Evan Fry and Dan Swartz – Taken by Fast Company

“There is an art” writes Rae Ann Fera of Fast Company, “to getting the most out of your teams of creative professionals. When the job is to conjure the next brilliant idea out of thin air, against deadline, via a combination of inspiration, hard work, experience, intuition, and confidence, getting the best work out of creative people on a consistent and efficient basis can be tricky business.”

Fera outlines 10 tips that Evan Fry and Dave Swartz put into practice in their roles of managing creatives at Crispin Porter + Bogusky:

1. Set the Bar
2. Identify and Leverage Traits of Individuals
3. Cater to Strengths
4. Keep Your Hands Dirty
5. Suggest–But Don’t Necessarily Impose–a Process
6. Create Healthy Confusion
7. Encourage Switching Off to Switch On
8. Keep Them Reproducing
9. Make Retention a Conscious Choice
10. Know When To–And Be Able To–Speak The Tough Truth.

Our atmosphere today is a digital one. These are therefore helpful guidelines for any organization regardless of one’s industry.

Read the full article here.

You can’t begin to bounce back from a mistake if you don’t admit you’ve made it. As obvious as it sounds, it’s clearly not always easy to do. Research shows that owning up to their mistakes is the key factor separating those who handle failure well from those who don’t. Those who were derailed perseverated and didn’t talk to others about it. They made little attempt to rectify the consequences. Those who weren’t derailed did the opposite: They admitted their mistakes, accepted responsibility, and then took steps to fix the problem. And afterwards, they proceeded to forget about it and move on.

Edinger’s four other points are as follows:

Look for causes, not blame.

Before you wrack your brain to think up an appropriate response, take a break.

Get some help.

Refocus your efforts and take action.

Read the whole post here.

Are you a what I refer to as a “hero leader?” Do you like to swoop-in and save the day? Do you see yourself as the white knight who can solve any problem or challenge? If you do, you have what I refer to as ”hero leader syndrome.” Any leader’s belief that he or she can do everything better than anyone else is a root cause of inhibiting workforce productivity. Creating unnecessary dependencies between leaders and team members, while often unintentional and/or well-intended, is nonetheless a far too common practice for the “hero leader.” In today’s column we’ll take a look at the myth of the hero leader…

So what do you do if you feel pinned after reading this? Thankfully, contributor Mike Myatt gives leaders like me some hope:

1. Be Sincere. Forget about what’s in it for you, and think about how you can help the person you’re communicating with…
2. Be Effective. Don’t ask questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no…
3. Be Challenging. Use questions to stimulate and challenge. Ask questions that are insightful such that they require thought to be answered…
4. Be Personal. Get personal in your questioning. Use questions that encourage the other person to reveal their thoughts and emotions…
5. Be Competent. Demonstrate your competency without giving the answer away. Ask questions that reveal your subject matter expertise, and that demonstrate your ability to provide meaningful solutions without actually doing so…

Read the whole article here.

Pixar is as close to a constant learning organization as there is, with a proven ability to reinvent and a genuine cultural humility. Google’s founders could learn from Pixar’s founder and president Ed Catmull’s prolonged and determined efforts to counter the natural human reactions to success by aspiring to proactively (and honestly) seek-out and solve new problems constantly, recognizing that he doesn’t have all the answers on his own.

Despite an unbroken string of 11 blockbuster films, Catmull regularly says, “Success hides problems.” It’s an insight Google should acknowledge and act on. Google’s leadership admirably tolerates failure on side-projects (and big projects as well), but what Pixar has that Google does not is a culture where the fear of complacency is a strong motivator, where new problems are identified, discussed, and addressed openly and honestly, all of which requires humility.

No no individual is exempt from this wise caution. Success hides problems. The Bible warns of something similar, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes…” (Prov. 21:2). May it be said of us that we are well aware of our tendency towards complacency and seek to learn from everyone and everything.

Connecting, “the ability to identify with people and relate to them in a way that increases your influence with them,” is the subject of John Maxwell’s new book entitled Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effecitive People Do Differently (ECFC).

Maxwell’s book is divided into two sections.  The first section, “Connecting Principles,” consists of five principles that lay the groundwork for connecting with people.  The second section, “Connecting Practices,” focuses on five practices designed to help anyone connect with others.  Now, I have to admit, I’m not one to immediately flock to the next new business/leadership book.  In fact, I’m of the persuasion that many modern-day business books are redundant (especially by the third-or-so chapter) and over-simplified.  However, I must also admit that I gained a lot from reading Maxwell’s book. 

The chapter outline below will give you a good feel for the book’s content:

I. CONNECTING PRINCIPLES

1. Connecting Increases Your Influence in Every Situation
2. Connecting Is All About Others
3. Connecting Goes Beyond Words
4. Connecting Always Requires Energy
5. Connecting Is More Skill Than Natural Talent

II. CONNECTING PRACTICES

1. Connectors Connect on Common Ground
2. Connectors Do the Difficult Work of Keeping It Simple
3. Connectors Create an Experience Everyone Enjoys
4. Connectors Inspire People
5. Connectors Live What They Communicate

RECOMMENDATION:

Whether you’re a speaker, leader or a parent you can benefit from reading this book.

GET IT NOW: