March 25

It’s easy to become trapped by the limitations of your current project. You certainly have finite resources, a limited team and time in which to accomplish your work, and probably multiple projects happening at once.

Because of this, many professionals narrow their options to the most practical ones far too early in the process. When you’re under pressure, any kind of immediate progress can feel more necessary than making something great. So, you move forward without really giving a problem the right amount of creating thinking.

One technique that works well in these pressure-filled situations for pushing your creative thinking to the next level is an exercise I call “the next three leaps.” It works like this:

What would[1]be a huge leap we could take right now if we had the resources?

Then, once we’ve done that, what would be another huge leap we could take?

Then, what would we do next?

Many people are trapped by a lack of creative vision because they can only see what’s directly in front of them or what feels imminently practical.

To accelerate innovation and creative thought, envision the next three leaps.

Which project that you’re working on could benefit from the next three leaps?