Andrew - thanks a lot for your very nice comments,
I mostly start with working on a chord progression!
For me progressions have to breathe and have a
sort of 'rhythm', a flow, they have to stand up on
their own - I'm only a very basic player on piano
but it's my tool for working on chords, once I hear
a progression the rest pops up in my head.
Glad this sounded ok to you,

Cheers, Carl