I was startled by a dream I had the other day about I not being able to innovate and getting stuck in work due to being too focused on discipline and order. As the fog subsided in the morning and I kept brooding on this subject through the week, quite a few perspectives emerged…

As a person who has seen most ends of this spectrum, being in the Army, as an entrepreneur, and in the corporate world, I thought through the question from these different angles and their intersection.

Naturally, someone whose initial years were shaped by the Army, I am a stickler for discipline and order. I prefer being in control and like to minimise uncertainty. So my first thought was that creativity and innovation didn’t gel well with us types. But as I delved deeper, I realised that the stereotype isn’t true – our training taught us to innovate and improvise all the way. It prepared us to be creative in our thought process so that we don’t get boxed in and get killed. And there are enough examples of creative and innovative leadership across the board.

I next turned my attention to the start-up and entrepreneur crowd. People who are expected to be creative and innovative most of their time. Places filled with those who hustle and do everything to make things happen. Where the focus is more on innovation and creativity and chaos reigns. But as I thought through my own experience as well as looked at other successful instances, I figured there’s method to successful madness. Ideas that are gaining traction and startups that are winning have done so on the back of being disciplined about execution and orderly about scaling up.

So lastly, I looked at the corporate world and whether there’s truth about the saying that corporate offices are the least innovative and creative places. While that may certainly be true for some, the ones who are able to grow and where people enjoy working are not just focused on discipline and order about the existing revenue streams but also nurture creativity and innovation to progress on new tracks. And this blend is what allows them to win the marketplace again and again.

I was surprised at the analysis. Some of the thoughts I had heard or read about on these topics weren’t entirely true. And certainly cannot be classified as general statements. But then, the internet and media is full of these stereotypes. Our literature, films, etc. regularly portray them likewise.

As someone who has been in these roles, it was easier for me to connect the dots and look through the prism. But for other topics where I am a newbie or on which I don’t have any insight, I may be led by the depiction in common culture.

Common culture may be commonly available and commonly consumed but may not be always right…