Hickory Algorithm Newsletter
breaking the cycle
New Avenues = New Ideas = New Solutions
by: Chris Goldby ∣ Hickory Algorithm
Have you ever had a problem you just couldn’t solve no matter how hard you tried to find the right answer?
I do, more than I care to admit. You too?
Whether I’m creating a marketing campaign for digital, social, or radio, sometimes the traditional ideas just don’t fit the way they’re supposed to. It’s like the math doesn’t add up. The formula that usually works doesn’t seem to apply anymore.
And that’s when I start thinking about how creativity, leadership, and problem solving all connect into a cycle.
Last week, I wrote about motivation and what that looks like for me — how I define leadership and how that definition helps me stay the course. But this week, I started thinking about the opposite of “staying the course.”
What happens when the path you’ve been walking no longer works?
What happens when it’s time to go off-road?
When I’m walking through uncharted territory — whether it’s a creative block, a business problem, or just one of those “nothing clicks” kind of days…
I’ve learned to look for unorthodox approaches.
Recently, I started turning on classical music while working.
I know, that’s not exactly groundbreaking but for me, it’s something new. Normally, I have a playlist running on YouTube Music, a mix of classic rock, acoustic sets, or maybe a full album from one of my favorite artists. But lately, it’s been nothing but wordless, orchestral compositions.
And it’s done something I didn’t expect — it’s helped me think differently.
When you take away lyrics and language, your brain starts to move in new directions. You begin to hear rhythm, structure, and space differently. Ideas flow in a more natural, less forced way. It scratches that creative itch that sometimes gets buried under deadlines, meetings, and metrics.
It’s a reminder that sometimes, the solution isn’t in the same place you’ve always looked for it.
🎻 Influence
I’ll be honest, part of the reason I started listening to classical music is because of my youngest son.
He was recently honored by the City of Hickory for his contributions on the cello.
He’s been writing his own music and leaving sheets of it all around the house.
So now, I’m surrounded by it.
These handwritten notes and melodies filling the quiet corners of our home.
And I love it.
It’s funny how influence works. You think you’re the one guiding your kids, and then suddenly, they’re the ones inspiring you.
I’ve found myself taking cues from him.
Not just in what I listen to, but in how I approach creativity. He doesn’t overthink it. He experiments. He writes, he erases, he plays again. There’s something pure about that.
That cycle…
of trying, failing, refining, and trying again is where growth really lives.
Speaking of growth, I did something recently that surprised even myself.
I signed up for a Screenwriting class at CVCC on Wednesday nights.
I’ve never written a screenplay. I’ve never written a novel. I’ve barely written a short story. And I sure haven’t been in a classroom in over 23 years.
So why did I do it?
I think I just wanted to learn differently.
I’ve spent years in business, marketing, and media. These fields where everything is about clarity, presentation, and the end result. But writing for film is about something else entirely.
It’s about emotion. About dialogue. About pace.
And maybe, in a weird way, it’s about finding the rhythm between structure and spontaneity the same way I’m finding that balance through music.
It’s not about mastering something new overnight. It’s about staying curious.
What was that Ted Lasso quote,
“Be Curious, not judgmental.”
Stretching the Mind
Taking that class and diving into classical music has reminded me how important it is to stretch the mind.
It’s easy to get stuck in our own creative habits. To fall back on the same strategies, the same systems, the same answers we’ve always used. But the world around us is changing constantly and if we’re going to keep up, we have to keep learning, experimenting, and yes, even failing.
We can’t keep recycling the same solutions for new problems.
AI is here to stay. Before that, it was Google. Before Google, it was AOL chat rooms. Each one changed the way we think, communicate, and search for answers.
But the real growth happens when we push ourselves beyond the screen. When we try to find answers through experience, collaboration, and curiosity.
That’s the cycle.
Feed the Mind, Fuel the Work
With the arts whether it’s music, film, writing, or even cooking do something to our brains that no business seminar ever could.
They open doors that logic can’t.
And for me, that’s the key to problem-solving. If I can stretch my creativity within one area writing, music, film and I can apply that same energy to another.
It’s like working out a different muscle group. You don’t realize how much stronger your whole body becomes until you move differently.
The same goes for the mind.
That’s what this cycle is all about. Trying new things. Feeding the mind. Allowing new experiences to reshape how we think and create.
The Cycle Continues
Every problem we face is part of a larger cycle.
Trying, failing, learning, and trying again.
When something doesn’t work, it doesn’t mean you’re broken. It means you’re growing.
You’re in the middle of the process, not at the end of it.
So the next time you’re staring at a blank page, or a stalled idea, or a campaign that just won’t click…
try changing the tune.
Turn off the noise.
Put on something unexpected.
Sign up for something that scares you. It is halloween.
You might be surprised at what you create when you stop chasing the right answer and start listening for the right rhythm.
#fortheloveofthegame
Last Week:
Trunk or Treat at Chick-Fil-A Viewmont TONIGHT
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