Revolutionize Your Business with Disciplined Dreaming Strategies

In the world of business, creativity often separates the legends from the also-rans. Think of iconic figures like Steve Jobs, Henry Ford, and Bill Gates—each one is remembered not for their technical mastery, but for the groundbreaking innovations they brought to life. But here's the truth: while companies have systems in place for nearly everything else, most corporate bureaucracies don’t have a reliable system for fostering creativity. That’s where Josh Linkner’s book, Disciplined Dreaming, comes in.

This book lays out a 5-part process to conquer any Creativity Challenge and build a creative culture. The principles in this book are designed to help you cultivate creativity not as a one-time burst, but as a sustainable business process that fuels growth through practical ideas and daily improvements.

Ask

The first step in Linkner’s system is to clearly define the creative challenges at hand. You can’t hit a target you can’t see, and if you don’t define the problem, your creativity is all over the place. To kick things off, you’ll need to craft a Creativity Brief. This is your roadmap and serves as your “North Star” throughout the process.

The brief should include the following elements:

• Overview: What is the challenge?

• History: What’s been tried before, and why did it fail or succeed?

• Objective: What are you trying to achieve? How do you define success?

• Deliverables: What physical output is expected?

• Audience: Who are you targeting, and how can you tailor your solution to them?

• Timeline: Set clear deadlines.

• Approvers: Identify key decision-makers.

Asking "Why?" challenges the status quo and helps you uncover what’s really going on. "What if?" opens the door to fresh possibilities. And "Why not?" forces you to confront the obstacles and constraints standing in the way of innovation. This step is all about thinking beyond the obvious and uncovering the hidden opportunities around you.

Example: The Meatloaf Story Linkner uses a brilliant example to show the power of asking the right questions. A mother and daughter had been making meatloaf for years, but one day the daughter asked, “Why do we cut the end off the meatloaf before we put it in the oven?” It turned out the reason was simple—great-grandma used to do it because she didn’t have a big enough pan. This simple question made them realize they were following a tradition that had no real purpose anymore. The meatloaf story is a perfect illustration of how questioning traditions can lead to daily improvements.

Preparation

Creativity doesn’t happen when you’re stuck in the grind. You need to get into the right mindset. Linkner suggests practical exercises like bringing a beach ball to a meeting or stepping outside of the office environment to spark creativity. The goal is to break free from routine and get your mind primed to think differently.

Another important tip from Linkner is to avoid consensus and over-analysis. The more you try to please everyone or get the perfect solution right off the bat, the more you risk stifling innovation. Sometimes, the best ideas come from risk-taking and bold decisions, not from groupthink.

Linkner’s approach aligns with insights from Harvard Business School professors Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie, who emphasize that practical exercises are essential to fostering a design-driven mindset. They argue that Design Thinking isn’t just for designers—it’s a problem-solving tool that can revolutionize the way businesses operate.

Discover

At this stage, you need to break free of old habits and start thinking outside the box. Role-playing is one of Linkner’s strategies to gain new perspectives on a problem. By seeing the issue through the eyes of different characters—whether it’s a villain, a musician, or an architect—you can uncover new insights that would otherwise remain hidden.

Linkner also suggests looking for patterns. Recognizing patterns in business cycles, consumer behavior, or technology can lead to creative breakthroughs. Think of how Nintendo shifted the focus of gaming by designing a new type of experience with the Nintendo Wii, instead of competing solely on graphics and sound. Jonathan Fields and David Kelley, leading voices in Design Thinking, also advocate for leveraging patterns to inspire innovation in software companies and beyond.

Ignite

Once you’ve got the spark of creativity, it’s time to ignite it into a full-blown flame. Fear of the blank page or the overwhelming scale of a project often blocks creativity. Linkner recommends starting anywhere but the beginning. Don’t get caught up in needing to map everything out perfectly from the start—just dive in and let the process evolve.

A powerful tool in this step is the Imbizo Group—a gathering of diverse individuals who come together with no specific end goal other than exploration and brainstorming. This is where practical ideas start flowing.

If you're struggling to kickstart a new idea, try asking for the wrong answer. Sometimes, generating the opposite of what you want can reveal new angles. Another tip: Time travel. Think about how people from different eras might solve your problem. The future or the past might offer perspectives that your current mindset doesn’t.

Launch

Ideas are worthless unless you bring them to life. The final step of Linkner’s system is to launch. This doesn’t mean rushing into action without thought, but rather selecting the best ideas using a system that’s grounded in values. Instead of relying solely on traditional metrics like ROI or feasibility, use your company’s core values to guide your decisions.

Role-playing again can help in this phase. By simulating the customer experience or the service you’re proposing, you can identify weak spots before fully committing to the idea. The goal here is to balance vision with reality—to take that inspired idea and shape it into a tangible solution.

Building a Culture of Creativity

Innovation doesn’t happen by accident. To succeed in today’s fast-paced business world, creativity must be systematized—and that’s exactly what Disciplined Dreaming helps you achieve. From questioning the status quo to preparing your team for creative breakthroughs, this 5-part process will help you not only tackle creative challenges but also build a culture of sustained growth through incremental advances.

Leaders like Jeanne Liedtka, David Kelley, and Tim Ogilvie emphasize that Design Thinking is a game-changer in modern software business and venture capital firms. It’s a method embraced by Harvard Business School and applied by some of the most successful software companies in the world. By implementing these strategies, businesses can navigate business cycles more effectively and drive sustainable innovation.

Join the Swarm today by joining the Limitless Leaders Club or hiring a Marketing Sidekick. These resources will help you implement the strategies you’ve learned here and fuel the creative growth of your business.