“I’m a firm believer in the chaotic nature of the creative process needing to be chaotic. If we put too much structure on it, we will kill it. So there’s a fine balance between providing some structure and safety—financial and emotional—but also letting it get messy and stay messy for a while. To do that, you need to assess each situation to see what’s called for. And then you need to become what’s called for.”
Lindsay Collins as quoted in Ed Catmull’s absolutely excellent Creativity Inc.: Building an Inventive Organization
Incidentally, the definition of good project management I’ve always given to people who I’ve worked with is almost exactly her conclusion:
[Y]ou need to assess each situation to see what’s called for. And then you need to become what’s called for.
