There is more common ground than one would expect between the artist’s process and the social entrepreneur’s. At heart, both are deeply concerned with creative problem-solving.
Here are three steps that artists and entrepreneurs navigate in short iterative cycles to come up with innovative solutions —
Step I: Test
One of the hallmarks of both art-making and entrepreneurship is the ability to test new ideas quickly.
In the Testing Phase —
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- Embrace progress over perfection.
- Try small actions that allow for direct feedback from various sources.
Step II: Learn
Innovation hinges on carving out the time needed to absorb feedback from the testing phase to gain new insights.
In the Learning Phase —
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- New patterns become visible.
- You understand the core challenge in novel ways (even if you don’t arrive at a final solution).
Step III: Rebuild
After gaining a wider perspective through testing and learning, the time to rebuild your solution comes. This step is where the messiness of the testing and learning phases is distilled into a new iteration designed to demonstrate progress.
In the Rebuilding Phase —
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- Make adjustments based on observations and takeaways.
- Recognize that solutions aren’t final; testing, learning, and rebuilding is continuous.
The Path Forward
Artists and Social Entrepreneurs embrace experimentation, continuous learning, and iteration to bring their ideas to life. Both refine their work based on feedback and insights and understand that progress happens incrementally.
