How to Use Constraints for Creative Breakthroughs

Constraint is what often unlocks boundless creativity for me. Blank paper? Nope. Not an idea in my head. Weird blob that bled through one page of my sketchbook to the next? Often those are jumping off point for some of my wildest work! Like this jacket in progress pictured here: the parameters of the jacket's shape are letting me go absolutely wild with the crochet shapes I am filling it up with. I'm making color and shape and texture combinations I never would have made had you told me to just "crochet a jacket" from scratch. Less options = more creativity. The same is true in social marketing and community work. It's really frightening and paralyzing to hear "use social media to market your brand!" or "build your community online!" Wut. How? That's a blank page! When I'm working with clients for either type of strategy the first thing we do is set up some guardrails and baby steps. You aren't talking to everyone on the internet, so who -are- you talking to? You don't have time to make every type of content, so what type do -you- want to make? A fun exercise I've done in the past is to challenge clients to make a piece of content in less than 5 minutes using only images currently on their camera roll, and it cannot be a rehash of a trend. Try it! You'll be amazed what you already know how to create. Set some constraints, then go make something. Chances are, you'll come out of it with more creative ideas on how to achieve your goals.

If you think where you come from determines where you can go — think again. (Sorry Mercedes Carriquiry, IA. AIA - possibly the worst photo of us ever 😅 ... but definitely the best feeling ever.) Two Latin American women. Matching Harvard hoodies. Giving a lecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. On what? The future of architecture practice. Not just where it’s going — but how we get there. We were there because of vision, grit, and a radically different way of thinking. Here’s what we shared: 🔁 1. Think in systems, systems and more systems. You don’t scale with more effort — you scale with better systems. We treat our practice like a living organism. Always learning. Always optimizing. → Map your project delivery as one connected loop — from BD to feedback. → After every milestone, ask: What worked? What failed? What’s reusable? → Build teams that move together (Marketing + BIM + PMs). No more handoffs. → Use shared KPIs (quality, delivery time, client satisfaction) to align everyone around outcomes. The more integrated you are — the faster you move. ⚙️ 2. Innovation starts with constraints. Some of our boldest ideas were born from tight budgets and tighter timelines. → Run “constraint sprints” with your teams — give them real limits, then challenge the process. → Use tech as an enabler: AI clash detection, template libraries, automation. → Pair junior designers (agility) with senior leads (foresight) — and watch the sparks fly. Innovation doesn’t wait for perfect conditions. It emerges when there’s no other choice. 🚀 3. Not roles - but evolution of people. Static org charts = static growth. We treat roles like prototypes — always evolving. → Review and refine roles quarterly — don’t let them get stale. → Build a loop: feedback > stretch assignments > mentorship > feedback. → Ditch top-down reviews. Use project-based impact and peer insights. → Design career paths like user journeys: What problem do they solve? Where are they headed? The most adaptive firms build high performers. --- The future of architecture? It’s not about what we design. It’s about the systems we build — and the people we grow. So if you're a founder, a leader, or just someone rethinking how we practice… Let's talk. Not about where you came from — But about how you're thinking differently. /////////////////////////////////////////////////// 👋🏻 I’m Andy! ♻️ Repost if this resonates. 💬 DM me if you’re building a firm that leads with heart and vision. Let’s create the future of architecture — together. 🧡✨

“I am always going to ask you for more than you can deliver,” he said. We sprinted across DFW to catch our connecting flight. My CEO made it in time to board, but seeing that I was behind, he waited and watched the doors close. With hours until our flight, we decided to grab a bite to eat. We had the usual catch-up CEO/PM conversation: Family. Vacation. Roadmap. Timeline. Engineering is working on. It was a particularly grueling product-building year. We had a lot in the works and the roadmap was intense. We had big dreams and short timelines. The stress was immense and I was responsible for A LOT. It felt like more than we could ever achieve. As we shoved greasy airport Applebee's in our faces, I remember thinking this was my chance to drive home the reality of our situation - it was all too much. I used words like “we can’t”, “not possible”, and “5 years”. I was overwhelmed and determined to make the point that it was not doable. He said something that’s stuck with me since. “I am always going to ask you for more than you can deliver.” At first I was shocked. “Wait a minute! If you know we can’t do it, why are you insisting?!” Over the years I’ve learned why your leadership team might ask you for more than you can deliver. 💡 Parkinson’s Law says work will expand to fill the time allotted. Your leadership team knows this. In a startup space, time is always of the essence. Pushing the team to get really focused on what’s most important sometimes requires constraints. Constraints drive innovative thinking. They make you get creative. 🔹 If you have a low budget, get real with highest impact for least time/investment. 🔹 If you are short on time, get focused on what delivers value first. 🔹 If you are a small team, use your strengths to get something out and learn quickly. (Actually, do all these things all the time. 🙂) 💡 Even though it’s repeated like it’s #productmanagement canon, your job is not actually to say “No”. Your role is to leverage deep insights about your product, market, and competitors to illuminate risks and sharpen focus. That might include a scope squeeze, a trade-off, or a reality check, but it’s certainly not “no”. If they’re asking for a moonshot, your job is to communicate what you CAN do to get them as close to their moon as possible. It’s always been the job of the PM to manage up, out, and all around, but I hear you in our coaching sessions and I know it’s even more intense during this big efficiency shift of “get scrappy” with more work, bigger dreams, shorter timelines, and smaller teams. It’s so important to make sure you: Get clarity. Stay focused. Find what's possible. Communicate possibilities along with realities. Sleep. What else? __________ My name is Kirsten Van Detta I don’t have a newsletter, podcast, or YouTube channel. But I love to travel. I adore San Francisco. And I freaking love building #B2B products people love and #coaching #productmanagers to do the same.