One of the top recurring questions while working with startup founders is:
How do we make and follow a great plan so we execute well,
while thinking in new ways so we can innovate well?
Anyone who’s ever tried to build anything real has met this paradox. In short, structure vs creation.
What does it mean to be structured and creative anyway?
Structure is the shape that holds any living thing together. It gives form, coherence, and continuity. Too much structure, nothing can adapt. Without structure, nothing lives for long.
Creativity, on the other hand, is the life force that brings uniqueness to the world. This is how living things adapt and evolve. Too much creativity, nothing can stay together. Without creativity, nothing lives for long.
Structure without creativity dies. Creativity without structure drifts.
So it is not a trade-off, but of a mutually dependent relationship. Like inhale and exhale. Short-term optimization by structure, long-term generation by creativity.
Consider the quadrant:
Stagnant: No structure, no spark - where you’d really like to avoid.
Rigid: All structure, no creation - short-term optimized, long-term decay.
Chaotic: All play, no form - full of life, yet no velocity.
Designed Flow: Structure with creation - thriving creation with consistent execution. Where we’d like to be.
Rituals and shocks
How do we live there, in designed flow? Out of all the methods I’ve used/ seen used among creatives (from actors to chefs to artists), two modes seem to work well in the long-term: rituals and shocks.
1. Rituals
Structured creation: Guard time for execution as well as creation like we guard time for sleep. This can be time to do, think (prepare) or create (write, make, do). Many successful artists (writers, musicians, painters, etc) create not purely out of inspiration but out of rhythm. Many have a daily habit - a sacred time for creation.
Structured serendipity: Let our subconscious process creation. Sleep on things. Be in nature. Be with others and in environments to expose ourselves to different sources of creation.
Collective creation: Create with others. Cook with a friend. Write with a sibling. Paint with colleagues. Let creativity be compound activity.
2. Shocks
Extreme exposure: Drop ourselves into environments vastly different from our usual ones. Let extreme data points reset our “common sense”.
Moderate scarcity: Induce ourselves temporary scarcity. Take away comfort to see what remains. Let the absence sharpen what matters (or not).
Both rituals and shocks are non-linear and non-static. Some will affect us a little. Some will change our fundamental beliefs. But together, rituals and shocks widen our range and make our system aligned with ourselves.
The deeper layer
But let’s dig beneath this dance of structure and creativity.
Why do we want to be structured?
Often, because we want to be seen as organized. As optimized. Seen.
Why do we crave creativity?
Often, because we want to be seen as original. As special. Seen.
Both are often driven by the same hidden fuel: love proxies. The unconscious belief that unless we perform a certain way, we won’t be loved. By others as well as by ourselves.
But what if we gave ourselves both structure and creativity, not to be deserving of love, but because we already are?
Not for outcomes. Not to be seen. But out of love.
Let us ask ourselves:
What kind of structure or creative act would I still enjoy even if it led to nothing else?
That’s it for this week. If this resonated, share it with those interested in being structured and creative. And if you haven’t yet, subscribe to keep exploring deep thoughts.
With Love,
Koshu