The Messy Nature of Creativity

The Messy Nature of Creativity Most professional workers would argue that creativity is an important trait to foster in the workplace, and the creative process is fundamental to innovation and change. But if its so important, why do so many companies struggle with instilling a creative culture? What holds them back? As I coach organizations on developing a creative culture, I see that even the most progressive and forward thinking companies struggle with the same two problems. First, creative workers do unpredictable and sometimes undesirable things. They think through and around problems, they explore untested methods and solutions, and they question norms and traditional ways of doing things. Many large corporations are built on hierarchy, structure, policy and predictability. But new ideas challenge that embedded and entrenched way of thinking, and the processes that are used to arrive at those new ideas can be equally as disruptive. While working through a creative problem, people often ignore rules in order to see things from a new perspective. Creative exploration, or thinking out of the box, means ignoring that the box exists, and assuming that rules can be broken. This attitude that rules can be suspended or completely ignored finds its way into the rules that govern workplace behavior, too. Creative people dont go out of their way to cause problems, and they may not even be aware that their actions are considered problematic. But Ive seen designers sleep under their desks, developers walking around with no shoes, employees dissembling furniture that didnt meet their needs, designers constructing walls to pin their work on, and so-on. They expect to be able to do these things, because for them, the only thing that matters is their work. Theyll manipulate their physical workplace and their working environment to remove any friction around their ability to create. When they see that these rules are actually enforced by the organization and are rigid and inflexible, they feel stifled, and their work suffers. And if they are written up for moving furniture to better accommodate their process, the company is sending them a message: do not think creatively about problems. Conform to what already exists. The second problem that I see companies struggle with time and time again is that the creative process is non-linear, messy, and difficult to predict. While engineers and designers follow a rigorous process, and can often articulate what that process is, its not a rote process: it changes, flexes, and evolves based on the work itself. Creative people describe that their work product talks back to them, influencing further decisions that they make. They may need to go back and change their mind, revise and reconsider actions theyve already taken, or scrap everything and start again. Creativity doesnt happen on demand, and so the path from problem to solution is hard to predict. And the actual solution itself isnt known until the work is done; at the beginning of a creative project, the end is a mystery. This introduces large challenges for people in charge of predictability: people who manage budgets, timelines, scope, and resources. Project managers need to know how much time remains for various activities in order to judge if they are on time. Leadership teams need to know how much projects will cost, so they can plan for them during budgeting cycles. Product managers need to know when the code, or wireframes, or market analyses will be completed so they can ship their products on time. And most creative people will answer all of these questions with either It depends or I dont know both unsatisfying answers to those responsible for operational effectiveness. Overcoming both of these problems isnt easy for a creative leader, but its not impossible, either. To address the unpredictability of creative employees, give your creative teams runway to do what they need and own the consequences of these decisions yourself. Encourage them to break rules in order to best support their work product. While a company may have a series of HR rules, or facilities rules, or workplace policies, give your team the leeway to make decisions on their own and, when necessary, ignore these rules and policies. This gives a very overt signal that Its ok to think differently, and more importantly, its ok to act differently. But this has consequences, and as a creative leader, the burden is on you to own those consequences. When facilities complains because your team brings in their own whiteboards, youll need to defend their decisions. When they buy non-standard issue software thats critical for their work and install it on their laptops without permission, its on you to support their actions to the IT department. And the consequences for you may be worse: if you are in a leadership role, and you actively ignore corporate rules, you may find yourself out of a job. This is the risk of introducing creativity into a more conservative organization, and its a risk that youll need to be comfortable taking in order to potentially reap the benefit of a creative culture. To manage the messy creative process, support and encourage an iterative approach to problem solving. If a project has three months, ask the team to solve it in one; if it has one, ask them to solve it in a week. And then, use the remaining time to iterate on their solution so it becomes more and more refined. By demanding a due date earlier than the actual deadline, you can impose a level of organizational management and risk mitigation by ensuring youll have some solution to a creative problem prior to the deadline. And, the creative process benefits from iteration, because it gives the team the ability to make changes to consider their work work in progress. Make it clear to the team that their first solution is not their only try, and that the pressure to deliver on demand isnt real or practical. These are the two problems I see companies struggle with the most as they attempt to embrace a creative culture: creative people are unpredictable, and the creative process is, too. By giving your team permission to break rules, by owning the consequences of their decisions, and by driving an iterative process rather than a linear process, youll start to find success in managing the messy, challenging, and fantastic qualities of creativity in your organization. This guest post was authored by Jon Kolko   Jon Kolko  is the author of  Creative Clarity, Partner at Modernist Studio, and the Founder of Austin Center for Design. Previously the Vice President of Design at Blackboard, he has worked extensively with both startups and Fortune 500 companies. He has been a Professor of Interaction and Industrial Design at the Savannah College of Art and Design, and has taught at the University of Texas at Austin, the Center for Design Studies of Monterrey, Mexico, and Malmö University, Sweden.

What You Need to Know When Just Starting Out - CareerMetis.com

What You Need to Know When Just Starting Out Source â€" Pexels.comIt’s kind of confusing really. You spend a number of years at school learning a subject, getting good marks and you expect to land a good job and start a rewarding career.But more often than not, it doesn’t happen that way.And the problem is that school provides you with knowledge but doesn’t spend enough time teaching how to leverage it in the real world.evalIt doesn’t teach you how to compete for jobs in a crowd of people who can all claim they have mastered the same content with equal or better marks.In fact school does you a disservice by raising your expectations for success rather than equipping you will the tools and skills to start your journey.And there is a good reason why school doesn’t deliver for you. They can’t. They are replete with knowledge experts not career experts. They don’t have scholars who have actually achieved amazing results in organizations.I have been fortunate to have learned some cool things that will help you not only get a job but propel yourself to a brilliant career.If you take these 3 actions you will have an advantage over others in obtaining the job you want and the career you covet.1.Shed the crowd behaviour you have been taught at schoolSchool teaches you and everyone else in the job hunt the same things: facts, formulae, interpersonal communications, problem solving methods â€" pedagogy that is the accepted norm and practised by all.And that’s exactly the problem when it comes to being successful. If you look like the other 100 job applicants why should the recruiting organization pick you? If there is nothing special about you, if you don’t standout in a way that is meaningful and relevant you will be ignored.evalStanding out from everyone elseis about determining how to be different; discovering an approach that no one else uses. For example, it could be a unique résumé or possessing intimate knowledge of the recruiting organization â€" because you were prepared to put in the ti me to study them.The point is to look for a twist or edge to what you do that will get the attention of others.2. Start building your network well before you begin your job searchGet connected early to people you believe will be able to help you. To a large extent job hunting and career development is a “community sport” requiring a synchronized effort to open up opportunities and present the candidate to an audience who are leaning their way.Choose your connections wisely and methodically build relationships with them. Don’t expect that every follower will be useful. Research their backgrounds and reach out to those who have the resume that resonates with your career choice.evalBe patient and persevere because a successful connection requires time and energy to cultivate.3. Search for a mentor who has done stuffLook for people with a rich background in achieving interesting and amazing things .This is critical for the career “newbie”.You don’t want a subject matter expe rt for guidance and advice, rather you want to rely on someone who has actually achieved something. Someone who has a reputation for turning the brave idea into a crude deed.People who intellectualize a problem aren’t that useful in a practical world characterized by uncertainty and unpredictability; on the other hand, individuals who have a successful track record of achieving success amidst chaos are the gems to covet.Remember, what got you to graduation won’t guarantee a winning career; you must learn new skills to make your academic pedigree work for you.Learn and and practice these 3 steps and watch your career take off.

Secrets To Success Of A Winning Team

Secrets To Success Of A Winning Team You never know when you’re going to learn a great lesson from daily life. That’s what happened for me last Wednesday at an offsite I was involved in. As they say, expect the unexpected! For the last four days, I’ve been immersed in workshops with research scientists and staff from Arizona State University (ASU). These are smart people. And in their fields, they’re considered brilliant. Yes, an amazing and humbling experience. As a member of the steering group that designs and delivers ASU’s Leadership Academy for faculty and research staff, I have the pleasure of spending quality time with these people on a regular basis. The Ice-Breaker Wednesday was the kickoff for our newest cohort and as an “ice-breaker”, we had them do a modified version of the Marshmallow Challenge. We had four teams, each focused on a different area of research, and the teams ranged from four to eight people in size. Before they started, I guessed that the losing team would be the team of eight people simply because it tends to be harder to get a bigger group on the same page. I was betting on one of the smaller teams. So here’s the charge we gave the four teams: Build the tallest freestanding structure you can using at least one piece of each of the following materials: 4 red plastic drink cups (like the kind you had at college frat parties), 20 spaghetti sticks (uncooked) 10 drinking straws 15 marshmallows A marshmallow must be on top The structure must stand unsupported for at least 5 seconds. You’ve got 18 minutes. Go! In the end, all four teams were able to produce a standing structure. However, one team was the clear winner. And guess what, it was the eight person team! This made me curious. Secrets to Success When I asked the winning team how they did it, here’s what they said: “We started with the obvious” â€" one person started by forming a strong base with the cups, which were the heaviest and most stable of the items. This seemed to work and gave the team confidence. “We experimented broadly” â€" with an “obvious” solution identified, they then allowed each team member to try out other ideas. While most of these didn’t end up working, these “failed” experiments did give the team useful information on what might work better. “We were willing to let go of failed experiments quickly” â€" they embraced the Silicon Valley “fail forward, fail fast” mantra, which allowed the team to learn quickly and move on. “We took a pragmatic approach as the deadline neared” â€" with three minutes to go, the team agreed to go back to the option that had worked best (which happened to be the original option) and worked calmly and collaboratively to improve on it. “We weren’t burdened by ‘too much knowledge’” â€" they pointed out that there were no experts on the team to “confuse us with complicated facts”. (As an aside, I urge you to watch the TED Talk on this â€" spoiler alert, it’s not the adults who build the highest structures although engineers and architects, thankfully, do tend to do well!). What it means for the rest of us So the bigger question is how can you apply this in your own life â€" both as an individual and as part of a team? Here are my three takeaways: Experiment I’m a fan of devising experiments â€" the kind that don’t “bet the farm”, yet still help you take a step (or even a half-step) outside your comfort zone. It’s the best way to learn, and definitely the best way to begin the process of identifying your next step forward. And when you do, I find it’s often useful to do more than one experiment at a time. That way, you learn more quickly than if you wait to do them sequentially. In a team context, make sure that everyone gets equal airtime to try out their ideas. And set the ground rule of “there is no such thing as a dumb idea” â€" when the reaction to someone’s idea is to immediately say, “no, that’ll never work”, we run the risk of doing the same old thing in the same old way and getting the same old results. Plus, it’s not in the group’s interest to shut down a team member, no matter where they stand in the pecking order â€" you could be silencing someone who may provide a brilliant idea or question down the line! Let go of what doesn't work It’s easy to hang on to strategies that no longer suit our needs. For example, being overly self-deprecating when you’re now the respected team leader, or still attending to the details (aka micro-managing) when you’re expected to develop the strategic vision. Whether it’s our fear of change or the physics of inertia (“a body in motion tends to stay in motion, and a body at rest tends to stay at rest”), our lifelong habits are hard to change. Yet, these are the very forces that keep us from fulfilling our true potential. From a team perspective, it’s about not getting wed to “how we’ve always done things”. And sometimes, it even means allowing a team member to move on when they are no longer energized by and energizing to the team’s mission. Get to “done” At some point, we have to complete the task. It’s easy to keep analyzing and discussing, but at some point we’ve got to do what Seth Godin calls “ship”. As in get the product or idea out the door and into the hands of whoever will be using it. It doesn’t have to be “pretty” or perfect, you just have to get it out into the world. And as a team, it’s even more challenging to get to “done”. There are more opinions. More people who want to review the idea. More people who feel they have a stake. In those circumstances, it’s important for someone to call time â€" just like those tests back in college where the proctor said, “pencils down” when time was up and you had to hand in your exam booklet, even if you were in mid-sentence. Every team needs that pragmatist who keeps the team on task and galvanizes the group to action when it’s time to conclude. Perhaps it’s you? So, the next time you’ve got to be innovative, whether as an individual or as part of a team, remember to experiment, let go of what doesn’t work, and get to “done”. And don’t worry too much about not knowing enough. Often, you can add the greatest value when you’re in a position to ask the “naïve question” or see things through a different lens. So, what’s been your experience with working in teams? And what experiments are you planning to conduct this quarter?

How Much to Pay For Resume Writing

How Much to Pay For Resume WritingThere are many resume writing services on the internet that will let you know how much to pay for resume writing. I should note here that as a professional resume writer I advise a client to be sure to use my recommended copywriting services, which cost me nothing and ensure high quality resume writing services.When choosing a copywriting service, I would suggest a good research on your part to find a reputable and qualified copywriting company that can take care of all of your resume writing needs. It is also best to choose a freelance copywriter who has a large staff and a broad range of experience with different types of job and industries. These writers are more focused and knowledgeable in the field and can present you with an appropriate resume for your resume needs.When researching the most efficient and reliable resume writing companies, I recommend a few requirements to follow in order to understand how much to pay for resume writing service s. You need to know how much the resume writing project will cost you. Also, the amount of work they will charge you per completed page or job, as well as the length of time it will take them to complete the work. Your budget is another important factor to consider when researching the rates for this type of writing service.The next step is to determine how many pages of material you want to have on the resume or how many jobs you will need completed. This is often determined by the length of education or experience a candidate has. If a candidate has worked for a number of years in a particular industry they should expect to pay a higher rate.Resumes should be sent directly to the hiring company. This allows the company to give the proper credit. However, many companies require that your resume is sent to them by way of an address change request. This is why the first thing you should do isrequest an address change when submitting the resume.After you have received the resume you w ill need to make sure it is properly addressed, so you must complete an appropriate form asking for the correct address. You will also need to make sure it is typed neatly and correctly in Microsoft Word. Next, you must print out a sample resume using the paper provided by the service. This will help you to see what they look like before you send it off.A free sample resume can be found online that can be printed out from, most of the copywriting services. Once you have received your resume, use it to write an effective cover letter, describing the position and the qualities you feel are best for the job.In summary, if you want to know how much to pay for resume writing, you should research the services that are offering this service, as well as find a copywriting service that has extensive experience working with specific industries and specific positions. The more the experience, the more likely it is that the resume will be written to meet the specific needs of the hiring company .

Writing a Good Resume Objective For an Accounting Position

Writing a Good Resume Objective For an Accounting PositionIf you're one of the many people applying for accounting jobs, you're probably wondering what a good writing a good resume objective for an accounting position should be. The truth is that the art of good writing a good resume objective for an accounting position is difficult to perfect, so no one is going to tell you exactly what to say. However, there are a few things you can do to make sure you end up with the job of your dreams.One of the first things you should take into consideration when writing a good resume objective for an accounting position is the fact that you must have something to offer in the interview. A job interviewer won't hire you if you can't even put a few words together or give a good introduction. So, it's important to make yourself presentable and to know how to speak clearly and articulately.Another thing you should think about when writing a good resume objective for an accounting position is how lo ng you have been employed by the company. This is especially true if you're applying for a position that is relatively new. You don't want to be wondering what to say at the end of the interview if you didn't prepare anything.When it comes to preparing a good resume objective for an accounting position, a person's education and career growth are very important. If you can tell how far your education and career have progressed, that will be a major deciding factor. Whether you're applying for a job in a big firm or as a junior account executive, knowing the amount of experience you have would be very helpful.One other thing you can do when writing a good resume objective for an accounting position is to use a resume template. While this is not always the best option, it can be useful if you are considering creating your own. There are several templates available on the Internet that are relatively simple to use. However, if you don't have the proper software installed, make sure that you check out a couple of the samples first.When it comes to writing a good resume objective for an accounting position, it can be a daunting task, but it's certainly not impossible. Remember that each job entails its own set of requirements. In most cases, the more experience you have, the easier it will be to figure out how to write a good resume objective for an accounting position.Remember that in order to write a good resume objective for an accounting position, you must ensure that you provide a good introduction, provide information about your past accomplishments, describe why you are the right candidate for the job, and use a good resume template. These things should be considered if you're going to prepare a good resume objective for an accounting position.

The Death of City Resume Writing Service Orange County

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About Work It Daily - Work It Daily

About Work It Daily - Work It Daily What Is Work It Daily? Work It Daily  is the world's #1 Online Career Growth Club. ...   Come join thousands of like-minded professionals to grow your career, find a better job, create better habits and so much more. Start working (TODAY!) with our career growth coaches who've helped members land jobs at companies like Apple, Amazon, and NYSE. What Can You Get From This Career Site? This career advice site provides daily personal branding tips and job search advice from approved career experts and businesses to over 1,000,000 visitors each month. We offer a collection of free resources to training videos, to quizzes, downloadable PDF's, and our blog! Want More? Join Our Growing Online Community! Here's What You'd Get Coaching in your backpocket! Our app is available on iOS and Android!QA with expert coachesResume reviewsCover letter reviewsLinkedIn reviewsTemplates PDF resourcesPrivate online communityAccess to 15+ online coursesResume cover letter courseSalary negotiation courseLinkedIn courseJob interview courseJob search strategy courseFired to hired courseNetworking courseCareer development coursesWork communication courseProfessional strengths courseConfidence courseCANCEL ANY TIME!Interested? Click here to learn more! Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today! About Work It Daily - Work It Daily