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title: How Poor Planning and Being Impulsive Can Lead to Big Wins In Life
description: I’ve posted a ton of research about how conscientiousness may be the most important personality trait out there. What’s conscientiousness? Having your act together. Neat...
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author: Eric Barker
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# How Poor Planning and Being Impulsive Can Lead to Big Wins In Life

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by 

[Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/)


## Eric Barker


May 27, 2014 4:01 AM UTC

by 

[Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/)


## Eric Barker


May 27, 2014 4:01 AM UTC

**I’ve posted a ton of research about how** [**conscientiousness may be the most important personality trait out there**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/11/personality-trait-determine-future/)**.**

What’s conscientiousness? Having your act together. Neat and tidy. Organized and on time.

[**Success**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2010/10/what-personality-traits-predict-higher-income/)**,** [**health**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/12/is-there-a-common-feeling-that-might-lead-to/)**,** [**happy marriages**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/01/what-personality-trait-should-you-seek-in-a-s/) **– they’re all tied to it.**

Which can be really depressing because, frankly, I’m not all that conscientious.

But this begs the question: **are there benefits to not being conscientious?**

Yes, as a matter of fact, there are.

## My Spaghetti Abilities Are Unstoppable

Peter Skillman created a design exercise called “The Spaghetti Problem.”

Groups get 20 pieces of spaghetti, tape, some string and a marshmallow.

**The group that creates the tallest freestanding structure that will support the marshmallow’s weight within 18 minutes, wins.** 

He tested groups of engineers, managers, MBA students, etc.

Did tons of planning help? Nope.

Really thinking things through provide an advantage? Nope.

**You know who outperformed everyone?**

**Who crushed the engineers and decimated the MBA students?**

**Kindergarteners.**

Skillman explains. (Watch from 1:17 mins to 4:04 mins):

**Conscientiousness correlates with a lot of good things — b** **ut**[**creativity isn’t one of them**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/10/schools-workplaces-kill-creativity/)**.**

Via [How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0547564651/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0547564651&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20):

In fact, [people with attention deficit disorder are more creative](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/03/is-there-an-upside-to-attention-deficit-disor/).

There are not many best practices for constructing freestanding spaghetti structures. No planning was going to help here.


**What was the kindergarteners secret?**

**They just jumped in. They started failing immediately — and learning quickly.**

This was their system: Prototype and test. Prototype and test. Prototype and test — until the time was up.

Via [The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/067002614X/?tag=spacforrent-20):

**This also works for people over four feet tall. Like you.**

## All Geniuses Use The Same System

**All creative people arrive at greatness by the same system: trial and error. Prototype and test. Just like the kindergarteners.**

How does Chris Rock create great comedy? By [bombing repeatedly onstage](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/07/how-does-chris-rock-create-such-brilliant-com/) to see what works before he goes on TV.

[Peter Sims](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/09/peter-sims/), author of [Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1439170436/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1439170436&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20), explains:

And that’s exactly what Skillman found. Multiple iterations win in the end.

Via [The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/067002614X/?tag=spacforrent-20):

If I read one more article about how companies can’t innovate I’m going to throw up.


**You can’t be risk-averse, prone to punishing failure and expect creativity.**

In his acclaimed bestseller [The Lean Startup](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307887898/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0307887898&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20) Eric Ries makes it very clear:

I’ve seen this myself.

**When I was writing in Hollywood no one ever told me “Don’t make mistakes.” They told me to make my mistakes** **_early_** **.**

One very successful writer told me: “Every writer has three bad screenplays in them. Get those out of the way as quickly as possible.”

## Failing Is Dangerous — Here’s How To Do It Right

We’ve all read articles that say “Don’t be afraid to fail.” Yeah, that’s BS.

**There are very good reasons to be afraid of failure. You can look stupid. You can get fired.**

There’s a reason why conscientiousness is prized, but it’s an inherently conservative strategy.

**How do you bridge the gap and fail well so you can be creative and improve? Here are 3 tips:**

**1) “Little Bets”**

[Baby steps](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/09/how-can-we-spur-innovation-at-work-and-in-our/). Test theories with experiments that aren’t too expensive or risky.


Via [Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1439170428/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1439170428&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20):

**2) Give your ideas time**

Many of [the greats used notebooks](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/07/strokes-of-genius/) to let their ideas evolve and grow until they were perfect. Eureka moments are a myth.

**A great idea comes into the world by drips and drabs, false starts, and rough sketches.**

Via [Zig Zag: The Surprising Path to Greater Creativity](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BG62E9C/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00BG62E9C&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20):

**3) Hide From The Boss**

**When you’re testing, avoid situations where you’ll be judged.** They can be paralyzing.

As Stanford professors [Jeffrey Pfeffer](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/04/interview-stanford-mba-school-professor-teaches-secret-promotions-raises-power/) and [Bob Sutton](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/11/scaling-up-excellence/) point out, **bosses hurt creativity because no one wants to fail in front of the boss.**

Via [Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, and Total Nonsense: Profiting from Evidence-based Management](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DI8XS0/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B005DI8XS0&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20):

[Megan McArdle](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/067002614X/?tag=spacforrent-20) quotes Alain de Botton as saying:

## How To Get Started

Maybe you’re already an impulsive risk-taker. Congrats, you’re a born innovator.

What if you’ve had that whipped out of you by years of schooling and performance reviews? Where do you start? How do you get a little of it back?


**All you need to do is remember who ruled at the spaghetti experiment: Children.**

**Research shows that merely** [**pretending to be a child again increases creativity**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2010/10/how-to-quickly-and-easily-be-more-creative/)**:**

**When you need a breakthrough, when planning and preparation won’t help — it’s time to act like a kid again.**

**Join 45K+ readers.** Get a free weekly update via email [here](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD).

Related posts:

[8 Things The World’s Most Successful People All Have In Common](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/12/successful-people/)

[What 10 things should you do every day to improve your life?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/05/what-10-things-should-you-do-every-day-to-imp/)

[How To Make Your Life Better By Sending Five Simple Emails](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/07/make-your-life-better/)

_This piece originally appeared on_ [_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/)_._

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