Balancing Process Efficiency & Creativity

in the years i've been with the company, i've often heard (and have been known, on occasion to decry) that we are slow. cumbersome. that we have too many processes, policies and procedures. that we get in our own way with these. that we can't be agile and nimble while also being mired in methodology. and that along with general risk aversion amongst decision makers, there's also an inability to move quickly enough once we decide to assume even a small amount of risk.
over the years, i've seen many gifted engineers leave the company. worse than that, i've seem most of those who remain choose to functionally 'check out'... simply 'follow procedure' and stop pointing ways they see to improve things. this makes me profoundly sad. and frustrated. but i know i'm not stating anything earth-shattering here. the problem seems to be pretty widely recognized.
so these are the things i was aimlessly pondering last night, while it was insanely windy and i couldn't sleep. as i often do, when i indulge in rambling musings, i 'played' with concepts from things i've been i was reading lately (Mindset by Dweck & Little Bets by Sims), turning over the bits and pieces and trying to fit them together. whilst doing this, i had, as i often do, the TV on tuned to 'The Food Network.' Serial episodes of 'Chopped' and 'Cupcake Wars' aired in the wee hours of the morning.
for anyone who hasn't seen them, 'Chopped' requires skilled chefs to produce 3 different courses, with 4 mandatory ingredients for each. There is a time limit for each of the 3 courses, and ALL of the 4 ingredients must be used - typically there are 2 that could be easily combined into a pedestrian showing, 1 that's a little bit more challenging and 1 that's way the out in left field. Also, while not a rule, it seems to be generally a good idea if the appetizer, entree and dessert 'fit' together.
'Cupcake Wars' is also a challenge show where bakers must create cupcakes which fit a particular theme (for example the...