Creatives I admire
Empowering the creative community
For creatives, the retirement age of 65 is merely a mile marker, not the end, of their life’s ride. Why? “There is an immortality to being creative,” says one. Here Richard Morgan interviews four creatives, ages 67 to 101, discuss why they continue to hone their craft with no end in sight.
Read the inspiring 99u article HERE>
The brilliant Julie Zhuo
I know I may be late to the party… BUT… I have just discovered the brilliant Julie Zhuo (VP of Design at Facebook) and now you should too. She answers reader’s design industry questions in on her blog-ish thing-y called “The Looking Glass”.
Past issues include such topics as:
- How do you protect the product from being “designed by committee?”
- How can I get someone to listen while still being nice about it?
- How do you beat perfectionism?
It’s really, good, thoughtful, smart stuff!
You can even, anonymously, submit your own design industry question and who knows, maybe she will answer it!
Check it out here >>
Nickels and dimes are worth less than that
“The real asset you’re building is trust.
And even though it’s tempting to cut a corner here and there to boost profit per interaction, the real cost is huge.
No one will say anything, no one will put up a fuss, until one day, they’re gone. Those extra few dollars you made with some fancy footwork have now cost you tens of thousands of dollars in lost value.
The opposite is clearly true: invest a nickel or a dime every chance you get, and the trust you earn pays for itself a hundred times over.”
~ Seth Godin
Cost reduce or value increase?
Again, Seth Godin is spot on:
Organizations that want to increase their metrics either invest in:
Creating more value for their customers, or
Doing just enough to keep going, but for less effort and money.
During their first decade, the core group at Amazon regularly amazed customers by investing in work that created more value. When you do that, people talk, the word spreads, growth happens.
Inevitably, particularly for public companies, it becomes easier to focus on keeping what you’ve got going, but cheaper. You may have noticed, for example, that their once legendary customer service hardly seems the same, with 6 or 7 interactions required to get an accurate and useful response.
This happens to organizations regardless of size or stature. It’s a form of entropy. Unless you’re vigilant, the apparently easy path of cost reduction will distract you from the important work of value creation.
The key question to ask in the meeting is: Are we increasing value or lowering costs?
Race to the top or race to the bottom, it’s a choice.
When our work matters
Simon Sinek shares insights on millennials, technology, and the importance of empathy in good leadership. We flourish when we’re seen, when our work matters, and when we connect with and understand one another. Promising that it will be the most profound 30 minutes of your day.
Watch now >>
Sparking human creativity
Brendan O’Connell is the Founder and Artist for Everyartist, a social enterprise devoted to fostering the creativity innate in every child through community and art events. (more…)