Which is more important? Creativity or discipline?

My answer is ‘yes.’

My first Program Director gig was when I was 21. Obviously, I didn’t know anything about programming at that age, but I did have the lowest voice on the air staff, had my own car, and laughed at the boss’s jokes.

In the decades since I’ve trained a couple of program directors, coached a few air personalities, and taught up to a few general managers about the fundamentals of programming.

I’ve discovered that the folks quickest to learn were those with one of two things in their background; either music or acting. (I, fortunately, had both).

Both musicians and actors tend to understand that creativity and discipline are important ingredients of their craft, two sides of the same coin.

The musician embraces the discipline of theory, technique, and practice. The actor learns his lines, where to stand and look, and to not anticipate another’s lines.

Each understands performance and expression.

“Every medium carries within itself inherent limitations, and every artist also comes with limitations. True creativity is not the outflow of a world without boundaries. The creative act is the genius of unleashing untapped potential and unseen beauty with the constraints and boundaries of the medium from which we choose to create. Creativity not only happens within boundaries and limitations, but in fact it is dependent on those limitations.“

Erwin McManus, “The Artisan Soul”

Embracing both discipline and creativity can help one understand the artistic impact of handwritten art with the name of every Baltimore Oriole player in the history of Camden Yards or a situation comedy’s theme music performed by a single bass guitar.

Let’s view creativity and discipline through the lens of necessary tensions that can result in remarkable radio stations. I think it was Plato that said necessity is the mother of invention. Or was it Frank Zappa?