When you were a kid and handed a coloring book and coloring utensils, did you stay inside the lines or color on the outside? 

Parents oftentimes teach their children to carefully color inside the lines. It's what you're supposed to do - you're "supposed" to function within the boundaries that were already established for you. 

Entrepreneurs and innovators alike, however, reject that mindset. Instead, they metaphorically color outside of the lines. 

On today's episode of Gig Mindset, I talk with someone who colors outside of the lines, breaks norms, and embraces workplace culture change: Dyan Finkhousen. 

As a "serial disrupter," Dyan works as the Director of Open Innovation and Advanced Manufacturing at GE. She recognizes that the gig economy will play a big role in the future of work and defining the digital era of operations. She uses tools like crowdsourcing, freelance resourcing, and open innovation. 

Get ready to learn about how Dyan is changing hearts and minds - project by project. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn: 

• About Dyan's career journey.
• How Dyan's Art History degree influences her view of the world and workplace culture.
• Why it's important to genuinely understand some of the brightest minds who are breaking into the gig economy.
• How GENIUSLINK operates as an innovative workplace culture change.
• How open innovation allows for opportunities to work with experts and benefits industries.
• Why putting boundaries on the capabilities of the gig economy model is a disservice.
• Why the expert economy and gig economy can productively work together.

Questions I Ask: 

• How did you come to pioneer GE's access to the gig economy? (2:23)
• How does your inspirational quote relate to you? (6:48)
• Tell me the first time you felt like a disrupter? (7:54)
• What's an example of success from leveraging flexible talent models? (13:36)
• What's your advice to those who believe the gig mindset doesn't apply to them? (15:38)
• How do you deliver on cost, quality, and speed within the gig economy? (18:36)
• What advice would you give to someone who wants to pursue a career like yours? (20:12)
• As a nation, what skills do we need to cultivate over the next few decades? (21:53)

Connect with Dyan Finkhousen: 

• GENIUSLINK 
• Dyan's LinkedIn

Resources:

• Microsoft 365 Freelance Toolkit

Everyone fantasizes about what it would feel like to have more time in a day or even to clone yourself. Of course, that is not literally possible - but it is possible to scale your own capacity and get more done. 

The gig economy allows for professionals to do more with less time, along with even improving quality output with a faster turnaround - all at lower costs. 

On today's episode of Gig Mindset, I interview Ken Circeo. He is a Creative Director at Microsoft. He's figured out how to essentially clone himself in the workplace, going from making 1 video per week up to 15 videos per week. 

Through platforms like Upwork, Ken built a workflow that optimized creative output and helped him continue to progress in his career. Each day is more fun and more satisfying. 

So get ready to learn to optimize yourself, embrace change, and redefine your work life.  

In This Episode, You Will Learn: 

• What steps people have to take to embrace new technology.
• How the military helped Ken embrace drastic changes in technology.
• How Ken figured out a way to reproduce himself in order to maximize output.
• Walt Disney's delegation methods can be applied to today's work.
• How Ken jumped into the gig culture through utilizing Upwork.
• Advice on how to embrace workplace change.

Some Questions I Ask: 

• How did the PC revolution change the way people interact with technology? (3:42)
• Have you always leaned into new things without ever feeling scared? (4:45)
• How has technology changes collaborative cultures? (5:31)
• Tell me about the process that you use to scale? (8:23)
• How did Walt Disney inspire you to embrace the gig mindset? (11:58)
• How did you learn to delegate? (15:28)

Connect with Ken Circeo: 

• Ken's LinkedIn

Resources: 

• Upwork
• Microsoft 365 Freelance Toolkit

Gig Mindset n. - The inclination for people and organizations to engage on-demand expert intelligence to reclaim time, drive innovation, and rethink what’s possible.