Rethinking Function
Fitness, Fixedness, & Form
As solopreneurs and creatives, our work is a reflection of both who we are and the change we want to make.
But all too often, we get caught up in distractions: chasing polished presentations, perfect tools, or popular trends.
While this can all feel like progress, these pursuits mask a deeper truth: form without function is an empty shell.
To move forward with clarity and impact, we need to reconsider how we think about function—and its relationship to both form and creativity.
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Today, let’s explore three ideas: *fitness function*, *functional fixedness*, and the evergreen principle of *function over form.* Together, they reveal how to navigate challenges, unlock creative solutions, and align our actions with meaningful outcomes.
Fitness Function: Measuring What Matters
In evolutionary terms, a fitness function evaluates how well something thrives within a specific environment. It’s not about being perfect—it’s about being well-suited to the task at hand. For solopreneurs, this concept invites us to assess how well our systems, strategies, and habits fit the goals we’re pursuing.
Take your marketing strategy, for example. Is it designed to reach the right audience, or are you measuring success by vanity metrics like follower counts or impressions? Your fitness function should focus on outcomes that truly matter: connection, engagement, and conversion. If something isn’t working, don’t cling to it. Adapt. Evolution favors the flexible.
Key Reflection: What are you measuring in your business right now, and does it align with what actually matters to your goals?
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Functional Fixedness: Breaking the Mold
Functional fixedness is a cognitive bias that limits how we see the tools and resources available to us. It’s the inability to view an object—or a solution—beyond its traditional use. This mental block keeps us stuck in rigid thinking, blind to the creative opportunities hiding in plain sight.
Let’s say you’ve always used email newsletters to connect with your audience. But what if you reimagined that platform as a tool for collaboration—inviting readers to co-create content or offer feedback? Breaking free from functional fixedness means seeing the unexpected potential in what you already have.
Key Reflection: Where in your business are you stuck using tools, systems, or approaches the way you always have? How could you repurpose them to better serve your goals?
Function Over Form: Prioritize Purpose
We’ve all been there: tweaking a website design for hours, agonizing over the perfect social media post, or obsessing over brand aesthetics. While form matters—after all, good design enhances usability and trust—it should never overshadow function. A sleek website won’t save a broken sales funnel, and a beautiful logo won’t compensate for unclear messaging.
Function over form reminds us to focus on what works. Build systems and strategies that deliver results first. Polish comes later.
Key Reflection: Are you spending more time perfecting how your work looks than ensuring it works well? If so, where can you redirect your energy?
Go Further
The magic happens when we combine these ideas. Start with a fitness function to measure what truly matters. Overcome functional fixedness to unleash creativity and resourcefulness. And always ground your efforts in function over form, ensuring that what you build serves a purpose before it shines.
As you reflect on these principles, consider this: How might your business evolve if you measured fitness instead of perfection, embraced flexibility over fixedness, and prioritized function over form? The answers could unlock a path to greater clarity, creativity, and success.
Do the Work: What’s one area of your work where you can apply these ideas today? Share your thoughts in the comments, or join the conversation in our Solopreneur Success Circle. Let’s focus on building a business that’s not just beautiful but fit for the purpose it’s meant to serve.
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Great information, Scott. And thanks for the free download. Appreciate that 🙏
When I make pots on the wheel I need to add the nothing i to them all so.they can function as mugs. At times I might work hard doing nothing to make all the cylinders functional as containers.