The Crazy One by Stephen Gates

10.02.2023

Ep 129 Keynote: BeMore Festival 2023 - How to build a breakthrough career

My keynote about how to build a breakthrough career from the 2023 BeMore festival which is an annual epic 24-hour super conference bringing 100+ legendary speakers in Design, AI, Product & Career Growth. Elevate your future with live keynotes, networking...

09.25.2023

Ep 128 Career: How to start your studio or freelance business

The last few months have seen more layoffs, more uncertain futures, and creative frustration, which has many people wondering if they should go out on their own. It could be as a freelancer, consultant, or starting their own business. But...

11.07.2022

Ep 127 Career: How to navigate and succeed in the era of defensive employment

We are in a time when most people have realized that they have to take on a lot more to have a successful career. But it can be tough to navigate and know what you need to do to be...

10.17.2022

Ep 126 Career: Understanding the 2022 job market, a shift is coming

The job market continues to evolve from a war for talent where people were getting multiple offers to rampant layoffs and tons of frustration. I think all of this will add up to a big change, and it is something...

09.19.2022

Ep 125 Value of Design P3: Showing the value and impact of design

The third in a 3 part series where we will look at the steps you can take to help your team and company understand the value of design. In this episode, we will look at how to show the value...

09.12.2022

Ep 124 Value of Design P2: Creating demand for design

The second in a 3 part series where we will look at the steps you can take to help your team and company understand the value of design. In this episode, we will look at creating the demand for design...

08.08.2022

Ep 123 Value of Design P1: Understanding the power and stigma of the word 'Design'

The first of a 3 part series where we will look at the steps you can take to help your team and company understand the value of design. In this episode, we will talk about how people can see design...

07.18.2022

Ep 122 Career: How to decide if you should quit your job (or get a promotion)

While trying to get promoted or deciding if you should quit your job are at very different stages in your career journey, they share the need for clarity, action, and a way to understand the way forward. They also share...

07.11.2022

Ep 121 Design Thinking: The U.S. Army can teach you a lot about Design Thinking

The past six months have been a fascinating exploration into a new perspective on Design Thinking. I never thought I get it from the US Army as I learned about how they teach and use the Army Design Methodology. In...

06.20.2022

Back from hiatus

I'm sure you noticed this show went on an unannounced 7-month hiatus. Before I started recording new episodes, I wanted to take a few minutes to explain what happened that made me stop, what kept me from restarting, and why...

06.20.2022

Ep 120 Career: Don't apply for your next job (and what to do instead)

Most people would probably be shocked to learn that applying for your next job is only going to work 5% of the time, but when you look at the numbers, this is only the tip of the iceberg. We are...

11.22.2021

Ep 119 Teamwork: How to become a great meeting and workshop facilitator

Facilitation asks to balance the goals of the meeting, the team's social dynamics, and all while creating an environment that is a participation democracy where everyone can be heard. Unfortunately, it is a rare skill, mainly because few companies take...

10.18.2021

Ep 118 Teamwork: The best remote team building activities

Everyone is still trying to get used to remote work, but the three biggest things people struggle with remote work are unplugging after work, loneliness, and collaboration and/or communication. Even now, over 18 months later, too many teams still haven't...

10.04.2021

Ep 117 Teamwork: Understanding your team's cognitive and emotional culture

Most people think about company culture as team building events and ping pong tables, but there is more going on under the surface than most people realize. Culture is shaped by how all employees, from the top executives to the...

09.13.2021

Ep 116 Creativity: Understanding the new imposter syndrome triggers from remote work

It's no secret that the pandemic has changed how we work forever, but many people have not caught up to the fact that it also changed the triggers and ways that our imposter syndrome manifests in our work. In this...

05.03.2021

Ep 115 Leadership: How to write an effective and unbiased job description

We have talked before about how job descriptions are one of the most significant sources of imposter syndrome. Why don't we find a more effective format and address the bias built into this process? In this episode, we will look...

04.26.2021

Ep 114 Career: Overcoming fear and self-doubt

The pandemic has grown and magnified many people's fears and imposter syndrome. We have all been forced into a huge amount of change in a short amount of time, and those new and old fears are starting to manifest in...

02.08.2021

Ep 113 Career: Understanding the 2021 job market

The last year has brought challenges none of us could have seen coming. 2021 has just started, but there is a surprising amount of new opportunities, companies evolving, and creative talent on the move as companies and people react to...

02.01.2021

Ep 112 #ShareTheMicNow: The Power of Youth in Redesigning Systems by Antionette Carroll

The fifth of the #ShareTheMicNow episodes was created by Antionette Carroll discussing The Power of Youth in Redesigning Systems with Connie Flores, Nora Lidia, Robert Beckles and Quinton Ward. Antionette D. Carroll is the Founder and CEO of Creative Reaction...

01.18.2021

Ep 111 #ShareTheMicNow: Dismantling White Supremacy in Design by Antionette Carroll

The fourth of the #ShareTheMicNow episodes was created by Antionette Carroll in conversation with David Clifford the founder of Design School X and Liberatory Design, and Timothy Bardlavens co-founder of &Design; and Product Design Manager at Facebook discussing Dismantling White...

12.07.2020

Ep 110 Creativity: 'Metallica’s rock ‘n roll insights on creativity and leadership’ from HOW Design Live 2020

In a rare public interview, I sat down with Marc Reiter, who has worked with Metallica for a quarter-century as their “Chief Creative Guy” to discuss what he has learned working with such iconic creative teams, what drives originality, and...

11.23.2020

Ep 109 Creativity: ’Hope is not a strategy’ keynote from HOW Design Live 2020

This episode is a replay of my main stage keynote from HOW Design Live 2020. In a continuation of the most popular talk and main stage keynote from HOW 2019, we will look at the debt we all carry that...

10.26.2020

Ep 108 Memorial: The life and lessons of my father, David Gates

Many of you may know that my relationship with my father was unique in that he was my father, but he was also a creative director, my mentor, my first boss, and the foundation of everything I am. On October...

09.28.2020

Ep 107 Career: How to outsmart the broken recruiting system

As we search for a new job, we often slam into a wall of frustration and self-doubt where we aren't sure how to overcome it or get better results in the hiring process. In this episode, we will look at...

09.14.2020

Ep 106 Career: How to build a personal brand people will love to hate

It's never a good time to be generic in your career or your work, but that has never been more true than now. Why do so many people have such generic resumes, portfolios, and personal brands that blend into the...

08.31.2020

Ep 105 Career: How to negotiate salary and job offers

I was shocked to learn that most people have never negotiated their salary for a new or existing job. Your success will be driven in large part by your ability to understand these business concepts, stand up for yourself, take...

08.24.2020

Ep 104 #ShareTheMicNow: Working in Tech While Black Part 1 by Jackie Velasquez Ross, Dorcie Lovinsky, and Christian Clark

The third of the #ShareTheMicNow episodes was created by Jackie Velasquez Ross (senior recruiter), Dorcie Lovinsky (engineering manager), and Christian Clark (strategic renewals manager) sharing their history, struggles, and hopes of what it is like to be black and work...

08.17.2020

Ep 103 Leadership: Why creating organization and cultural change is so hard

People, teams, companies, and our entire culture are going through a lot of change. Many of us struggle to figure out how to move forward, evolve, and create real change. In this episode, we will look at the things that...

07.20.2020

Ep 102 #ShareTheMicNow: I Dare You to Care by Sylvia Baffour

The second of the #ShareTheMicNow episodes was created by Sylvia Baffour on how to approach the work around us, emotional intelligence, and being aware of the emotional after taste your leave with the people around you. Sylvia Baffour is a Motivational...

07.06.2020

Ep 101 #ShareTheMicNow: Maurice Cherry and Debbie Millman in conversation

The first of the #ShareTheMicNow episodes is an intimate and honest conversation between design industry icons Maurice Cherry and Debbie Millman about the state of the world, their work, what's going on with some of the design organizations, and much...

06.23.2020

Joining #ShareTheMicNow

Today, more than ever, it is NECESSARY that we all join #ShareTheMicNow to create unifying actions centered around Black, Brown, Indigenous and/or LGBTQ+ lives, stories, and calls to action. I wanted to create this short episode to talk about why...

06.08.2020

Ep 100 Career: Rejecting your life's invisible scripts

We are often influenced, if not even controlled, by the things we think we need to do and the person we think we need to be in our lives and careers. Chasing and repeating these broken narratives is exhausting, and...

05.17.2020

Amazing Design People List: Find a job, a mentor, and some hope.

The Amazing Design People list was created as a worldwide, community-led talent base to help those creatives who have recently been laid off or furloughed. It started as a simple Google sheet, but thanks to Felix Lee and James Baduor...

05.11.2020

Ep 99 Career: The 8 habits of successful people

I talk and coach a lot of successful creatives and leaders. They share 8 common characteristics that set them apart from everyone else and have kept them successful throughout their careers. In this episode, we will explore all aspects of...

04.27.2020

Ep 98 Career: What to do if you get laid off

There are few things more anxiety-inducing and career-altering than getting laid off or furloughed. I know because it’s happened to me twice in my career and it taught me a lot. In this episode, we will look at the practical...

04.08.2020

The Crazy One is now on YouTube

Thanks to all this time at home The Crazy One is now on YouTube with the most popular episodes, tutorials, keynotes, interviews, live streams, favorite videos, and more. Subscribe now! SUBSCRIBE TO THE YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE: http://www.thecrazy1.com/youtube FOLLOW THE CRAZY ONE: Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn,...

03.23.2020

Ep 97 Career: How to deal with change.

Our careers, personal lives, and the world around us are always changing. This causes stress, anxiety, and even fear, which can derail and debilitate us. But change happens all the time, and how we perceive it and the effect it...

03.23.2020

How I'm finding hope in these difficult times.

I wanted to quickly share a few insights and perspectives that I've been sharing with friends, co-workers, leaders and other creatives to try and help in these unprecedented times. I hope it helps. FOLLOW THE CRAZY ONE: Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook

03.02.2020

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