Documenting vs Creating: Why Transparency Is the Most Underrated Innovation Tool
There’s an idea popularized by Gary Vaynerchuk that I think goes far beyond content creation: documenting versus creating.
Most people default to creating. They wait until something is finished, polished, and perfect before they share it. Documenting flips that mindset entirely. It’s about capturing the entire journey, the thinking, the tension, the experimentation, and the learning while the work is actually happening.
Once you understand this shift, it becomes a powerful lens for innovation, especially inside large organizations and governments.
Why Documenting Beats a Polished Final Product
Traditional creative and consulting models are obsessed with the end result. The problem is that the most valuable part of any project isn’t the final artifact, it's everything that happens before it.
Documenting allows people to see:
Progress as it unfolds
Challenges in real time
How decisions are made
What changes along the way
That visibility creates understanding and engagement that a “perfect” final output never can.
Transparency as a Catalyst for Innovation Especially in Government
This approach becomes even more powerful in the context of government and public-sector work.
Government projects are often seen as opaque and bureaucratic. By opening up the process to employees or even the public you immediately start breaking down silos. Transparency builds trust, and trust creates space for collaboration.
When people can see the real challenges instead of a sanitized outcome, they’re more likely to contribute ideas, challenge assumptions, and participate in problem-solving.
The Problem With Traditional Consulting Deliverables
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room.
Most consulting deliverables are:
Static
Boring
Disconnected from how work actually happens
A Word document or PowerPoint deck doesn’t capture the messiness, emotion, or evolution of a project. It reduces complex, dynamic work into bullet points and in doing so, strips out meaning.
That format doesn’t reflect reality, and it certainly doesn’t inspire innovation.
Using Video to Capture the Real Work
Instead of producing a traditional deliverable, imagine documenting the entire process on video.
That includes:
Interviews
Workshops
Brainstorming sessions
Candid conversations
Even moments of disagreement or conflict
Video captures tone, nuance, and emotion in a way text never can. You can see ideas evolve. You can feel tension resolve. You can understand why decisions were made, not just what they were.
It turns work into something human and relatable.
Sharing Progress Continuously Builds Trust
Another key shift is when the work gets shared.
Rather than disappearing for months and returning with a final presentation, progress is shared continuously. Clients see what’s working, what’s not, and what’s changing while it’s happening.
This creates:
Alignment instead of surprises
Participation instead of passivity
Trust instead of skepticism
Clients become part of the journey, not just recipients of the outcome.
A 20-Minute Film Instead of a Final Report
At the end of the project, the deliverable isn’t a report.
It’s a 20-minute film.
A film that documents the entire journey from the initial assumptions to the pivots, challenges, insights, and final direction. It’s storytelling, not summarizing.
This format is far more engaging, memorable, and accessible than dense documents, especially for non-experts. It also becomes a reusable asset that can be shared across teams and stakeholders.
Why Vulnerability and Imperfection Matter
Documenting the process means showing moments that usually stay hidden:
Small failures
Uncertainty
Learning curves
That vulnerability is uncomfortable but it’s essential.
When people see imperfection, it normalizes experimentation. It creates psychological safety. It encourages risk-taking. And those conditions are required for real innovation to happen.
Authenticity builds credibility. Perfection erodes it.
Innovation Isn’t About Looking Smart It’s About Being Open
Documenting versus creating isn’t just a creative tactic. It’s a leadership and innovation philosophy.
It replaces polished illusions with honest progress.
It replaces static deliverables with living stories.
It replaces secrecy with transparency.
And in a world where trust is increasingly hard to earn, showing the work may be the most powerful innovation strategy we have.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What is process documentation in innovation?
Process documentation means recording how work happens step by step, including decisions, challenges, and changes. It focuses on showing progress instead of only final results. This helps teams understand workflows better and improves learning, collaboration, and transparency.
Q2. How does transparency improve organizational trust?
Transparency builds trust by showing people how decisions are made. When organizations openly share progress, challenges, and reasoning, employees and stakeholders feel included. This reduces suspicion, improves communication, and strengthens long-term relationships.
Q3. Why do organizations resist sharing unfinished work?
Organizations fear criticism, mistakes, and loss of control. Unfinished work feels risky because it’s imperfect. However, hiding the process often slows learning and innovation, while sharing early creates feedback, alignment, and stronger engagement.
Q4. What is the difference between reporting and documenting work?
Reporting focuses on outcomes and final results. Documenting captures the entire journey, including thinking, experimentation, and change. Documentation helps others learn from the process, while reports often hide how outcomes were actually achieved.
Q5. How can transparency reduce project failure?
Transparency allows early feedback and correction. When issues are visible, teams can adapt quickly instead of fixing problems at the end. This reduces costly mistakes and increases the chances of delivering meaningful, usable outcomes.
About the Author:
Shawn Kanungo is a globally recognized disruption strategist and keynote speaker who helps organizations adapt to change and leverage disruptive thinking. Named one of the "Best New Speakers" by the National Speakers Bureau, Shawn has spoken at some of the world's most innovative organizations, including IBM, Walmart, and 3M. His expertise in digital disruption strategies helps leaders navigate transformation and build resilience in an increasingly uncertain business environment.