Creativity
What two things has nobody connected yet?
Connecting ideas across domains that haven't been connected before. Not magic — mechanics. The raw material is everything you've experienced. The skill is finding links between things others treat as separate.
| Without Creativity | With Creativity |
|---|---|
| Copy what exists | Combine what doesn't |
| Compete on execution | Compete on insight |
| Incremental improvement | Category creation |
| "How do we do this?" | "What if we did this?" |
AI generates variations at scale. Humans generate meaning. The creative edge isn't producing more — it's knowing which connections matter.
Input Protocol
Creativity is recombination. The quality of output depends on the quality and diversity of input:
| Input Source | What It Feeds | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adjacent domains | Cross-pollination | Biology concepts applied to software architecture |
| History | Patterns that rhyme | Past market crashes inform current positioning |
| Fiction | Empathy and scenario thinking | Novels build mental models of human behaviour |
| Conversations | Collision of perspectives | Disagreement with smart people is productive friction |
| Physical experience | Embodied knowledge | Sports, travel, craft — things that can't be Googled |
The most creative people don't consume more — they consume more diversely. Steal from adjacent fields, not competitors.
Constraint Setting
Unlimited options paralyse. Limits force invention:
| Constraint Type | How It Helps | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Time box | Forces decisions | "Solution in 30 minutes, not 3 days" |
| Resource limit | Forces simplicity | "Build it with what we already have" |
| Format limit | Forces clarity | "Explain it in one sentence" |
| Audience limit | Forces specificity | "Make this work for one person, not everyone" |
The paradox: the more constrained the brief, the more creative the output. "Write anything" produces nothing. "Write a six-word story about loss" produces Hemingway.
Diverge Then Converge
Two distinct phases — don't mix them:
| Phase | Mode | Rules |
|---|---|---|
| Diverge | Generate | No judgment. Volume over quality. Wild over safe. "Yes, and..." |
| Converge | Select | Judgment on. Kill darlings. Which ideas survive contact with constraints? |
The mistake is doing both at once. Editing while generating kills the best ideas before they breathe.
Selection Criteria
When converging, score against:
- Novel — Has this been done before? If yes, what's different?
- Feasible — Can we actually build this with what we have?
- Impactful — Does this solve a real problem for someone specific?
- Connectable — Does this link to other things we're building?
An idea that scores 4/4 ships. An idea that scores 1/4 is a daydream.
The Shadow
Novelty addiction. Generating endlessly without shipping. Chaos disguised as creativity. Mistaking weird for valuable. The best creative act is finishing.
By Archetype
| Archetype | Creative Style |
|---|---|
| Dreamer | Sees what could exist — vision from nothing |
| Engineer | Creative within constraints — elegant solutions |
| Philosopher | Cross-domain connections — ideas from unexpected places |
Context
- Visualisation — See the idea before building it
- Storytelling — Wrap the idea in narrative
- Pattern Recognition — See the connections others miss
- Taste — Know which ideas are worth pursuing