A Beautiful Constraint

Constraint is, by definition, a negative thing. Constraints hold us down. The authors of this book aim to show how and why the opposite is true. Constraints can be fertile, enabling, even desirable. Constraints can make more of us. Constraints lead to innovation and inventiveness. By making a constraint beautiful, we can see it as an opportunity, a stimulus to see a new or better way of achieving our ambition. We must move from saying “we can’t because …”, to say “we can if …”. The trick of making a constraint beautiful is to connect the constraint with a high ambition. This tension stimulates creative thinking. A strong emotional desire to solve the problem is essential, through the inevitable rounds of exploration and initial failing forward.