Mark has posted an excellent article on enhancing creativity by increasing your limitations. In essence, he explains that the blank page approach to creativity and innovation usually isn’t the most productive way to capitalize on our creative juices. Rather, limit yourself in certain areas and see what happens. 

I completely agree with his belief, and think it’s imperative for marketers to excel in establishing the boundaries. 

We too often celebrate freedom, particularly in management. But as the Eagles warned us in their song Desperado, “Freedom, well that’s just some people talking.” As marketers, we must learn how to successfully communicate the boundaries so that innovation reaches its peak. 

Here are two examples:

1. I’ve yet to meet a designer who doesn’t LOVE receiving an extremely detailed creative brief. Something that not only describes WHAT needs to be designed, but WHY you need it in the first place, WHO will be seeing the design, WHEN they’ll see it, WHERE the design will be, and myriad other details. Designers love clients that give clear boundaries and clear goals, and then get the heck out of the way. 
2. In product innovation, too many good ideas have never become great because marketers have just thrown a product against the proverbial wall to see what target markets will stick. The thinking is usually that the product’s greatness will be evident, and the right people will flock. This never works. You have limit who your product is for and how it will be used, among about 100 other limitations. Then, the product becomes great. Then, you’ve filtered it to a point that it’s tailor-made for the right people and the right situation. 

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