You might have heard the news lately that a Chinese-owned company has created a version of a large language model. It’s called DeepSeek. It’s put the cat amongst the big-tech pigeons because it's been achieved with inferior technology and far cheaper than what’s been done by the likes of OpenAI and its US-based companions.

I read an article that suggested that because the US has banned Chinese companies from buying the most advanced chips, it may have spurred Chinese researchers into becoming more innovative.

That’s a good example of how constraints can lead to creativity.

‍How Creative Constraints Can Be Useful

I wrote recently about how we often need to remove constraints to open up what’s possible. Yet the reverse can also be true. When we have constraints, we’re invited to do more or different with what we’ve got.

I’m writing this from Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido in Japan. If you’ve ever been in a standard Japanese hotel room, you’ll know they’re tiny! The physical constraints have challenged me to think about where I store my stuff while still being able to move around.

I’m here as part of a longer trip away from home. I first travelled from New Zealand to Perth, and then onto Japan. Perth is in the middle of a hot summer, so of course I had to pack beach gear. Yet I was also doing work there, so I needed to pack work clothes. Now I’m going snowboarding in deep winter, so I’ve also packed snow gear. All in one suitcase! 

The limit of one case has forced me to think about what I really need for the trip. I’ve gone minimalist. And I’m managing just fine. In fact, travelling lighter than normal has freed up a bunch of mental space because I don’t have to think so much about what I’ll wear each day.

‍Creative Constraints Are Everywhere 

Sometimes they’re forced upon us. For example. If you’ve experienced the downsizing of your workforce or budget, it can invite you to think differently about what you actually want to achieve, and how you can achieve it in new and different ways.

Other times we can bring those constraints in deliberately. For example:

• Setting shorter deadlines for initial concept development (like "48-hour sprints") to prevent overthinking and encourage rapid ideation 
• Defining very specific problem statements (e.g. "How might we reduce customer wait time by 50% using only existing resources?")
• Creating artificial limitations (like "design this service using only three customer touchpoints")

Warren Berger, the author of A More Beautiful Question, suggests one of the most powerful questions we can ask when we want more innovation is to use a constraint question:

• What would we do if we had only half the budget?
• What would we do if we had only one day?
• How would you describe this idea in three sentences? One sentence? One word?

‍A Question and an Action

‍What constraints are currently present in your organisation that you've been viewing as obstacles? How might you reframe them as opportunities for innovation?

Try choosing one upcoming project and deliberately introduce a meaningful constraint (time, resources, or scope). Notice how it affects your team's thinking and solutions.