The Entrepreneurial Savant

When I first started writing and for a long time after that I always considered myself a creative person. I played music and was good at problem solving at work. My definition of a creative person was one who created original ideas, stories and concepts, coming from some mysterious internal source. That’s still a part of my definition of creativity but now I’ve discovered that this kind of creativity is only half of the creative equation and to my surprise, not necessarily my most effective half.
This kind of creativity is content creativity. It is the source of art and music at the composition level, entrepreneurship and idea generation. It’s the resource we tap into when we brainstorm for new ideas. The other half of the creativity equation is process. Process is how we put those ideas to work, how we get the paint on the canvas, how that new company sprints ahead of it’s competition. One example might be found in your neighborhood fast food joint. The burgers and fries are the content, the semi-automated methods used to get them to you quickly is the process. In the case of fast food (and many other franchise type businesses), the process is what makes them successful and what makes you go there. The process results in fast, consistent tasting, hot food every time you drive through. These companies have realized that their process is what makes successful, rather than their cheeseburgers. On the other side of the coin, the one of a kind restaurant specializing in a local delicacy may be more content-oriented. However, even the mom and pop restaurant must be focused on process to remain profitable.
Finding new methods to process ideas is in itself a creative act, though one of a totally different nature. Process and content cannot exist without one another. When you’re faced with a difficult problem to solve, try separating it into two components. One is the basic creative material involved, the other is the process used to make that raw material into a solution or product. By separating content from process, it becomes much easier to identify the nature of a problem and apply the right kind of solution.

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