Process, Process, Process

Last week, I tried to incorporate the third recommendation from Bruce Mau's "Incomplete Manifesto for Growth" which is:

"Process is more important than outcome. When the outcome drives the process we will only ever go to where we've already been. If process drives outcome we may not know where we’re going, but we will know we want to be there."

I found this one fascinating, mainly due to my past life in corporate America as a Six Sigma Black Belt, or the process efficiency guy.

Everything is a process. Every process has and outcome. Every outcome has a process. It is a question of priorities. When the outcome is emphasized (as in business), the process is refined and tweaked to ensure that the outcome is repeatably, predictably, of the highest quality for the lowest cost. Makes sense if your a factory and you want to make 100,000 widgets that are all the same. The flip side, which is what this week was about, is placing emphasis on the process and allowing the process to naturally produce the outcome. I interpreted this approach along the lines of the old adage "its the journey, not the destination that matters." There's a lot here, not just in a heady, philosophical way but also in a daily pragmatic approach to things.

First, I had to undo years of training and work experience. No easy task. I think I only began to untie the knot. Towards the end of the week I was equating it to un-brainwashing me. For me, the process-outcome connection was learned and fortified over the years. Start with what you want in the end and then back into the process or series of tasks to make it happen. And by the way, make it happen the same every time, as cheap as possible. As an artist, this approach limits me. I limit myself by creating in advance of the creation what I want it to be.

Recognizing that I was handicapped in breaking my old habits, I began to play with the process, focusing on the process and not worrying about the result it may produce. Images I had had for some time I found the courage to tackle. In the past, my thoughts would have circled around things such as "I don't know how to technically achieve that look," or "I can't do that," or "It won't look right," etc. You get the point. I was self sabotaging. So I wouldn't start. Focusing on the "doing" part versus the "result" part freed me from those old thoughts. They hold no value if I am playing with "what if I do this or that". That was the first big thing I noticed. I started doing more, starting doing new.

The other thing I noticed was that my process became creative itself. I changed the order of the steps, I changed the tools I used, the colors I used and even the media in a few cases. All under the guise of "what if". I had fun. I enjoyed the experimentation and, to top it off, the results I also enjoyed. I didn't just like them, I enjoyed them. I felt accomplishment not only from what I did, but the entire time I was doing it. Focusing on the process extended my sense of accomplishment, appreciation and gratitude well beyond the final product. And, I am excited to go back and try again, to do more. I have a sense of curiosity. What will happen next.

Of course the outcomes are not a complete surprise. As a rational person I know that a certain process automatically aims me to produced something withing the realm of what I was thinking. The details however are determined in flight by the process of the day, of the moment. That is the fun part. That is the creative part.

I like that I can see and do this from both perspectives, process-outcome and outcome-process. There are some things that are not open or beneficial to be nebulous and up for grabs. The other things, the creative things I do, definitely benefit from me letting go and allowing. This I think is the biggest benefit of focusing on the process. It allows me to let go and allow things to unfold naturally. I get out of the way.

This week, I'm exploring:

"Love your experiments (as you would an ugly child). Joy is the engine of growth. Exploit the liberty in casting your work as beautiful experiments, iterations, attempts, trials, and errors. Take the long view and allow yourself the fun of failure every day."