Why Constraints are a Necessary Part of Innovation

The word constraint carries a negative connotation. Think of the many implications this word has: limits, things that hold you back, boundaries, boxing in, preventing, restraining, and so on. Any person would think that constraint is something that would hinder innovation.

But applied correctly, constraints can sometimes be the force behind innovation.

For example, I am an entrepreneur with a new startup. I instruct my team to design a computer that will blow all the others out of the water. Some would submit a design containing all the latest, but expensive, technology. Others would probably produce a design which is big and heavy because it has everything a user might need. Chances are, the designs produced would be inappropriate for a market that values low cost and portability.

But say for example I added a constraint. I say: "Build me a powerful computer which is cheap and portable." This would force my designers to work within a confined set of rules, forcing them to think of new ways to achieve the objective. Compared to the first scenario, more creative thinking was applied when the designers were boxed in by the addition of a constraint.

Constraints in one area can also lead to innovation in other areas and other teams. Take for example the development of the  tablet. In order to make a computer which can be held in one hand, designers were forced to limit and even cut off some features a traditional computer has. This meant less storage, no USB ports, no external drives and the like.

Because of this limitation, cloud storage providers like Dropbox and Box came in to fill the gap.

Constraints and innovation do not only apply to technology. You can encounter constraints in your career, business, or personal lives. Instead of thinking of these as negative, we should acknowledge them as necessary and use our creativity to work within them.