Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
… they are all handy but serve very different purposes, and they perfectly illustrate the three different stages of creation.
Divergence
A modern 10W lightbulb can light a room.
At first, imagination is in the driver’s seat, and we look all around, gathering information. Collecting, but not hoarding. There are no bad ideas during the divergent phase, logic is optional, and causality is a distant souvenir.
We try to discern patterns in chaos, establish links across disciplines and arts.
We read notes, ask questions to stakeholders, interview potential customers, explore new technologies and frameworks.
Crucially, we do not build anything concrete at this stage. Instead, the purpose is to unleash creativity.
Convergence
A lens of 10cm (4") in diameter receives 10W of energy from the Sun and can burn a piece of paper.
Then we hand the controls over to curiosity. We express our hypothesis and start experimenting. Our goal is to fight entropy and make sense of the previously collected information.
We eliminate options ruthlessly, we iterate, and we do it fast. We build prototypes to test concepts, but we never get emotionally invested in any.
Convergence is a cruel time for ideas, and they fall like flies. It is not a time to be sentimental.
Our purpose is to understand what will have the best odds of success.
Focus
A 10W laser can cut through a cardboard sheet.
Finally, it is time to execute. The time to excel, apply care and attention to detail, and provide customers with a delightful experience.
We won’t allow distractions, which is not easy, but going through the divergence and convergence phases will have armed us against them.
Confident that our process has put us on the right path, we can be laser-focused on delivering the best products and generating the highest impact.
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