Three Principles For Getting To The Best Idea
Don't just settle for the most comfortable or obvious one.
Don't just settle for the most comfortable or obvious one.
Regardless of your role, you have to be creative every day. You have to solve problems under pressure, make connections, see patterns, and convince others. On this episode, Kathryn Haydon is here to share some insights into being more creative with tips from her book The Non-Obvious Guide To Being More Creative.
The keys to stress-free productivity.
A creative project is a bit like a long hallway with multiple chambers. As you navigate down the hallway, you reach checkpoints where critical decisions must be made, and a door closes behind you. On this episode, I elaborate on these three questions and offer some tips for crafting a process that's sane and helpful to your work.
Three key principles for avoiding the "likeability trap".
What does it mean to be brave? We often think of those people who muster one huge, courageous act of the will to overcome an obstacle. However, bravery can also mean a steady, daily push to take small risks in the face of uncertainty.
On this episode, I share my talk from a Creative Mornings gathering about why bravery is so critical to creative pros.
On creating a "Fitbit for the planet".
Have you ever said something in a meeting that you didn't expect to? It happened to me last week, except it wasn't a meeting, it was in a speech given at the Global Leadership Summit to over 400,000 leaders and influencers across the world. The particular line was, "Brilliance is forged in the cauldron of creative conflict."
Fortunately, I believe this to be true to the core of my being. You have to fight for brilliant work. And when you collaborate, that means having healthy conflict with others too. On this episode, I share a few ideas for how to engage in healthy creative conflict with your team.
On this episode, we talk about the power of story, and how leaders can use it to help those on their team do better work, stay aligned, and produce great work each day. Our guest is author Paul Smith, whose new book is called The 10 Stories Great Leaders Tell.
We are wired for two conflicting things: comfort, and conquest. To achieve goals, we need to disrupt the comfort instinct long enough to experience our first successes on the path to the goal. On this episode, I share three core principles for doing the hard work necessary to get moving on your goals.
Why you should build the company that you want to work for.
We tend to think of creative work as a solo sport. It's something that, in large part, has to be accomplished alone. However, the extent to which we stay connected to others can play a large role in our personal creative process, and in helping us tackle our goals. On this episode, we share three core strategies for developing relationships that will help you thrive personally, and in business.
When you do any kind of difficult, problem-solving, creative work, tension is inevitably present. How you deal with that tension will determine whether it makes you stronger and more focused, or whether it sucks the wind out of your sails. On this episode, we share three tensions that every creative pro encounters daily, and how to deal with them while recognizing that they're not going away.
The three reasons that many creative pros struggle to get moving.
Some principles for curating sparks of inspiration.
Three strategies for dealing with the fear of the unknown.
Several years ago, toymaker Neil Hoffman had an idea for a new toy that would make his family's life much more fun. The problem was, he had another job at the time, and this "side project" was likely to take up much more time and resources than he could spare. On this episode, we discuss Neil's journey from idea, to an appearance on Shark Tank, to creating an internationally successful toy product that has changed the lives of families across the globe.
Three things you should consistently do to invest in your future.
A few years ago we featured the story of Andrea Summer and her struggle to make a passion project album called Wanderlust. After years of work, the album is finally finished and releases today. On this episode, we re-visit that conversation with Andrea from 2017, and share insights into the making of a passion project.
Your life is composed of days, and how you spend those days is how you spend your life. On this episode, I share a simple five-part daily planning process that will help you stay on-course, engaged, and focused on the things that matter most.