Process and Creativity: Have you found your balance?

Finding the optimal balance between creativity and process is perhaps the biggest challenge in everything we do.

I often find myself asking these fundamental questions: How do we know what extent of process is necessary? When should we break-free from the process, and start being creative? And, does process kill creativity?

As unscientific as this may be, I think that the relationship between creativity and process probably looks like a classic bell curve:

Process boosts creativity. In the absence of any process, creativity suffers. One could argue that processes provide the fuel for new ways of thinking to emerge. I also think that process makes creativity 'focused' (i.e. productive creativity).

But I think too much process acts as a deterrent to new ideas. The human mind has the tendency to switch-off and be influenced by the inertia of process. It is at this stage that we stop challenging the status quo and see new thinking die.

Ideally, the objective is to enhance creativity in everything we do. You want to be able to take a step back at all times and really question where you sit on the curve. You don't want to be hanging lose and shooting in the dark, nor do you want to be constrained by shackles of process.

If you learn how to find this optimal balance, I would be keen to hear from you.