Simone Stolzoff is an independent journalist and designer from San Francisco. He has worn many professional hats over the years, and now uses his insight to advise leaders—from the Surgeon General of the United States to the Chief Talent Officer at Google—on human-centric workplace culture. Simone's new book, 'The Good Enough Job', was just released. He sits down with me for this episode to discuss it and the topic of workaholism at large. The Religion... read more ›
884 reads
May
31
May
01
I’m a self-taught photographer. I progressed in fits and starts and plenty of dead ends. Yet no one was telling me what to learn. I was following my curiosity- just trying to take photos I wanted. Successes helped me solidify new techniques, and failures gave me opportunities to figure out what I did wrong. But here’s the thing. If you want to be the noun, you need to do the verb. I wanted to be... read more ›
772 reads
Apr
17
The idea of a solo creator who goes off to a cabin in the woods for a month and returns with a finished masterpiece? Purely a mirage. We desperately need to connect with others: those with both similar and radically different influences and interests, those who love what we do, those who will give us honest feedback. We become more fully ourselves when we are in a community of other creators. Working alone can be... read more ›
555 reads
Apr
05
For Amanda Crew, art imitates life. While she is largely known for her role as Monica Hall on the HBO series Silicon Valley, she recently sat down with me to talk about the duality between her personal life and experience playing a woman who feels torn between the life she’s created and the life she really wants. It’s a thriller, Amanda tells me, but the underlying turmoil her character faces is something she can relate... read more ›
806 reads
Mar
27
A little-known secret that shouldn’t be one: collaboration is the secret to creativity. It's not just about working with other people, it's about working with the *right* people. I look for collaborators outside my area of expertise, people who bring new kinds of expertise to the table. A designer, a developer, a retoucher—everyone contributes to the vision in a different way. This is how I stretch myself as an artist. The benefits of collaboration go... read more ›
799 reads
Jan
23
Let’s get something clear: all the “productivity” gibberish we read in our social feeds day in and day out is largely a waste of time. Productivity has become a self-help institution that deals with the symptoms rather than the cause of our problems. Instead of finding ways to cram more five-minute meetings into a day or accelerate the hamster wheel of emails flowing into your in-box, start thinking about how you can cultivate the state... read more ›
617 reads
Jan
09
In this week's episode, I delve into the importance of play and experimentation in a creative career. I discuss how personal work can lead to new opportunities and help you better understand your own interests and goals. I also offer some practical advice on how to balance commercial work with personal projects, and how to know when it's time to move on from a creative endeavor. This is a continuation of the Q&A show I... read more ›
487 reads
Jan
02
Are you someone with so many competing interests and ideas, you're not sure where to focus or how to build these passions into a single career? You're not alone. This week I'm diving into two questions from the community. The first question explores this very popular question. I deconstruct how some of the top performers have built unconventional paths to shape their passions into successful careers. The other is about how to transition from one... read more ›
798 reads
Nov
16
The world of business is notoriously serious and results-driven. But what if we looked at work through a different lens? What if we focused on the creative, abstract side of innovation? This is a question that Mauro Porcini, Chief Design Officer at PepsiCo, strives to answer. With over 1100 design and innovation awards under his belt, Mauro is no stranger to the value of creativity in business. In fact, he's made it his life's work... read more ›
837 reads
Nov
14
When you’re out to start a new career, you learn quickly that hope is not a strategy. Regardless if it’s the first job, a new job, or the shake-up from the economy, these are great inflection points to take steps toward the things that fulfill us in life. Meet Yiwen Wong, he’s a recent graduate from the Boston University School of Communication. He’s originally from Singapore and he and his family lived in New Zealand.... read more ›
779 reads