Succeed in a post-coronavirus world through creativity & innovation
By: Mark García
Tags: Tips And Tricks, Self Improvement, Future Of Work, Creativity, Entrepreneurship

Not everything is precious.

Creatives have the innate desire to be pixel perfect in their designs. Before putting our ideas or ourselves out there, we continuously strive to present the best and most ideal version of ourselves. This sentiment is one that everyone can relate to, even if you’re not in a creative industry. Think about Instagram. How many times have you taken a photo of something only to spend hours editing and coming up with the perfect caption?

This concept battles against the idea of perfection. When you put so much stock into the idea of perfection, you eventually reach a point where your work will never be good enough. You become so focused on imperfections that you begin doubting yourself. You find the need to edit and re-edit your work, all while telling yourself it’s “still not good enough.” And so you never share it or put it out into the world.

Not everything you do is precious. Not every idea you have will be something people buy into. If you want to be an innovator, you need to be willing to put things out there and make mistakes. More importantly, you have to learn from those mistakes and continuously work toward improving the process. Keep your end goal in mind but also realize the process of getting there is just as valuable. Flexibility and the ability to pivot your concept or how you work are incredibly valuable skills.

Strive for an MVP (Minimum Viable Product).

In tech and product design, we have this concept called a Minimum Viable Product or MVP. The idea behind it is to create a product with the bare minimum features while still delivering an immediate impact.

Image Source: Henrik Kniberg

Individuals tend to focus on a mental mode centered around a Big Bang Delivery approach — building something until it’s 100% complete and delivering at the end. An MVP mental model flips the script. It looks at the Big Bang Delivery and says, well, that works, but it would take a long time for me to get there. How can I come up with a solution now that provides some immediate impact?

This thinking benefits you in two ways. By putting something out there faster, you’re able to get more feedback sooner. And that feedback will help you determine if you’re on the right path or if you need to pivot. It can help you make smarter decisions that are informed by actual knowledge and not your assumptions. This working model minimizes the number of wasted hours spent because you’re focused on smaller incremental deliveries versus a big bang delivery.

Overcome Imposter Syndrome.

Imposter syndrome is a phenomenon where a person thinks that they don’t deserve their success. According to an article published in the International Journal of Behavioral Science, approximately 70% of people experience imposter feelings at some point in their lives. 😳

If you’ve ever heard an inner dialogue and thought to yourself, “I was just really lucky!” “I feel like a fake!” “My boss will realize I’m not as smart as I seem.” THAT is imposter syndrome.

The core of the matter is that it’s next to impossible to do something impactful and innovative without sometimes feeling like a fraud or feeling like you have no idea what you’re doing. But that’s a good feeling to have. Why? It indicates you’re challenging yourself. To grow, you need to push yourself into new and unexplored territories. Being uncomfortable and feeling like you don’t have all the answer signals that you’re gaining experience.

The pandemic offers a unique opportunity because everyone is trying to figure out what the future looks like. Opportunities to think outside the box, be creative in your thinking, and propose innovative or creative solutions are things everybody is looking for right now.

The “Do Something” Principle.

I wish I had come up with this concept myself, but another famous Mark is the brainchild behind this concept. Author Mark Manson, who wrote “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F***,” developed the principle. The idea states that action isn’t just the effect of motivation. It’s also the cause of it.

Most people commit to an action only if they feel a certain level of motivation. Many of us can relate to the sentiment of waiting for inspiration to strike or feeling motivated, which often leads to procrastination.

But the thing about the motivation chain is that it’s not only a three-part chain but an endless loop:

When you look at the motivation this way, you can reorient your mindset the following way:

Manson found that often when doing something, even the smallest of actions, it would soon give people the inspiration and motivation to do something else. They had sent a signal to themselves, “OK, I did that, I guess I can do more.”

There’s a misconception that to be genuinely creative and innovative, you need to have these million dollar ideas as the foundation for what you’re doing. That’s not the case. A lot of brilliant ideas have come as a cause of working at a much smaller scale. If you have an idea, start small and take small actions, which will lead to more inspiration down the line.