesn't matter for being professional. What matters for being professional is whether a person has an intention to deliver value to others, and whether value is delivered to others or not.

In addition, being a professional and being successful at the profession is different. Even if there is only one person, as long as there is a person who perceives the value and pays for that, it is already professional. Quantity doesn't matter for being a professional. Of course, quantity matters to making a living as a professional, so being a professional and making a living as a professional are also different.

The important fact is that any journey to success as a professional starts from delivering value to the first customer. Then, if the creative idea has value to more people, more people will pay for the value.