This, Not That
A tool that I have used for many years to help brands further define their identity is one that I believe we could all use in our own creative work.
“This, Not That” is simply a small list of protocols usually, but limited to, terminology. For brands, it’s important to be consistent in messaging, both internally within the organization and externally in market messaging. Unfortunately, like many creatives, not many organizations define the lane of their lingo or practices. This is where a small, repeatable list comes in handy so well.
How I Determined My 2024 Goals
2023 Creative Wish List
This year, I’m going to give you the biggest tips when it comes to gift-giving for the creatives in your life.
Creating With Gratitude
Many creatives struggle with self-motivation. We kick around ideas around the clock but seldom do what it takes to start any of them, much less, see them through to completion. I think some of these issues can be traced back to confidence and confidence traced back to gratitude.
3 STeps To Finding Your Niche
Fueling Your Creativity: The Art of Creative Fuel Days
Today we discusses the concept of Creative Fuel Days, which are intentional days set aside to refuel creativity. He suggests various activities for these days, such as unplugging from technology, watching a movie, visiting an art museum, exploring a new neighborhood, trying a new restaurant, having deep conversations, and listening to lectures or podcasts. Dustin emphasizes the importance of having a written plan, sharing it with others, and documenting any new inspiration. He encourages listeners to schedule their next Creative Fuel Day and create with gratitude.
Creating From Fear
On a day in which we dress up in costumes and celebrate the spookier things of life and the afterlife, it seems appropriate to address the fear that can often keep us from creating our best work.
What’s In Your Creative Toolbox?
The tools of a creative are as unique as the one that yields them. We like our knick-knacks, our pens and pencils, and we’re loyal evangelists of the brands we carry. It’s important as we journey onward with these tools that we assess their effectiveness from time to time.
Maker vs Manager
It’s a difficult tension for someone who has been the one creating for many years to switch gears into a mode of leading creatives. You’ve been “heads down” for so long on the ground level and now you’re tasked with leading your peers. This can cause all sorts of identity crises for a creative person. Here are a few things to keep in mind when making this shift to make it a position you can thrive in.
Find Your Creative Circles
There are a few reasons why creative people are often seen in public packs. Creatives need a few key ingredients that this type of community provides.
How To Run A Creative Meeting
We’ve all been there. A client or a department requests a “creative” meeting and you get an invite because you have the label, title, or reputation of being creative. You walk in and begin the game of how long you can sit through this unorganized, unproductive marathon before you walk out or say something you shouldn’t. You just wish someone knew how to run a creative meeting.
Begin With The End In Mind
One of the things that often keeps creatives from doing their best work is completing their best work. Eventually, they lose focus, get overwhelmed with what’s next, and give up. There’s a way through it, but they can’t see it.
The problem lies before the creation ever began. They never had a plan on how they were going to see this thing through. They rely on their creative whimsy and woo to pull them through and justify the end results not being what they imagined as a turn of mystic events by the creative Gods. In reality, if we can plan the work and then work the plan we will hit the originally intended target more than we are currently.
There’s a simple method to this planning: Begin with the end in mind.
Know Your Team
It’s been said many times before, both by me and by those much smarter than me, but you can’t lead what you don’t understand. And if you try, no one will follow you. People can smell a fake from a mile away. So the simple math is that if you want to lead your team well, you have to know them well.
Here are three simple ways to know your team better that you can implement immediately.
Creating A Culture Of Creativity
Creative teams and environments can be so volatile and fragile. Bits of drama, uncertainty, lack of clarity, and an all-work-no-play atmosphere can squash any remnants of creativity you and your team have left. So how do you contribute to overcoming these obstacles? How can you begin to create a culture of creativity like never before for you and/or your team?
Here are my top five ways to cultivate what you desire most.
Creativity Made Easy
Creativity can be easy. You just have to find a process that works for you and keeps you accountable to see it through to the end.
Unspoken Expectations
Unspoken expectations lead us to all sorts of frustration, disappointment, and avoidable drama.
The Problem We’re Trying To Solve
Todd Henry says all the time, “Creativity is problem-solving. Nothing more. Nothing less.”
So simply put: What is the problem you’re trying to solve?
Asking this question at the beginning, middle, and end of your creative project will always lead to greater success.
Can My Enneagram Number Change?
How to Get MARGIN
How To Build and Sustain a Healthy Team Culture
“How?” is my favorite question because I love walking others through a process and seeing the lightbulb turn on. When it comes to team culture, HOW seems to be an almost impossible question. Below is my short list of how to not only build the team culture you desire to be a part of but also how to sustain it. In the words of Jerry Seinfeld, “It’s one thing to TAKE a reservation, it’s a whole other thing to HOLD a reservation.” So let’s get practical on how to build and sustain the culture you’ve always wanted.