The Power of ‘What If’: Unlocking Creativity and Agility in Business

At a cellular level, I despise NO, CAN’T, and WON’T. These words have always struck me as not just limiting but as the hallmark of a fixed mindset—a signal of intellectual laziness that stifles creativity and progress. They show up everywhere: in business meetings, brainstorming sessions, and conversations with colleagues, partners, and customers. And if we hear them enough, they have a sneaky way of embedding themselves into our own thinking, dampening our belief in what’s possible.

But as a founder—and especially in the early stages of growing a startup—you learn quickly that NO, CAN’T, and WON’T are not viable options. In a startup, you can’t afford to stop at roadblocks. Your success depends on turning constraints into opportunities and creatively flexing to get to the outcome. Founders wear many hats, and one of the most critical is the problem-solver-in-chief. Every problem you solve, every hat you outgrow and hand off, and every new challenge you tackle with creativity and grit is a step toward scaling sustainably.

When we adopt the mindset of WHAT IF, we unlock the kind of agility that separates great leaders and businesses from the mediocre. WHAT IF is the antidote to negative anchors. It creates space for exploration, for lateral thinking, and for solutions we might never have considered otherwise. Facing a talent shortage? WHAT IF we explore partnerships or train someone internally? Lacking budget? WHAT IF we find creative ways to prioritize or seek alternative funding sources? Stuck on a critical hire? WHAT IF we look outside the traditional channels or restructure roles to attract the right person?

The beauty of WHAT IF lies in its simplicity and power. It reframes challenges into opportunities, shifting the focus from why something won’t work to how it could. This mental shift doesn’t just influence your thinking—it inspires those around you. In a startup, especially as a founder, your energy sets the tone. A mindset rooted in possibility ripples through your team, influencing how they approach problems, collaborate, and ultimately drive outcomes.

Think about the growth journey of a startup. At first, everything is on your plate: sales, marketing, operations, product development, hiring, even brewing the office coffee. The temptation to say CAN’T or WON’T is everywhere because there’s simply too much to do. But the most successful founders embrace the creative tension between where they are and where they want to go. They focus on how to get there and continually ask, WHAT IF I could find a better way?

And as you scale, you learn that being creatively flexible doesn’t mean doing everything yourself. It means working to replace yourself in areas where others can shine. It’s about building a team that can take your vision further than you ever could alone, a team that has internalized WHAT IF as a rallying cry. It’s about cultivating a culture that sees obstacles as puzzles to solve, not reasons to stop.

The WHAT IF mindset becomes a north star for growth, adaptability, and resilience. It’s the key to transforming constraints into possibilities, both for yourself and for your business. When you lead with curiosity and openness, you create the conditions for innovative solutions to emerge naturally—solutions you might never have imagined if you stayed anchored in negativity.

So, the next time you hear yourself or your team leaning into NO, CAN’T, or WON’T, try asking WHAT IF. Repeat it like a mantra, let it permeate your thoughts and your conversations, and watch what happens. You’ll be amazed at how often creativity and collaboration will take over, and what once seemed impossible becomes entirely within reach.

How have you overcome NO, CAN’T, or WON’T in your journey? What role has WHAT IF played in your growth and leadership?

About Jenn - The Patriot Angler