The Journey of Creativity: Closing the Gap and Achieving Growth

The Journey of Creativity: Closing the Gap and Achieving Growth

"The best, most frustrating quote about creativity" by Ira Glass resonates with individuals who strive to create meaningful work. Glass highlights the common struggle faced by beginners in creative fields – the gap between their taste and the quality of their work. While their taste is exceptional, their output often fails to meet their own expectations.

This phase of disappointment often leads many aspiring creatives to quit. However, those who persevere and continue to produce work eventually overcome this hurdle. The key lies in understanding that this struggle is normal and can be overcome through consistent effort and practice.

Glass emphasizes the importance of doing a lot of work and setting deadlines for oneself. By committing to completing one project each week, creatives can gradually close the gap between their taste and their actual output. It may take time, but with determination and persistence, their work will eventually match their ambitions.

Creativity is not an innate talent but a skill that can be developed over time. It requires practice, repetition, and reinvention. Each creation builds upon the last, steadily improving and refining one's skills. As Ira Glass succinctly puts it, "Don't wait. Just make the thing. Make a version, and then make it better and then make it better." This iterative process allows individuals to continuously enhance their work and push their creative boundaries.

Understanding the truth about creativity empowers everyone to make what matters. It echoes the sentiment of Ratatouille's "anyone can cook" or Bob Ross's "anyone can paint." We all possess the capability to create something meaningful. By bridging the gap between our taste, intuition, and ambitions, and our current skills, we can bring our ideas to life.

In the realm of product management, growth hacking plays a crucial role in creating successful products. Chris Long defines growth as the process of enabling more users to experience the value that a product offers. Growth hacking involves finding shortcuts and easy solutions to achieve this growth in a short period.

Rather than making significant and risky changes, Long suggests making small, continuous improvements to a product. By focusing on the smallest change that can create the most significant impact for users in the shortest time frame, product managers can drive growth effectively.

The concept of growth hacking aligns with the philosophy of closing the gap in creative work. Both emphasize the importance of taking consistent action and making continuous improvements. By applying growth hacking principles to their creative endeavors, individuals can enhance their work's impact and reach a broader audience.

To summarize, the journey of creativity involves closing the gap between one's taste and their actual output. It requires perseverance, a volume of work, and the willingness to embrace continuous improvement. Similarly, in product management, growth hacking enables products to reach more users and create value. By incorporating the principles of growth hacking into their creative process, individuals can amplify the impact of their work.

Three actionable pieces of advice for aspiring creatives and product managers are:

• 1. Embrace the process: Understand that the initial phase of disappointment and the struggle to match your taste is normal. Embrace this process and believe in your ability to improve over time.

• 2. Set deadlines and create a volume of work: Commit to completing projects on a regular basis. By setting deadlines, you cultivate discipline and ensure consistent progress. The more work you produce, the faster you will close the gap.

• 3. Iterate and make continuous improvements: Don't wait for perfection to start sharing your work or launching your product. Start with a version, gather feedback, and then iterate to make it better. Embrace the idea of constant improvement to drive growth and enhance your creative output.

In conclusion, the journey of creativity and the principles of growth hacking share common elements. Both require perseverance, continuous improvement, and the willingness to take action. By understanding and implementing these principles, individuals can bridge the gap between their aspirations and their current capabilities, ultimately creating meaningful work and driving growth.