Imagine having to create something new and original every day. That’s what many people who work in creative jobs have to do. They have to keep up with the changing world and the different needs and tastes of their customers or fans. Are you curious about how successful artists and creators keep generating new and innovative ideas to stay ahead in the highly competitive world of creative industries? How do they do it? How do they find new ideas and turn them into reality? One of the secrets is that they work on different projects at the same time or one after another. This helps them learn new things, try different ideas, and have more chances of making something great. Sometimes they have too many ideas and they don’t know what to do with them. Sometimes they have no ideas and they feel stuck.
We can learn from the Creators. One key strategy as per new research in ASQ Ideas in the Space Between: Stockpiling and Processes for Managing Ideas in Developing a Creative Portfolio – Poornika Ananth, Sarah Harvey, 2023 is to stockpile ideas for future projects.
For instance, artists and designers write and produce multiple films, songs, and products for different clients. By stockpiling ideas that resonate with them, creators can save and transform them into resources, mobilizing those resources in new creative products and with new meanings for their creative work. This way, creators can sustain their careers over time and even produce breakthrough hits. Freshen your thinking with ideas set aside whose time may have come!
A famous example of an artist who stockpiled ideas is Leonardo da Vinci. Throughout his life, he filled notebooks with sketches, drawings, and ideas for inventions. Some of these ideas, such as the helicopter and the parachute, were centuries ahead of their time and only became a reality long after his death. The musician Prince reportedly had thousands of unreleased songs stored in a vault at his Paisley Park recording studio. After his death, his estate released some of these songs as posthumous albums, giving fans a glimpse into the vast collection of music he had created. Filmmaker Stanley Kubrick was known for meticulously planning his films and stockpiling ideas for future projects. He had a vast collection of notes and research for films he never got to make. Lin-Manuel Miranda is a versatile creative who draws upon his reservoir of ideas to generate fresh opportunities and connect with others, crossing the boundaries of different projects, such as incorporating In the Heights’ songs in Hamilton. Maya Angelou prolific writer, poet, and civil rights activist left behind an extensive collection of unpublished work after her death. Maya Angelou’s archive contains thousands of pages of unpublished manuscripts, journals, and letters, revealing a lifetime of creative output. Octavia Butler, a renowned science fiction writer, created complex worlds and characters. she kept extensive notes and journals, and recorded ideas, observations, and inspirations. Butler’s collection of notes included details on everything from the history and cultures of her imagined worlds to character traits and plot twists. Even after her death, Octavia Butler’s legacy continues to inspire new generations of writers and artists. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright was known for his “Usonian” houses, Bachman-Wilson House at Crystal Bridges – Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation which were designed to be affordable and efficient. Wright developed a system of modular design that he used to create multiple variations of these houses. By reusing and adapting his design ideas, he was able to create a portfolio of work that was both innovative and efficient.
Stockpiling ideas isn’t just limited to artists and designers. In fact, it’s a crucial practice for entrepreneurs and venture capitalists (VCs) as well. New Product Development (NPD) is a crucial part of entrepreneurship, and the process of generating new product ideas is not so different from how artists and creators develop their portfolios. Entrepreneurs must constantly come up with new and innovative ideas to stay ahead of the competition and appeal to their customers’ ever-changing needs. Venture capitalists also need to manage their portfolios of investments in startups. Like artists and entrepreneurs, VCs must also generate new ideas for investments to keep their portfolios fresh and relevant. Don’t burn bridges with start-up entrepreneurs you said no to earlier.
Creators face enormous pressure and the fear of running dry. Those of us who work on multiple creative projects and ideas face unique practical and psychological demands. It produces two sets of demands on us as creators as we work with ideas. Firstly, the portfolio-development process requires creators to coordinate ideas and project opportunities. Secondly, creators need to fill gaps between projects to avoid losing skills, visibility, and income. The study shows that creators manage a stockpile of ideas that they feel connected to, saving and storing them from one project and transforming them into resources for new projects. This process unfolds through strategic and symbolic practices, forming a holistic approach that emphasizes a “creative life” of continuously managing an evolving stockpile of ideas.
Yes, you too can learn from these examples that demonstrate how creators in various fields can stockpile ideas for future projects. By saving and storing ideas, as creators we can build a portfolio of work that sustains our careers over time. This process requires a strong personal compass, as creators must have a sense of what makes them tick, what they are good at, and what network of enterprises or projects will best sustain their career.
Reference: Ananth, P., & Harvey, S. (2023). Ideas in the Space Between: Stockpiling and Processes for Managing Ideas in Developing a Creative Portfolio. Administrative Science Quarterly, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00018392231154909
Credits: *Essay in Collaboration with ChatGPT