People tend to talk more frequently about their successes, rather than their failures. This is natural, but it can make you feel awfully small when you think you’re the only one in the room who has failed. FuckUpNights is an organization that hosts events in cities around the world where individuals from all industries meet to share stories about their failures and then welcome questions and conversation. In addition to removing the shame from failure, this organization helps you learn from it. They also host a failure institute and have … [Read more...]
It’s a Shark.
Have you heard the saying "a few sharks can ruin the sea"? Probably not. It’s not an actual saying. Perhaps it should be. Have you ever wanted to take a chance on a new idea or project but found yourself hesitating? Why? It could be because you realize there is a chance it might fail, so you find yourself afraid to follow through. Our friend, Beck Tench, writes often about failure. About confronting it, admitting it and defining it. On her blog, she offers a "flow chart for fear" to help you better understand its root. The fear of failure … [Read more...]
Complex Problem? Fail your way to a solution.
Like Ed Catmull of Pixar states, failure is necessary to producing successful creative work. If only because the first idea is not always the best idea. It requires reworking, shapeshifting. In this article, Financial Times columnist Tim Harford provides principles that you can use to accomplish this so-called ‘productive failure’: 1. “You have to cast a wide net” 2. “’Practice failing” in a safe space’” 3. “Be primed to let go of your idea if you’ve missed the mark” We've seen over past two days that folks continue to come back to: … [Read more...]
The Story Behind Toy Story
Why are Pixar’s movies such a huge success? Creative successes might be more related to failure than you think. In this article on his book, Creativity Inc., Ed Catmull, President of Pixar Animation and Disney Animation shares his insight on managing a creative organization that thrives on innovation and embracing new ideas. In order to be truly open to new ideas, he argues, organizations must have a culture of trust. “The antidote to fear is trust, and we all have a desire to find something to trust in an uncertain world. Fear and trust … [Read more...]
10 Reasons We Fail
There are a myriad of reasons that we fail, from plain bad luck to miscommunication or organizational shortcomings. In this article, entrepreneur Caroline Cummings, offers a set of ten reasons why many of the startups she's seen throughout her career, failed. Her observations reflect much of what we have seen and heard from our colleagues in the Creative Community Fellows program. They touch on team building, audience research and change. Caroline’s list leaves us thinking about what failure can teach us about success. Have you experienced … [Read more...]
Fail Better
Best selling author, Seth Godin shares what we all know to be true, we all fail. So, how do we make the most of it? If you’re going to fail, you should fail in the best way possible, right? We can’t control what external events occur, but we can control our reactions to setbacks and failures. Seth offers six ways to help us fail better and with intention: Whenever possible, take on specific projects. Make detailed promises about what success looks like and when it will occur. Engage others in your projects. If you … [Read more...]
What is failure?
What is failure? How do you define it? Is it really the worst thing that can happen? Does fear of failure prevent you from innovation and opportunity? Watch Ekaterina Walter’s Ted Talk on redefining failure and how it can lead to success. Walter says that our definition of failure is affected by three things: Passion, Attitude, and Purpose. Your passion and your purpose control your attitude. This affects your reaction to failure. If you have a strong passion and purpose, as many in the arts do, you will be much more resilient in the face of … [Read more...]
Training Today
This week on Field Notes, we're talking about career paths. We've broken this conversation down into four questions. We'll dive into a different question each day this week. Today is the final day of this week-long conversation. The last question we're exploring centers around overcoming the obstacles you've identified. How do you close your learning gaps? How do you convince your boss to take a chance and give you that project? When pondering how best to tackle the obstacles in your way to career advancement or change, you must first … [Read more...]
Which path is the right path?
This week on Field Notes, we're talking about career paths. We've broken this conversation down into four questions. We'll dive into a different question each day this week. Today, we take a look at the obstacles in between where you are and where you want to be. How do you determine what these obstacles are? Which ones are the most important to focus on now? Informational interviews are one of the most beneficial ways to understanding what you need in order to get where you want to be. As Bill Barnett shared in the video we featured earlier … [Read more...]
Is it all about grit?
This week on Field Notes, we're talking about career paths. We've broken this conversation down into four questions. We'll dive into a different question each day this week. Today, we take a look at the obstacles in between where you are and where you want to be. How do you determine what these obstacles are? Which ones are the most important to focus on now? From a young age, we’re told that if you work hard and practice every day you can achieve your goals. This often requires focus on few or only one thing in order to reach a desired … [Read more...]
Finding Your Career Strategy
This week on Field Notes, we're talking about career paths. We've broken this conversation down into four questions. We'll dive into a different question each day this week. Today, it is all about where you want to be. What is the next thing for you and your career? What do you need in order to get there? How do you know this is right? We often talk about career planning as the act of sitting down to think about our dreams, goals and aspirations, followed by listing off all the things we need to do in order to get there. In this 99u article, … [Read more...]
Identifying Skills
This week on Field Notes, we're talking about career paths. We've broken this conversation down into four questions. We'll dive into a different question each day this week. Today, it is all about where you want to be. What is the next thing for you and your career? What do you need in order to get there? How do you know this is right? Trying to determine what your strengths and weakness are as you assess the next step or new step in your career? When making a change to this degree, we can often take for granted our most powerful skills. In … [Read more...]
Feeling Stuck?
This week on Field Notes, we're talking about career paths. We've broken this conversation down into four questions. We'll dive into a different question each day this week. Today, it is all about where you want to be. What is the next thing for you and your career? What do you need in order to get there? How do you know this is right? We've gone into the archives for this one. In this Field Notes post, originally shared in November 2013, NAS Director, Sunny Widmann, shares the importance of considering your goals and where you want to be. … [Read more...]
Business Model You
This week on Field Notes, we're talking about career paths. We've broken this conversation down into four questions. We'll dive into a different question each day this week. Today, we focus on where you are now in your career. How do you know where you are? What skills do you currently have? Produced by the same team that created the tried and true Business Model Canvas, this book uses the same canvas as a space for you to map your personal business model and professional identity. This tool helps you take a moment to consider your … [Read more...]
A Map of Your Mind
This week on Field Notes, we're talking about career paths. We've broken this conversation down into four questions. We'll dive into a different question each day this week. Today, we focus on where you are now in your career. How do you know where you are? What skills do you currently have? You might have used a mind map to sort ideas you've brainstormed about a project or create an outline of a specific topic you are researching, but have you ever used this tool to map your own career path? A mind map is a creative and simple way (but … [Read more...]