The power of creative tension

Creative tension is one of the key components for improvement.The normal, and a very good, way to visualize this concept is with the following picture:

The top hand represents where we want to be and the bottom hand is where we are. The rubber band is the desire we have to bring our reality to where we want to be.

1) Remember that both hands can move to relieve the tension. We can either improve our reality or change where we want to go. Too often we change where we want to go instead of improving our reality.

2) There are three key parts that we must think about to use creative tension appropriately

a. A good picture of where we want to go.

b. A clear understanding of where we are. This is a key component that we rarely focus on. People think about goals a lot – we all talk about goals a lot. But for creative tension to create improvement we must understand the reality of where we are – we cannot lie to ourselves about our current situation. Only if we accurately assess where we are can we then create the appropriate improvements.

c. Maintaining the desire to close the gap. We must constantly fuel these efforts. Whether it recognition, reminder of the longer term and higher purpose of the goal and creating small wins along the way so that we keep on going, we MUST be committed to continually closing the gap. And the ONLY way to close the gap is to IMPROVE our reality to our GOAL. If we compromise on where we want to go we have simply delayed the work that we must do or accepted substandard performance – neither is acceptable.

Take a moment and think about where you want to be, think about where you really are (and that is key) and recognize creative tension as a powerful force that we need to use to get better. That tension can pull us forward and keep us falling back. Instead of the two hands shown above I sometimes think of creative tension as the following picture:

It is up to us to make sure that the nail is the future we are heading towards and not the current reality pulling us back. Creative tension is a powerful force.

With a strong commitment to the goal, and understanding of where we are and the desire and energy to keep working; it will compel us to great improvements. Understand it, use it and let’s start closing that gap today.