In Uncertainty, Planning is Futile—But Creating is Priceless
It’s December 2024, and as a small business owner or founder, it’s that time of year when everyone tells you to plan—set your goals, build your strategies, and chart your course for 2025. Maybe you’ve already started, because that’s what leaders are supposed to do, right? Yet deep down, there’s a nagging feeling that planning in times like these might be more about clinging to a sense of control than creating real clarity. It’s like wrapping yourself in a security blanket while the storm rages outside—comforting for a moment, but ultimately inadequate for what’s coming. The pressure to predict an unpredictable future, safeguard your team, and stay ahead in a world that refuses to cooperate—it’s exhausting. Planning might feel like the responsible thing to do, but deep down, you know those plans are fragile at best.
The world already felt unstable—wars raging overseas, economic volatility shaking markets, and a sense that nothing could be relied on for long. Now, with a new administration that thrives on chaos and unpredictability, the turbulence feels amplified. It’s as if the ground beneath us is constantly shifting, and instead of offering stability, the return of Trump’s presidency has introduced even more uncertainty. For small business owners, this isn’t just abstract—it’s the everyday reality of trying to lead and plan while the rules of the game keep changing.
In this volatile environment, traditional tools like forecasting and strategic planning offer little solace. They’re relics of a more predictable time, incapable of keeping up with today’s pace of change. A meticulously crafted roadmap might feel comforting now, but it’s likely to collapse under the weight of reality before the ink even dries.
So, what’s the alternative? Instead of clinging to plans that can’t keep pace, what if you leaned into the uncertainty? What if, instead of planning, you created?
Creativity isn’t a survival skill—it’s a possibility skill. It’s how you rise above the fear and uncertainty, spot opportunities others overlook, and imagine solutions no one else has considered. It’s how you lead with agility and vision when the world around you is stuck in fear and paralysis.
This isn’t about abandoning planning altogether. It’s about layering creativity onto strategy, allowing you to pivot, adapt, and thrive no matter what comes your way. This is your moment to move beyond the limits of traditional thinking and embrace the possibilities waiting to be discovered. Let’s explore how.
Resisting the Orthodoxy of Planning
The orthodoxy of planning is seductive—it promises control, predictability, and a sense of accomplishment before the real work even begins. But in reality, it’s often a crutch for leaders afraid to face the unknown. Planning can create the illusion of progress while tethering you to outdated assumptions and limiting your capacity to respond creatively to what’s unfolding in real-time.
Resisting this orthodoxy requires courage—stepping off the well-worn path of business plans and KPIs and into a freer, more intuitive way of working. It means embracing discomfort and uncertainty as part of the process, not obstacles to overcome. By challenging the sanctity of planning, you open yourself to discovery and invite the possibility of something far greater than even your most detailed roadmap could have envisioned.
Planning feels safe because it fits neatly within the boundaries of what you already know. But in a world that’s constantly shifting, safe quickly turns stagnant. Creativity, on the other hand, thrives in the unknown. It doesn’t just adapt to change—it drives it.
Rick Rubin, the legendary music producer, describes creativity as tuning into something deeper, something alive and pulsing beneath the surface. This mindset isn’t just for artists—it’s for anyone ready to break free from the predictable and step into the extraordinary. Rubin describes creation as a process of uncovering what “wants to exist.” It’s not about forcing ideas into place but about listening for the sparks and whispers already in the air.
When you embrace this mindset, you stop reacting to circumstances and start shaping them. Creativity unlocks a different part of your brain—the one that connects dots, makes intuitive leaps, and finds solutions planning could never imagine.
Flow and Creativity: The Artist’s Edge for Leadership
When you create, you enter a state of flow—a mental space where time dissolves, ideas connect effortlessly, and energy surges. Flow isn’t about grinding through tasks or checking boxes; it’s about being fully present, deeply attuned, and completely engaged with the work.
For small business owners, flow might look like uncovering a new revenue stream, crafting a campaign that resonates with your audience, or finding a novel solution to a customer’s pain point. It’s the space where instinct and inspiration guide you beyond what you thought possible.
Planning, by contrast, rarely leads to flow. It’s a cerebral exercise rooted in control, a process of trying to predict and manage the unpredictable. Creativity, however, requires surrendering to the process, letting go of rigid expectations, and allowing ideas to guide you. It’s about imagining what could be rather than managing what already is.
This shift demands vulnerability. To create like an artist is to step into the unknown, to risk failure, and to embrace the discomfort of uncertainty. But that’s the price of breakthrough thinking. Great leaders aren’t just problem-solvers—they’re creators. They don’t settle for incremental improvements; they envision bold possibilities and bring them to life. Creativity moves you from reacting to shaping, from controlling to inspiring, and from solving problems to transcending them altogether. In this volatile world, that’s not just an edge—it’s a necessity.
How the Creative Process Works: A Methodology for Leaders
For CEOs and founders, creativity isn’t just about generating ideas—it’s about cultivating a methodology that strengthens your leadership. The ability to think creatively isn’t reserved for artists or inventors; it’s a skill that can be honed and applied to leading teams, shaping vision, and navigating uncertainty. Creativity, at its core, is about seeing connections others miss and bringing them to life in ways that inspire and transform. In a role where your job is to constantly balance the short-term demands of execution with the long-term vision of what’s possible, creativity becomes a leadership superpower. It’s how you approach complex problems with fresh perspectives, break through inertia, and position yourself—and your organization—to lead, not follow. Creativity is less about moments of inspiration and more about building habits of thought and action that foster innovation and clarity. Here’s how the methodology works:
Start with Stillness: Creativity begins in the quiet. Rubin often talks about clearing space to invite inspiration. For leaders, this might mean stepping away from the noise of daily operations and creating intentional pauses for reflection.
Notice the Signals: Ideas rarely announce themselves with fanfare. They emerge as sparks or fragments, waiting for you to notice them. Rubin likens creativity to tuning a radio—your job is to find the clearest signal and follow it without judgment.
Play with Possibility: Creativity thrives on experimentation. Combine unlikely ideas, flip problems on their heads, and explore without fear of failure. This playful approach often reveals solutions you couldn’t have planned for.
Refine and Shape: Once an idea begins to take form, the work becomes about crafting it into its best version. This step requires both intuition and precision—listening to what the idea wants to be while shaping it into something tangible.
Release Perfectionism: Rubin often emphasizes that perfection is the enemy of creativity. The goal isn’t flawless execution but authentic expression. Every creative act is a stepping stone, not the final destination.
A Challenge: Treat December and January Differently
This year, instead of cramming your schedule with planning meetings, why not carve out space to create? Treat these months as an opportunity to tune into what wants to exist—not as a time to lock down rigid goals, but as a moment to explore new ideas, refine bold visions, and uncover breakthroughs.
If you’re ready to embrace this shift, consider booking a Studio Session with me. Think of it as stepping into the creative energy of a Rick Rubin-style studio—no agenda, no pressure, just a space to think, dream, and shape something extraordinary.
Whether you’re wrestling with an idea, refining a draft, or preparing for a high-stakes moment, we’ll work together to uncover the essence of what you’re trying to create. Each two-hour session is tailored to your needs and designed to leave you with clarity, momentum, and a plan of action. Plus, you’ll receive a recording of our session and a follow-up accountability call to keep the energy alive.
This isn’t planning. This is creating. And it might just be the most important work you do this season.
The studio is open through the end of January. Let’s create something massive together.