The Accidental Creative

How do you know which idea is the right one to execute? And, how do you avoid some of the pitfalls that all people who try to execute an idea inevitably encounter? On this episode, Dave Knox (author of Predicting The Turn) shares insights from his experience working as a brand manager, a leader, and an investor and mentor to startups. ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

How do you know which idea is the right one to execute? And, how do you avoid some of the pitfalls that all people who try to execute an idea inevitably encounter? On this episode, Dave Knox (author of Predicting The Turn) shares insights from his experience working as a brand manager, a leader, and an investor and mentor to startups. ==== Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

Many freelancers and business owners get pulled so deeply into their business that they are unable to spend their time doing the things they are actually uniquely capable of doing. Instead of focusing on the value they're creating, the art they're making, or the vision for their business, they find themselves instead doing things that anyone could do. On this episode, Mike Michalowicz shares principles for setting your business up to run itself with insights from his new book Clockwork. === Today’s episode is sponsored by Gusto. Get three months free when you run your first payroll. Visit Gusto.com/creative. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

Many freelancers and business owners get pulled so deeply into their business that they are unable to spend their time doing the things they are actually uniquely capable of doing. Instead of focusing on the value they're creating, the art they're making, or the vision for their business, they find themselves instead doing things that anyone could do. On this episode, Mike Michalowicz shares principles for setting your business up to run itself with insights from his new book Clockwork. === Today’s episode is sponsored by Gusto. Get three months free when you run your first payroll. Visit Gusto.com/creative. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

Over a period of fifteen years, Ken Kocienda had a front-row seat to the development of some of the most innovative technology in history. As a team member, he was responsible for helping develop the software on the iPhone, including being personally responsible for the development of the iPhone keyboard and autocorrect features. In this interview, he shares insights into how Apple's creative process works, what it was like to pitch and demo to Steve Jobs, and how we can all learn from Apple's successes and apply some of their methods to our own life and work. Ken's new book is called Creative Selection. == Today’s episode is brought to you by Skillshare. To get 2 months of access for just 99 cents, visit Skillshare.com/creative. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.  

Over a period of fifteen years, Ken Kocienda had a front-row seat to the development of some of the most innovative technology in history. As a team member, he was responsible for helping develop the software on the iPhone, including being personally responsible for the development of the iPhone keyboard and autocorrect features. In this interview, he shares insights into how Apple's creative process works, what it was like to pitch and demo to Steve Jobs, and how we can all learn from Apple's successes and apply some of their methods to our own life and work. Ken's new book is called Creative Selection. == Today’s episode is brought to you by Skillshare. To get 2 months of access for just 99 cents, visit Skillshare.com/creative. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.  

We each have danger zones we have to watch out for in the course of our work. They can be particular habits or patterns we fall into when we go into “coast mode” or areas or situations where we are likely to get irritated and short-circuit collaborative relationships. The problem is that these “danger zones” are often invisible to us, because we can’t step outside of our own experience in order to see how we are actually behaving or engaging in the work. Thus, it’s possible to drift off course over time simply because we aren’t aware that we’ve set the wrong bearing. On this episode, we share about the importance of avoiding the temptation to hide in the shadows, and a few strategies for bringing yourself fully and freely to the work you do. === Today’s episode is sponsored by Gusto. Get three months free when you run your first payroll. Visit Gusto.com/creative. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

We each have danger zones we have to watch out for in the course of our work. They can be particular habits or patterns we fall into when we go into “coast mode” or areas or situations where we are likely to get irritated and short-circuit collaborative relationships. The problem is that these “danger zones” are often invisible to us, because we can’t step outside of our own experience in order to see how we are actually behaving or engaging in the work. Thus, it’s possible to drift off course over time simply because we aren’t aware that we’ve set the wrong bearing. On this episode, we share about the importance of avoiding the temptation to hide in the shadows, and a few strategies for bringing yourself fully and freely to the work you do. === Today’s episode is sponsored by Gusto. Get three months free when you run your first payroll. Visit Gusto.com/creative. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

Do you ever find yourself doing things for inexplicable reasons, or making decisions in your work that you can't really explain? It's possible that you're living with "ghost rules". These are invisible narratives that limit your thinking and creating, and can - over time - cause you to underperform. On this episode, we share a few sources of ghost rules (from the book Herding Tigers), and how to begin to overcome them. Want to dive deeper? Most of the insights in today's episode are from the book Herding Tigers. === Today’s episode is sponsored by Gusto. Get three months free when you run your first payroll. Visit Gusto.com/creative. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

Do you ever find yourself doing things for inexplicable reasons, or making decisions in your work that you can't really explain? It's possible that you're living with "ghost rules". These are invisible narratives that limit your thinking and creating, and can - over time - cause you to underperform. On this episode, we share a few sources of ghost rules (from the book Herding Tigers), and how to begin to overcome them. Want to dive deeper? Most of the insights in today's episode are from the book Herding Tigers. === Today’s episode is sponsored by Gusto. Get three months free when you run your first payroll. Visit Gusto.com/creative. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

We've all been there. You have ten great ideas on the whiteboard, and you have to make a decision today about which you're going to work on. How do you know which one is best? It helps to have a framework for making these decisions. On this episode, I share a simple framework for choosing the best idea, and for making those "from the gut" conversations about creative direction a little less stressful. For more tips about leading idea sessions, visit BrainstormingBlueprint.com == Thanks to WeTransfer.com for sponsoring this episode. WeTransfer is the simplest way to share big files from A to B, for free. No sign-in required. Just upload, send, and get back to making whatever it is you make. Check out WeTransfer.com to send files. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

We've all been there. You have ten great ideas on the whiteboard, and you have to make a decision today about which you're going to work on. How do you know which one is best? It helps to have a framework for making these decisions. On this episode, I share a simple framework for choosing the best idea, and for making those "from the gut" conversations about creative direction a little less stressful. For more tips about leading idea sessions, visit BrainstormingBlueprint.com == Thanks to WeTransfer.com for sponsoring this episode. WeTransfer is the simplest way to share big files from A to B, for free. No sign-in required. Just upload, send, and get back to making whatever it is you make. Check out WeTransfer.com to send files. The intro music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

Things rarely get more simple. They typically only get more complex. This applies to our creative process as well, and unnecessary complexity can have a terrible effect on our ability to gain mental traction. On this episode, we share three ways unnecessary complexity can creep into your process and how to begin to identify and overcome them. Want to dive deeper? Many of the principles in this episode from from the book The Accidental Creative. === Today’s episode is sponsored by Gusto. Get three months free when you run your first payroll. Visit Gusto.com/creative. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

Things rarely get more simple. They typically only get more complex. This applies to our creative process as well, and unnecessary complexity can have a terrible effect on our ability to gain mental traction. On this episode, we share three ways unnecessary complexity can creep into your process and how to begin to identify and overcome them. Want to dive deeper? Many of the principles in this episode from from the book The Accidental Creative. === Today’s episode is sponsored by Gusto. Get three months free when you run your first payroll. Visit Gusto.com/creative. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.

I first heard the phrase "insecurity work" from Scott Belsky a number of years ago. He defines it as work that has no intended outcome, doesn't move the ball forward, and is quick enough to do without realizing. It's most common to slip into insecurity work when you feel overwhelmed or perhaps even unequal to the creative task at hand, and it gives you the illusion of progress but actually robs valuable resources necessary to produce value. On this episode, I share three sources of insecurity work and how to recognize and address them. === Today’s episode is sponsored by Freshbooks. To claim your free month trial – with no credit card needed – visit Freshbooks.com/accidental. Music for the AC podcast is by Joshua Seurkamp. End remix is by DJ Z-Trip.