Modelling Creative balance
Modelling Creative balance
It’s the right combination of creative freedom coupled with creative tension
I want to try creating something meaty today. I’m a modeler trying to model human and team behavioral dynamics. Any model should be simple and useful in helping articulate and discuss various perspectives around those dynamics in order to create improvements in any platform for better work.
I shall start with a simple model which I shall evolve over several articles. The proposed model is suitable for what I can cognitive creatives - work is done by cognitively creative humans. A lot of today’s work has moved away from the mechanical production linework of the industrial era but still done with principles, tools, and techniques carried over from that era leading to limited or low utility.
My hypothesis is “Creative work” (aka Product or Service offerings) are best performed when you have the right Creative Balance of the two key ingredients: Creative freedom and Creative Tension.
Creative Freedom is the ability for humans to learn and apply their skills and competencies to own and solve problems. This does not mean that it is a freedom to do whatever one wants. And these bounds are established through practices that create the necessary tension in order to apply one’s freedom towards some end. The balance determines whether it is real freedom as a playground to do creative work, or allow people to delve into chaos and become a devil’s workshop.
Creative Tension can be established by a variety of means that provide some goal post and measures that help apply creative freedom towards some validatable creative work that might create some utility. Sometimes, the validation might be learning and might take long cycles to achieve something, but that would depend on what one’s goals are - is the problem being solved is a simple or complicated one, or a complex needle in the haystack problem, or is the problem an intractable problem. Creative tension is different from the stress of forced to doing work. Stress or its extreme form introduces extremely low productivity and effectiveness leading sometimes to a debilitating state.
I shall continue this modeling by expanding on it tomorrow. As I progress and evolve this along with you, I shall use the model with real-world examples, other ways of work including models, so-called frameworks, and techniques to see how this model stands up to the real world.
Yes, Bou. You are indeed correct if you look at balance from a linear perspective. Unfortunately, I don't look at it that way. So, I understand from this question, that words do have meaning and I have to work harder to define those in the context of my usage. My first blush was to start a wiki to start making definition pages for each of the keywords I use and keep them updated. But, the effort seemed to be a tall order considering I struggle to write a simple blog each day.
Though the picture above indicates the balance as a linear see-saw or push-pull, my thinking is far from it. And you are right "interactions" might be a better term, but I am a simpleton. So, I like simple words. Maybe, as I write more, I will find a way to find the word "balance" in the picture in a different way. Or find a more suitable word that describes what I am trying to achieve.
I thank you profusely for your comment - my blog post today will address this question to explore my thinking on this much further than stated above.
Why do you see a creative balance? Is not balance a linear concept and a left over of the industrial mechanical thinking era? Is not balance a linear concept - one goes at the expense of the other? Could it be a nonlinear relationship? And is it not about dynamic interactions rather than 'balance?'