I picked up on a Wade Kawasaki quote from my friend Dawn Carter, who happens to be at an event known as The Ideation Conference today. The quote was:
“Infrastructure creates order and processes to support those who are doing the creative work.”
When I saw the quote from Kawasaki, it was something I deeply resonated with. It’s something I have been talking about for the past six months or so. It is something that has taken me 43 years to really understand.
In the most literal sense, this quote seems to make no sense. Words such as infrastructure, order, and processes sound so restrictive to the creative person. Creatives need space to dream and wonder. Those are things that you can’t put infrastructure or order into. It’s like trying to mix oil and water. However, as those of you that cook may well know, oil and water can be mixed. In the kitchen we call this process emulsifying. When one takes oil and another liquid (usually an acid such as vinegar or lemon juice) and puts a lot of energy into beating it together, the end result is a combination of flavors unified to our taste buds. The two separate forces become tightly suspended together. Let them sit idle, and they separate apart again. To me, the essence of the emulsion in the kitchen is the same in the world of leadership. Imagine creativity as the oil and infrastructure (order and processes) as the water. The oil of creativity resists the water of infrastructure. Each in its separate form has its merits and can stand on their own. However, when they are united together into a mix they become more than they could have been on their own.
As a visionary manager in the business world for several decades, it has been unbelievably difficult for me to work with creative people. In my mind, creative people have their heads in the clouds and are happiest dreaming about things, rather than caring if any of those ever made it into the real world. I on the other hand want to dream about something that can be made reality, and then stay focused on seeing that dream become reality. Unless this were to happen, I would consider myself a failure.
I took that mindset with me into ministry and found that it caused a lot of conflict. However, through that conflict arose a new perspective. One of collaboration for the sake of seeing things happen regardless of how it comes about or who gets the credit. I realized that I was wired to see something in the horizon and find a way to bring it into my world, but what if I could do the same for others? What if the inspiration of someone else could be brought to fruition? Better yet, what if I could help others to realize that while they may be happiest dreaming about the what ifs, they could be even happier seeing some of those dreams become reality.
Infrastructure, order, and process can be very rigid and restrictive. Creativity can be very freeing and at times chaotic. While it may be impossible to reign in a creative person and make them incorporate infrastructure, order, and processes it is possible to come alongside them and collaborate with them as the infrastructure, order, and process behind their creativity. Who cares if it was the creative person that thought of the idea first? Who cares if the creative person ends up getting the credit once the idea becomes a reality? For me, helping others realize their hopes and dreams is a form of creativity. It is more important than getting credit and it has become an integral part of my ministry.
I gave up the opportunity to lead a small church by being the leader for the sake of desperately wanting to be part of a team where collaboration was the fuel of seeing the dream become a reality. I’ve proven myself many times that I can lead and direct a business, but now I am being called to emulsify people into something they never realized they could be until I started mixing things up in the hopes of bringing us together. In my mind infrastructure + order + process is a powerful formula for seeing creativity thrive.
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Its funny, because the general belief is that providing any structure to a creative destroys their ability to create. But I think, and like you pointed out, this general guidelines and system that can be created can only help creatives thrive and grow.
I often go back and forth between being a creative and being a structured detail oriented type of person. Often times I need that structure to filter my thoughts and ideas through.
Great post Dave
Kyle: Thanks for your reply! I’m one of those people that–when compared to my friends–believes I’m not very creative. However, they usually show me why I’m wrong to think that. So, I find myself being on both sides of the equation at times as well. For me, I think it’s that I need just enough creativity to keep my sanity, but I’m naturally a person of structure and process. However, I’m finding that if I can be structure for the creative that doesn’t operate with it already, that seeing them flourish can be an outlet for my own creativity. I’m kind of a creative solutions person :)