Everything I needed to know, I learned by packing

Yesterday I was helping a colleague pack his office and boxing things up to ship to his home in another state. We had a limited amount of packing material that had been provided by the company so I was having to make do with various bits and pieces I had hoarded lately. Small boxes were cut up to provide protection to picture frame corners and glass and framing boxes were put together with bubble wrap to pack statues. A large storage box was emptied to accommodate some larger items.

As we were doing all this, I was thinking about the movie, Princess Bride. Do you remember the scene when Inigo and Fezzik rescue Westley and he's been resurrected by Miracle Max?  They take him to the castle walls and Westley goes through what I think of as Problem Solving 101 (which is really nothing short of Creativity 101).

 

#1 - what's the obstacle?  What needs to be solved?  Where do we want to get and what is standing in our way?  

The first thing that usually flies out the window when an obstacle arises is objectivity. Stopping to ask this question can help weed out the noise and dust that comes with the obstacle that will only serve to distract and discourage. Clear the air. 

If there are multiple issues, this step will also help sort out which is the most important as opposed to which is the loudest. 

 

#2 - now that you know what obstacle you're working on and where you want to get, you can take stock of what your assets are. "And our assets?" Westley asks. They begin to list Inigo's sword, Fessik's strength and Westley's brain."  "If only we had a cart," mused Westley. Inigo - "Where did we put the cart the old albino had?"  Frssik - "Over the albino, I think."  Westley - "What I wouldn't give for a holocast cloak."  And Fessik pulls one that Miracle Max gave him out of his shirt. 

The moral of the story is that a) you don't have to have everything to hand up front and b) you may need to improvise along the way. Don't be afraid to think silly. Sometimes that will get you to a creative solution faster. 

My colleague's comment to me was, "Watching you do this is like a puzzle. You say we should do something that makes absolutely no sense to me until you do it. Then I realize what a brilliant solution that was. I would never have thought of that."  My response?  "This ain't my first rodeo!"  It so happens that I've moved something like 44 times in my life (not in the military - just a vagabond) so I've got a few tools in my belt packing-wise-speaking.

Moral of that story is that the more you begin to think creatively, the more you'll have to draw on the next time.

# 3 - do the plan but always be ready to go to plan b or plan m or plan zz. It's not about being right the first time, it's about getting past the obstacle to the destination however that ends up looking. 

If you are intent on getting everything right the first time around, you'll never start. Ask questions, gather information and make your best effort. 

And don't be surprised if the answer to question #1 changes along the way. Sometimes the real obstacle is hidden away and only gets revealed as you find your way through the mess. 

This works whether you're implementing a new technology system or you want to redecorate your living room.  Whether you want to figure out how to eat healthy or plan a the best route for shopping on a time limit.

 

Creativity is like making mud pies. It's dirty and you don't always wind up with what you think you're going to get and it's a blast.