We enjoy solving sticky problems. 

Wrestling down sticky problems until they give up their solutions - that's where our people and our family business are at their best. 

• we are invigorated by the challenges of new things,
• we are excited about the opportunities that we know rest closely with problems, and
• we enjoy testing and stretching our imaginations.

Certainly, we know we are curious and we know we enjoy new challenges. And we know curiosity leads to innovation and creativity...and interesting experiences...and adventures...and these things help bring new product and service ideas to life. 

We enjoy positive feedback from the people we work with and for. Positive feedback about our work energizes our enthusiasm. But, for us, there’s more value in work than generating solutions and receiving gratification from positive feedback. 

We enjoy solving sticky problems:

• Curiosity is an important part of our lives – we see value in curiosity – we are driven by curiosity and have embraced it as one of our personal Values. So, Curiosity is also one of our corporate Values.
• Problem-solving mastery is an important part of our lives. We were naturally skilled at mathematics and we were drawn to math and engineering education. And, for us, engineering education provided the opportunity learn and develop problem-solving skills.
• Solving problems opened the door to finding opportunities [opportunities ride on the wings of adversity] and opportunities lead to new solution-techniques, products and services.

Relentless curiosity combined with a huge desire to solve problems – that describes us. 

It also explains why…

We enjoy solving sticky problems.

Footnotes:

1. Sticky Problems have two forms: people problems [interpersonal issues] and technical problems [information management/processing, including information essential to product design].
2. Our family company, Spirited Leaders, focuses on helping business leaders solve sticky leadership problems: interpersonal issues are at the core so solutions for people are the goal.
3. Our family company, NeuStyle Software & Systems, focuses on solving sticky technical problems: information management and processing is at the core so software and digital solutions are the goal.
4. Spirited Leaders' motto - Inspire People - Influence Action - Grow Wealth!
5. NeuStyle Software's motto - Anything's possible when it's digital! 

If, for whatever reason, you do not have enough Will then it is impossible to have other elite character traits like Courage. 

Courage is more than taking constructive action in the face of danger. For example, I think leaping into the water to save a drowning friend is not necessarily courageous. This sort of action could be driven by sheer impulse or ingrained altruism. 

Courage is knowing you are facing danger and overcoming your fears, then taking constructive action. In order to overcome your fears, willpower must be present and powerful. Put another way - Courage is constructive action in the face of danger, where the action is not backed by Confidence. 

Courage and Confidence are two Good Habits: the first leads to the second in very specific ways; the second promotes the first in a general way; Will is the force that enables Courage and allows Courage to have the chance to create Confidence.

My personal Values are:

• Courage
• Confidence
• Conviction
• Curiosity

Courage and Confidence are my [supreme] desired outcomes – Conviction [backed by Will, which requires Energy and leads to Good Habits] and Curiosity [which leads to discovery, invention, creativity – and to New Things] are the means for achieving those [supreme] desired outcomes.

I have heard opposing viewpoints. 

Some people think creativity happens when a group of brilliant young people bounce ideas off one another in zany bright-coloured open workspaces. My mind is conjuring up images of Google people accomplishing amazing Google things. 

Some people think creativity sparks, sooner or later, if persistent focused effort is performed under well-defined scientific testing. Now, I’m picturing Edison and his people exhaustively going through those 5,000 [or was it 10,000] failures before they found the solution to incandescent lighting.

Some people believe solitary efforts in seclusion, silence, and stillness are the routes to creative intelligence. Elmer R. Gates comes to mind…this self-proclaimed psychologist and prolific inventor was sought out and  paid to sit for ideas and he achieved such success sitting for ideas he impressed Napoleon Hill [author of the classic, ‘Think And Grow Rich’].

Some people think creativity is closely linked to if not the result of personal suffering: whether physical in form or emotional or mental. Examples of creative people who have suffered include Gandhi, Van Gogh, Mandela, Beethoven, Lincoln, and pretty much all the great poets…and, of course, I better include Jimmy Morrison or I will later feel remiss. 

All that considered – 

How does structure fit in?

While there is no question – the environments for creativity vary considerably and the personalities of creative people vary considerably…and there are many different routes that lead to creativity – the question remains, does creativity crave structure?

What does your personal experience tell you?

Think about performing at your creative best…how did you get there?

Do you have flashes of intuition/genius…how do they arise…what was happening before they ‘hit you’?

Do you set aside time to be creative...if you do, do you ‘plan and structure things’ prior to beginning to spend that time?

PS: A year or so ago, after a great deal of deliberation, I changed one of my personal values from 'Creativity' to 'Curiosity'. I wonder if that gives away my answer to the title question.