Creativity and Waste

Creativity is inherently inefficient.

To innovate and creatively explore new ideas requires waste.

This means your pursuit of efficiency can kill your data team effectiveness.

Each step towards being more “efficient” is also driving out any margin your team has for creativity.

Creativity and efficiency push and pull against each other.

This is one reason layoffs historically fail at improving a ​company's short or long-term success.​ Layoffs are a cost-cutting and blatant move toward efficiency. During layoffs, employees feel unsafe to chase innovative ideas and create things that may not work - which are the things that historically allowed the company to be successful.

This is not to argue against efficiency. Or for creativity. It’s obvious you must have both.

But as a leader, you must acknowledge that your choices will always push you one way or the other. Failing to realize what you give up in your choice, can have negative long-time effects.

Data is a creative art. If I lose that, I might as well quit now.

I’m here,

Sawyer

from ​The Data Shop