5 Obstacles that Stop Innovators from Creating Meaningful Products
By Maria Molfino Today’s guest post is from Maria Molfino, women’s career and leadership coach with a Masters in Design from Stanford and BA …
By Maria Molfino
Today’s guest post is from Maria Molfino, women’s career and leadership coach with a Masters in Design from Stanford and BA in psychology from McGill.
We are passionate about building meaningful lives and products that make an impact. But sometimes, we get in our own way.
Do any of these obstacles stop you from bringing your dream product into the world? Read on for ways to overcome them.
Wanting your project to be perfect
Innovators constantly want to create meaningful products that are disruptive and high-quality. The problem? Perfectionism. Perfectionism is a learned trait, inherited from having a fixed mindset. It’s the belief that traits are fixed and immutable. When we believe being “great” is fixed, we’re a lot more nervous about making mistakes, hence perfectionism (and, often, its best friend: procrastination). The wonderful news is that the tendency towards perfectionism can be unlearned! The key is to shift towards a growth mindset, in which it no longer becomes about winning or losing, but about learning.
So, if the choice is between being perfect or moving forward, choose moving forward.
Wanting to be special
[quote author=”Mark Twain”]There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on turning and making new combinations indefinitely; but they are the same old pieces of colored glass that have been in use through all the ages.[/quote]
Many of us innovators, however, would like to believe that we can create meaningful products that are also entirely new. This desire to be special can often mean we feel discouraged when we see someone has “already done” what we want to do, that a certain product already exists, or that someone else has found a solution to a problem we were researching for months.
But the creative process, by definition, is about remixing, optimizing, and refining. So if your idea or product is already out there, don’t be discouraged! Make it your own. And remember:
Nobody will do it the way you will because they don’t have your DNA or life story.
Getting stuck in our minds
In school, we’ve learned to research, write, study, and take tests. As a result, we can get stuck in mental loops instead of testing our ideas with real people. Think of designers who test out their crappy prototypes (i.e., a physical embodiment of an idea) for weeks, months, and sometimes years before designing the final product. By experimenting, we gain greater creative confidence. We could use a few best practices from design thinking as we bring our work into their world.
Experimentation and curiosity break us out of our minds and into the real world.
Misinterpreting fear
One can interpret fear as two opposite ways during the creative process: (1) “I must be doing something wrong, let me run in the other direction” or (2) “I’m onto something here, let me lean even more into this project.”
Most of us will attribute the physiological arousal of fear to (1). As innovators who are charting new territories, it is absolutely essential to learn how to manage fear. It’s not about eliminating fear, as much as it is about learning to reinterpret fear as a rewarding sensation.
Feeling pressured to make a big impact
This generation of innovators has an intense desire to disrupt the status quo and create big shifts, which is wonderful. There’s equal value, however, in small-scale, well-made technology products that solve a niche problem. In other words, not everything has to change millions of people’s lives! Take that pressure off your shoulders and solve a meaningful problem you feel passionate about.
[quote author=”Howard Thurman”]Don’t ask what the world needs, but ask what makes you come alive. Because the world needs more people who have come alive.”[/quote]
Next Steps
As you observe these tendencies in yourself, your life will organically begin to shift. If you’re someone who would like to take action around these obstacles, here are my suggestions:
1. Print
Print out the list and stick it on your wall where you will see it in the morning.
2. Receive direct guidance
Get notified about my group leadership program, Iris, which provides guidance, tools, and community for women who want to make a difference but aren’t sure where or how to start.
3. Journal
Journal around each tendency. How is it showing up in your career and creative process?
About the Author
Maria Molfino is the director of Iris – a program that supports women in gaining the career clarity to make the difference they want. She is a certified yoga instructor, tea enthusiast, poet with a Masters in Design from Stanford University and BA in Psychology from McGill University.
