By: Kyle Scheele, an author, champion of crazy ideas and recent keynote speaker at the 2023 Supply Summit & Showcase.

We鈥檝e all said it before: 鈥淚f only I had more (time/money/staff/etc.) I could get this done!鈥�

It鈥檚 certainly an enticing excuse 鈥� after all, it feels natural to blame a lack of progress on a lack of resources 鈥� but is it a valid excuse?

In extreme cases, absolutely. If you are given no time, no money, and no team, it鈥檚 hard to get much of anything done. But what about the times when you have a budget, but it鈥檚 a little less than you鈥檇 hoped? When your deadline is a little sooner than you鈥檇 prefer? Your team a little smaller than you鈥檇 like?

In those cases, constraints may actually benefit the end product more than you think. Here鈥檚 why:

Constraints facilitate focus
Without limitations, it鈥檚 tempting to start adding features for the sake of adding features.

Someone says, 鈥淲hat if we made a product that did A, B, C?鈥�
A colleague chimes in: 鈥淔or 20% more, we could also have it do X, Y, and Z鈥︹�� Soon someone has tacked on L-M-N-O-P and before we know it, we鈥檝e got half the alphabet on board!
The result is often a product that kind of does a lot of things, but doesn鈥檛 do any of them well.

But when resources are constrained, you鈥檙e forced to focus on the objectives that truly matter. The resulting clarity often creates a product that only does a few things, but does them exceptionally well.

Constraints require resourcefulness
When resources are abundant, the easiest solution to a problem is 鈥渢hrow more money/people/etc. at it!鈥� But when those things dry up, you鈥檙e forced to get resourceful. You start digging through the supply closet, rounding up leftover parts from past projects, and pulling in help from team members who work in other departments.

Combing these odds and ends often ends up leading to an unexpected breakthrough that wouldn鈥檛 have happened otherwise.

Constraints inspire innovation
When we feel constrained, it鈥檚 natural to push against those constraints. And when we do, we find gaps. We find soft spots. We find ways to work within and around the constraints to get the job done.

We start asking questions like, 鈥淲hat tools do I have available? How could I get more out of those tools? How could I use those tools in new and unexpected ways?鈥� Those questions can lead to innovative solutions that wouldn鈥檛 have been found in a resource-rich environment.

Constraints foster collaboration
When you don鈥檛 have money or staff to solve a problem, you do the next best thing: phone a friend!

That鈥檚 a smart move. The odds are that someone in your network has solved a problem very similar to the one you鈥檙e trying to solve now. Maybe they鈥檝e solved the same problem in a different industry, or at a different scale, or with a slightly different set of constraints. But by hearing their story, you鈥檒l save yourself time, money, and headaches.
But the best part is this: collaboration works both ways! Oftentimes as the conversation unfolds you discover that you have the solution to one of their problems too. It鈥檚 a win-win.

Constraints build resiliency and strength

I was once speaking at a high school in New York when a girl asked if I鈥檇 like to buy some fundraising chocolates to support her field hockey team.
I asked 鈥淎re you guys any good?鈥� She laughed and said 鈥淣o, we鈥檙e terrible!鈥�

Her friend jumped in and said 鈥淲ell, the team is terrible, but she鈥檚 actually really good. She鈥檚 the fourth best goalie in the nation.鈥�

I asked the girl 鈥淚s that true?鈥� and she nodded.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 amazing!鈥� I said. Then the girl said something I鈥檒l never forget.

鈥淲hen your team stinks, you get a lot of opportunities to be a good goalie.鈥�

The truth is, tough times build tough people. When you鈥檙e forced to work in difficult environments, you build skill sets that will serve you for years to come. Because of her work on that 鈥渢errible鈥� team, the girl was getting a full ride scholarship to play field hockey in college. Her struggles had elevated her to a position where she was able to shine.

Creative thinkers are often described as 鈥渢hinking outside the box鈥�. But the reality is that true creativity thrives within constraints. Truly creative individuals find ways to work inside the box, building within the parameters they are given to produce unexpected, brilliant results.

These days there are plenty of outside constraints forced upon us: Rising interest rates, workforce shortages, supply chain issues, recession fears, the list goes on and on. In times like these, it鈥檚 easy to think 鈥淲e should pull back. We should hold off. We should wait until the seas calm.鈥� But that鈥檚 a mistake. Tough times are when true innovators shine.

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