Getting Work To Work

Do you know how to select the right startup to work for? Do you have the key attributes that will help you succeed working for a startup? These are two of many questions that today's guest answers in his new book, Be a Startup Superstar. Steve Kahan is a serial entrepreneur who has had tremendous success in the startup world helping grow seven startup companies. In our conversation, Steve shares his definition of a startup as both a culture and mindset, the importance of focusing on must-solve problems and competition, the interdependence of work and family, and being on the journey of life-long learning.

In today's episode of Free-Form Friday on Getting Work To Work, I explore some new podcasting gear including the Zoom LiveTrak L-8 mobile mixing board. While many creators buy new gear to stay competitive, I look at gear as a way to push my vision for bringing bigger ideas to life. I move on to discuss one important way I want to grow next year: being a better conversationalist. I've noticed that when I'm in warm-up mode with guests, there is a much different dynamic than when I am in interview mode. The episode wraps up with a desire for creative entrepreneurs to push themselves in 2020 and beyond to chase big ideas, tell epic stories, and leave living legacies.

I have to be honest, I was feeling a little cynical this morning as I was writing this episode. Email after email, social media post after post all promising the same thing: success, better habits, more money, you get the idea. I just couldn't stop the deluge of content and I started feeling the emotional effects (not to mention the strong desire to spend money and procrastinate on my work). However, in the midst of those feelings, I started asking questions. If we are all learning the same things, how can we be different? Can my system of creation do something with all this stuff? How does the creation process account for both inspiring and wasteful content? I'm going to dive into these questions as I explore the six key components of our system of creation.

What is your vision for a creative world? For Heather Crank, it is to relentlessly share the work and people who daily inspire her, especially those who are struggling to get noticed. Heather is an artist, animator, performer, and a perfect of example of how to build community around art and life by continually reaching out to people. In this interview episode of Getting Work To Work, Heather and I discuss her origins of being a performer and an artist, why she shares other people's work, the importance of allies in our lives, bringing humanity and emotion to motion, and the importance of trust and vulnerability in our work.

Last year I taught a course at a local university and during an in-class discussion, I asked the class to design a knowledge management system. A few questions that prompted the discussion were: How do you know what you know? How can you track your progress toward mastery? How can you utilize artificial intelligence or machine learning to identify what you need to learn next?

I've thought a lot about this concept over the past year as I interact more and more with online courses. It has been said by many that the online course is dead, but the reality is that they are here to stay. Online education is incredibly powerful, quick, affordable, and an emerging platform for equality. But there are a few problems: quality, consistency, structure, accountability, and follow-through.

So, what do we do in light of the power and problems of online education? Move from theory to practice and begin to build a prototype of your own knowledge management system.

When you think about the business you're building, the dreams you're bringing to life, and the future expression of your creativity, are you willing to do whatever it takes? In the good times and the bad, the wins and the losses, the peaks and valleys, are you willing to keep pushing through no matter what? When you are starting out on the road of creative entrepreneurship, it's easy to brush aside the negative aspects of the journey. "That won't happen to me," says everyone ahead of you on the journey. But then then the inevitable happens, you get knocked down. And you ask yourself the important question: Now what?

How do you create meaningful change in your life and business? From helping people understand the environmental and social impact of sustainability on businesses to empowering departments and businesses of one to bring sustainable practices to life, Katie Secrist is curious about how people and companies both succeed and improve. In her work as Director of Strategic Partnerships at Sustainable Business Consulting, Katie develops relationships by understanding where people are at today with their sustainability programs. In this episode of Getting Work To Work, Katie demystifies environmental and social sustainability as well as discusses the importance of purpose, mentorship, and daily action toward your goals.

Over the weekend, I went and saw the documentary film Murder in the Front Row: The San Francisco Bay Area Thrash Metal Story. As stories were told by members of Metallica, Megadeth, Exodus, Slayer, and more, I couldn't help but marvel in the ways that collections and communities were built up allowing the thrash metal movement to thrive.

Lately, I've been realizing an important truth for my life: I need a hobby. For the first time in a very long time, I can say that work's good. I spend a lot of time thinking about my work, watching courses, reading books, and producing paid and passion projects. But at the expense of work, my life needs some attention. As a driven creative entrepreneur, how can I embrace a hobby without the natural desire to turn it into a business opportunity?

What are you wildly curious about? Today's guest on Getting Work To Work is wildly curious about everything from storytelling and brand governance to Formula 1 and performance. Samuel Bridges is an Art Director, designer, and life-long learner fascinated with the human-level experience and how that is represented in his work and relationships. In this interview, we explore the origin stories of his creative career—how he was influenced by his mother's textile designs, street BMX, and Final Fantasy VII—along with the lessons he has learned along the growth journey from designer to Art Director.