Tracking Wonder Podcast

We have spent the last several weeks exploring how to design memorable moments for our customers and communities, our audiences and even our families. But how do we design a life of wonder for ourselves? How do we juggle our own creative calling with the needs of our clients and communities? Is there a way to approach marketing as a craft, making it part of our path to mastery? How do we realize our best creative selves, pursuing mastery and meaning in every aspect of our lives?

Today, Jeffrey explores the creative process with Srinivas Rao, the founder and host of The Unmistakable Creative Podcast and author of the recently released Audience of One: Reclaiming Creativity for Its Own Sake, and Marty Neumeier, Director of CEO Branding at Liquid Agency and author of several books, including the forthcoming business thriller SCRAMBLE: How Agile Strategy Can Build Epic Brands in Record Time.

Srinivas and Marty explain how they make decisions about which projects to take on, discussing the tension between what they have been called to create and market demands. They address the significance of ongoing reflection and self-awareness in carving a path of personal and professional mastery and offer insight around putting your imprint or signature on any project you take on, learning best practices—and then challenging them. Srinivas and Marty also describe how they measure the value of their own work, seeking self-mastery rather than obsessing over marketing metrics. Jeffrey asks them how they work through doubt in the writing process, what surprised them in the creation of their latest works, and how they foster openness in creative collaboration. Listen in for advice on leveraging a support system to navigate crises and learn how to design a fulfilling life and business with an eye to creative mastery and meaning.

[5:01] Young Srini and Marty at their best

• Srini listening to Thriller on repeat
• Marty learning to draw from mom

[9:51] Marty's transition to an audience of one

• Career of being creative on behalf of other people
• Sold company to Liquid Agency 'to do own art'

[13:05] Srini's transition to an audience of one

• Making money helping others execute vision
• AJ Leon encouraged to 'create own stuff'
• Aim for mastery rather than metrics

[19:55] Marty's insight on mastery and metrics

• Always focused on mastery, fell short on metrics
• Not about gaming system but getting word out

[22:40] The difference between mimicry and modeling

• Danger in replicating formula
• Rule to not be like anyone else

[31:20] The role of environment in the creative process

• Introduced to idea by The Ultimate Game of Life
• All things have energy that inspires OR expires
• Upgrade space to 'pull into best version of self'

[32:40] How to reinvent yourself with each new project

• Explore other's work, save what you love about it
• Can't know what's new unless experience world

[43:12] Srini's insight around creativity and the internet

• Creative pursuits in search of external reward
• Tools designed to trigger envy and comparison
• Conflates attention with value, prevents creative work

[50:54] The impetus for Marty's new book SCRAMBLE

• Business book won't give experience of agile strategy
• Suggestion to deliver principles through story

[53:14] The surprises Marty & Srini experienced in the writing process

• Characters take on life of own
• Learn to write in rhythmic cadence

[59:13] How Marty & Srini work through doubt when writing

• Email from writing coach when Srini stuck
• Marty wrote in full view of advisor/audience

[1:06:00] How Srini navigates crises in business

• Support system of friends, family who care
• Therapy and self-care (exercise, eat well)

[1:12:00] Marty's approach to crises in SCRAMBLE

• Character of CEO must involve team to fix problems
• Similar to own journey in realizing can't do it alone

[1:18:09] How to foster openness in creative collaboration

• Eliminate ego and envy to do something great
• Project more important than who has ideas

[1:20:55] What Srini & Marty are pursuing in the next year

• Srini leveraging platform to highlight social issues
• Marty founding Level C (branding as profession)

The Unmistakable Creative

The Unmistakable Creative Podcast

The Art of Being Unmistakable: A Collection of Essays About Making a Dent in the Universe by Srinivas Rao

An Audience of One: Reclaiming Creativity for Its Own Sake by Srinivas Rao

'If You Want to Build an Audience, Focus on Mastery Instead of Metrics' by Srinivas Rao

'The Wasted Potential of the Internet' by Srinivas Rao

Marty's Website

Liquid Agency

The Brand Gap: How to Bridge the Distance Between Business Strategy and Design by Marty Neumeier

SCRAMBLE: How Agile Strategy Can Build Epic Brands in Record Time by Marty Neumeier

Zag: The Number One Strategy of High-Performance Brands by Marty Neumeier

Tracking Wonder S1EP11

AJ Leon

The Brand Gap on SlideShare

Misfit Incorporated

Creative Live with Danielle LaPorte & Srinivas Rao

Danielle LaPorte

Leap First: Creating Work That Matters by Seth Godin

The Brand Gap on SlideShare

The Ultimate Game of Life

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondō

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Charles Baxter

Steven Pressfield

Mastery by Robert Greene

Books by Anders Ericsson

Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by John J. Ratey with Eric Hagerman

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

Tracking Wonder S1EP04

BB Suárez

Kim Marie Coaching

Gentle Warriors Kitchen

Charles Vogl

The Art of Community: Seven Principles for Belonging by Charles Vogl

Quest 2019

Perhaps you want to bring more magic into the world in the form of an animated film or video game. Inevitably, such a significant undertaking will face big challenges. What gives filmmakers and game designers the drive to persist over the years it takes to complete such substantial projects—when there is no guarantee or reward or recognition?

Today, Jeffrey goes behind-the-scenes of wonder-making with filmmaker, animator, director and producer Mark Osborne, whose film The Little Prince received France's prestigious César Award for Best Animated Film, and game designer, educator and Game Design Workshop author Tracy Fullerton, who serves as Director of the USC Games Program and Professor and Chair of the Interactive Media & Games Division of the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Mark and Tracy explore the collaborative nature of the work they do, explaining how their respective teams foster curiosity and generate unexpected ideas via play, affording special attention to craft and detail along the way. Mark describes his commitment to doing justice to The Little Prince, and Tracy offers insight around the personal connection her 'book club' developed with the award-winning Walden, a game. Tracy and Mark share their favorite elements of wonder in The Little Prince and Walden, discussing the painstaking effort involved in taking our breath away. Listen in to understand how their work brings Thoreau and Saint-Exupéry's themes into the 21st century and learn how to keep your own team inspired and agile by way of an open, inclusive work culture.

[6:14] Young Mark and Tracy at their best

• Mark living in Star Wars fantasy world, exploring arts
• Tracy making contraptions/clubhouses in dad's workshop

[9:33] How Tracy's young genius informs her work now

• Put together teams, 'free to be ourselves'
• Curiosity of kids pushing new frontiers

[13:44] The collaborative nature of animation

• Work in arts requires ability to think and act like kids
• Unexpected ideas emerge from working in teams

[16:52] Mark's inspiration for the frame story in The Little Prince

• Creative riddle to celebrate power of book
• Idea to use stop-motion for book, CG for larger story

[22:05] The concept behind the Walden video game

• Translation of book (i.e.: activities Thoreau experienced)
• Virtual simulation of woods becomes character in itself
• Parallels between issues of Thoreau's time and today

[27:24] The personal connection Tracy's team had to Walden

• Started as 'book club' with no prospect of funding
• Met weekly, paper prototypes early on

[30:10] The challenges Mark faced in creating The Little Prince

• Pressure to do justice to book, team had to care
• Daily crises and decisions based on guesswork

[42:18] The universal themes of The Little Prince

• Parenting as balance between aviator, mother
• 'Life raft in poisonous world'

[46:25] How Walden applies in the 21st century

• Care and concern for environment, climate change
• Thoreau as activist with concern for issues of time
• Divisive conflict baked into daily experience

[48:56] Mark's favorite element of wonder in The Little Prince

• Called on colleague for hand-made techniques
• Discover right 'chemistry of elements' for stop-motion

[52:33] Tracy's favorite element of wonder in Walden

• Dynamic system (light, wind, colors change with seasons)
• Shift of colors and music based on relationship with nature

[57:06] How to create openness and inclusiveness on teams

• Reason to care about what making (i.e.: believe again)
• Afford ownership of portion of process

[1:02:14] What Tracy and Mark are pursuing in the coming year

• Tracy taking Walden to classrooms
• Mark devoting focus to new project

Happy Product, Inc.

Happy Product on Vimeo

Happy Product on YouTube

The Little Prince

Tracy Fullerton

USC Game Innovation Lab

Walden, a game

Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games by Tracy Fullerton

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Walden for Educators

Tracking Wonder S1EP06

Tracking Wonder S2EP03

"How 'The Little Prince' Director Pitched Investors with His Magic Suitcase" in The Frame

Jamie Caliri on Vimeo

The Unmistakable Creative Podcast

An Audience of One: Reclaiming Creativity for Its Own Sake by Srinivas Rao

SCRAMBLE: How Agile Strategy Can Build Epic Brands in Record Time by Marty Neumeier

Brand Artistry Labs

In a cultural moment characterized by divisiveness, we ache for community.

We go through our days surrounded by people, but we have forgotten how to connect.

Does art have the capacity to foster the kind of openness and connection we need right now? Is it possible that a provocative experience of unfamiliarity or disorientation might help us engage with each other? What if we could learn to follow the artist's example and explode every day with wonder?

Today, Jeffrey studies art as a conduit of wonder with Denise Markonish, curator of MASS MoCA and author of Oh, Canada: Contemporary Art from North North America, and award-winning artist Julianne Swartz, whose work has appeared at premier museums including MASS MoCA and The Whitney. Julianne and Denise trace the origins of their wonder and curiosity, exploring how their childhood investigations inform the work they do now. Julianne describes the intent of her work to provoke an experience of unfamiliarity and facilitate the exchange of wonder, and Denise shares her role as an experience architect, working with artists to generate deeply personal exhibitions. Listen in for insight around the promise of art to create an openness between communities—and learn how to think like an artist, fostering wonder in your own life and work.

[4:34] Young Julianne and Denise at their best

• Julianne conducting material investigations in the desert
• Denise organizing and building systems for rock collection

[8:28] How Denise & Julianne's young genius inform their work now

• Lifelong pursuit of wonder and curiosity
• Fueled by desire to 'materialize the invisible'
• Beyond inquiry to prodding of things

[13:45] Julianne's reputation for 'soft explosions of love'

• Example in 2006 work Affirmation
• Asked people what most deeply wanted to hear
• Recorded affirmations in building fixtures

[18:25] Denise's role as an architect of experiences

• Work with artists to create new work
• Create new experiences for audience AND artists

[21:06] MASS MoCA's Explode Everyday exhibition

• Explore difference between wonder and curiosity
• Ask artists how activate wonder in lives, studio practice

[27:23] The emotional quality of Julianne's work

• Provoke experience of unfamiliarity/disorientation
• Opens us up emotionally, brings into not knowing

[30:08] How Julianne fosters wonder in her life and work

• Magic of materials/sounds/situations translate to art experience
• Find in conversation and connection with another person

[35:00] The exchange of wonder in Julianne's work

• Pour depth of emotion into object, becomes transmitter
• Art object = conduit to transmit energy to audience

[42:04] Denise's insight on fostering wonder for yourself

• Provoke own pause, be alive to world around you
• Pursue what interests you to keep brain inquiring

[45:11] The capacity of art to create openness between communities

• Can You Hear Me? as conduit between social groups
• We Complete requires physical connection to activate sound

[53:08] The promise of art in our current cultural moment

• Shift in conversation from anger to tenderness
• Love has become political term

[55:57] What Julianne is pursuing in the coming year

• Joy, still. at Grace Farms
• Link between joy and sorrow, suffering

[58:42] What Denise is pursuing in the coming year

• Suffering from Realness opens in April
• Mind of the Mound opens in March

Julianne Swartz

Affirmation

Blue Sky with Rainbow

In Harmonicity, The Tonal Walkway

Can You Hear Me?

We Complete

Link/Line

Joy, still. at Grace Farms

MASS MoCA

Suffering from Realness

Mind of the Mound: Critical Mass

The Autobiography of Charles Darwin by Charles Darwin

Sebastian Smee

MASS MoCA's Explode Every Day

The Explode Every Day Catalog

Sean Foley

Mark Osborne

Tracy Fullerton

Charles LaBelle

Grace Farms

Trenton Doyle Hancock

Oh, Canada: Contemporary Art from North North America by Denise Markonish

Diana's Dragons

Mary Ellen Beads

Inside Knowledge

Brand Artistry Labs

We live in a culture of busy, wearing our overwork like a badge of honor. We complain that there aren't enough hours in the day—and blame our jobs and our kids for the fact that we can't enjoy life. We even feel guilty when we make time for fun.

Busy is a virtue. Idleness is irresponsible.

But what if we have a greater responsibility to be our best selves for the people around us? Is it true that we don't have time to pursue activities that bring us joy? Or is that simply the story we're telling ourselves? What if we could design our days, our families and our businesses for more off-time, delight and openness to surprise?

Today, Jeffrey challenges our culture of busy with Laura Vanderkam, author of Off the Clock and cohost of the Best of Both Worlds podcast, and Tom Hodgkinson, editor of The Idler magazine and author of Business for Bohemians. Tom and Laura discuss the origin of 'busy' as a virtue, the idea of working less as 'irresponsible' and the tension between our desires to work hard AND enjoy life. Laura shares the results of her time tracking experiment, explaining how adventure stretches time, and Tom describes his Idle Parenting philosophy, discussing the benefits of ignoring your kids once in a while. Listen in for insight around planning for leisure time—even in the midst of raising small children—and learn how to create a business vision that expresses the essence of who you are.

[5:08] Young Laura and Tom at their best

• Laura creating stories and poems
• Tom editing magazines, organizing events

[8:37] The origin of 'busy' as a virtue

• 18th century Dr. Johnson lazy but productive
• Idleness important part of creative process
• Guilt around pleasure, idleness w/ Reformation

[14:18] The tension between working hard and enjoying life

• Value to open space for thinking, new ideas
• Not either/or (ideal to find enjoyable work)
• Time diaries show much leisure time

[17:39] Laura's time tracking experiment

• Leads to savored life, freedom
• 'Time starts to feel more full'

[23:21] The idea of working less as being 'irresponsible'

• Regrets around not spending time with children
• More responsible to take care of mental health

[28:29] How adventure stretches time

• Lunch break to explore city (active downtime)
• Perception of time shaped by memories

[35:11] Tom's insight on Idle Parenting

• Ignoring kids leads to independence, self-sufficiency
• Helicopter parenting steals freedom from both
• Value in day of abandoning routines and rhythms

[42:29] Laura's insight around planning leisure time

• Parents of small children must arrange open time
• More mindful of time, intentional

[45:28] Tom's take on eudaimonia in business

• Not about money or status but fulfillment
• Task of life to build work that expresses spirit

[49:56] Laura's take on trying to do everything

• Do more of what you're best at
• Business grows when NOT trying to do it all alone

[52:43] What Tom is pursuing in the next year

• Find/retain subscribers, grow team
• Write book on meditation

[55:28] What Laura is pursuing in the next year

• Time management novella (March 2019)
• Shift to writing fiction

Laura Vanderkam

The Idler

The Idler Subscription

Mary Oliver's 'The Summer Day'

What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast: A Short Guide to Making Over Your Mornings—and Life by Laura Vanderkam

Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done by Laura Vanderkam

The Idle Parent: Why Laid-Back Parents Raise Happier and Healthier Kids by Tom Hodgkinson

Idler Academy

Business for Bohemians: Live Well, Make Money by Tom Hodgkinson

'The Busy Person's Lies' in The New York Times

How to Be Idle: A Loafer's Manifesto by Tom Hodgkinson

Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang

168 Hours Time Tracking Challenge

Laura's 168 Hours Time Tracking Template

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Juliet's School of Possibilities: A Little Story About the Power of Priorities by Laura Vanderkam

The Sacred Healing Well

Gentle Warrior's Wellness

MASS MoCA

Julianne Swartz

The #2 hotel in Los Angeles cannot compete with the Hyatts or the Hiltons of the world when it comes to expensive amenities. What makes the Magic Castle special is the staff's ability to design surprising experiences, like a red phone by the pool coined Popsicle Hotline. By breaking the script, the Magic Castle inspires delight in their guests—and consistently ranks higher than high-end, luxury hotels in the city.

How can we follow the lead of the Magic Castle and create a workplace of wonder? How do we design for extraordinary moments with our colleagues and customers?

Today, Jeffrey explores workplace wonder with Chris Flink, Executive Director of the Exploratorium Museum in San Francisco, and Chip Heath, the Thrive Foundation for Youth Professor of Organizational Behavior in the Stanford Graduate School of Business and co-author of The Power of Moments. Chip and Chris explain how designing surprising moments for customers can give you a competitive advantage and why it's beneficial to think beyond simply fixing problems to the architecting of positive experiences. Chip describes why it's in your best interest to focus on elevating mostly satisfied customers to truly delighted ones, and Chris shares the power of physical experiences to captivate people in a deeply personal way. Listen in for insight around designing for positive, extraordinary experiences that facilitate connection and learn how to surprise yourself, your colleagues and your customers with the exchange of wonder.

[7:47] Young Chip and Chris at their best

• Chip with typewriter (passages from nature books)
• Chris building forts and booby traps out of garbage

[10:41] What makes those boyhood moments memorable

• Attempt to make sense of world
• Agency to affect own experience

[13:39] How Chris got into the area of experience design

• Study product design at Stanford, work at IDEO
• Integrate business disciplines in design process
• Foster creative mindset in business collaboration

[17:34] How Chip came to explore experience architecture

• Discuss what makes defining moment
• Family as focus group (i.e.: take idea on road)
• Iteration as integral part of design process

[23:12] Why we should consider experience design

• Mind geared to fix problems vs. create potential
• Magic Castle #2 hotel in LA (e.g.: Popsicle Hotline)
• Opportunities to inspire, bring creative energy

[36:59] The concept of 'breaking the script'

• Strategic surprise that captures attention
• Design to widen eyes, open to message

[41:18] Chip and Chris' response to resistance

• Build in elevation, pride, insight and connection
• You ARE designing experiences (add agency)

[46:49] The value of face-to-face, analog experiences

• Physical experiences captivate in personal way
• Power in tangible experience translates to retail

[49:42] How to design experiences for your organization

• Museum staff conceived of Pi Day on 3/14
• Playful community with common mission

[59:23] The social dimension of wonder

• Break script with uncommon conversation
• '45 minutes away from close friendship'
• Create context for experience to unfold
• Connection through transformative learning

[1:04:44] What Chip and Chris are pursuing in the next year

• Must be inspired to be inspirational
• Work with social entrepreneurs

Heath Brothers

Stanford Social Innovation Review

Exploratorium

TD Bank YouTube Video

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Stanford d.school

IDEO

Bill Moggridge: Interaction Design

Magic Castle Hotel

Theo Jansen's STRANDBEEST

Larry Shaw

Art Aron's Interpersonal Closeness Experience

Laura Vanderkam

The Idler

Evelyn Asher

Fateme Banishoeb

'It doesn't take long for our feet to wear a rut born of habit in our daily, default path. But if we're fortunate, during any given day, something surprising startles our heart long enough to arrest the bustle and disrupt our rut.'

The question is, do we have to wait for that something surprising to happen spontaneously? Or can we build the experience of awe into our daily lives?

Can we design for wonder?

Today, Jeffrey introduces us to his working premise for Season 2: Wonder is not an accident and designing for wonder is not only possible but necessary in our world of deteriorating trust. He walks us through the possible dawn of awe when our ancestors developed the 'irresistible urge to gaze' and defines wonder as the emotional experience of surprise that dissolves our biases. Jeffrey also previews the themes of this season by way of two stories, one of a company designing for wonder NOW via Instagram hashtags and another of the philosopher Descartes discovering wonder THEN, in 17th-century Denmark through the laughter of his daughter. Listen in for insight around the role of wonder in facilitating radically new solutions and join the growing alliance of Wonder Trackers who choose wonder over cynicism.

[0:04] The definition of wonder

• Irresistible urge to gaze, even praise (dawn of awe)
• Emotional experience of surprise that dissolves biases
• Central to human spirit and evolution of species

[4:05] Jeffrey's working premise for Season 2

• Wonder not accidental
• Design for wonder possible, necessary
• Create culture of wonder together

[5:37] The significance of choosing wonder over cynicism

• Rut born of 'daily default' breeds cynicism
• Startle heart long enough to disrupt status quo

[8:58] What to expect this season on Tracking Wonder

• Top creatives, research in design experience + time shaping
• Original people who seek insight from diverse sources

[11:44] The story of NOW

• Negative Instagram hashtags (i.e.: #sick, #mondayblues)
• Suja Juice shipped 6K bottles to change quality of days

[12:56] The story of THEN

• Descartes planning trip to France in 1640
• Daughter developed scarlet fever and died
• Shifted focus of work to questions about being human
• Concluded that wonder precedes all other passions

[18:06] James Baldwin's insight on wonder

• Fierce hope for human race despite prejudice faced
• Prove by example that 'life is love and wonder'
• Nation that penalizes citizens who wonder is doomed

Tracking Wonder

Tracking Wonder on Facebook

Jeffrey on Twitter

Jeffrey on Instagram

Jeffrey on LinkedIn

Bay Area Discovery Museum

MASS MoCA

USC Annenberg Innovation Lab

Suja Juice

Cogito, Ergo Sum: The Life of Rene Descartes by Richard Watson

Descartes' Bones: A Skeletal History of the Conflict Between Faith and Reason by Russell Shorto

Chip Heath

Chris Flink

Welcome to season 2 of Tracking Wonder! This season we're tracking the theme of designing for wonder. Wonder is not an accident. Wonder is designable. Join us each Tuesday, and learn how innovators design work, customer experience, and life for more openness, curiosity, and surprise.

The most fulfilled innovators and influencers who lead lives of mastery and meaning—at some point get cracked open by wonder, get cracked open to a purpose greater than themselves.

Today, Jeffrey reflects on Season 1 of Tracking Wonder, looking back at his conversations with leaders, change-makers, artists and creatives to identify the wonder switch in each of their stories, those moments when they were opened up to a greater-than-you purpose that drives the work they do today.

Jeffrey begins with Susan Piver's experience of being cracked open in love after a serious car accident by way of a surprising connection with another person. He reminds us of Caroline Adams Miller's inspiration—people with the grit to do extraordinary things in their ordinary lives. Jeffrey speaks to the challenge of 'standing in love' with your big idea, revisiting Jonathan Fields and Dorie Clarke's discussion around the need for authentic community. He also covers the concept of conscious leadership, reflecting on Mike Erwin and Todd Henry's respective takes on sourcing bravery from within and leading with a mindset of service. Listen in as Jeffrey highlights Marty Neumeier's theory on doing the 'right thing' that leads us to beauty, cohesiveness and order and learn why wonder is the key to unlocking our compassion—and ultimately making decisions with an eye to the future.

[7:50] Susan Piver's experience being cracked open in love

• Boyfriend served as lifeline after serious car accident
• 'Surprised to have someone reach through haze—and reach back'

[11:50] The kind of grit that inspires Caroline Adams Miller

• Uplifted by people doing extraordinary things in ordinary lives
• Awed by those who do what's necessary without fuss, fanfare

[15:48] The challenge of 'standing in love' with your big idea

• Requires deep drive to survive challenges
• Impact assumes different forms

[18:36] Why the world needs brands to build authentic community

• Sense of belonging impacts cognitive ability, health
• Movements bring people together around shared set of values

[23:30] The concept of conscious leadership

• Bravery comes from within
• Lead with mindset of service, elevate people around you

[27:06] Why we have an ethical responsibility to lead with our ideals

• Short-term, selfish good vs. long-term, broadly beneficial good
• Make choices that further human evolution to beauty, coherence and order

[38:30] The role of wonder in evoking empathy and compassion for others

• Need each other's perspectives to open heart
• Look beyond cubicle-sized view to impact on future

The Heart of Altruism by Kristen Monroe

'Blessing the Boats' by Lucille Clifton

The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm

Getting Grit: The Evidence-Based Approach to Cultivating Passion, Perseverance, and Purpose by Caroline Adams Miller

Stand Out: How to Find Your Breakthrough Idea and Build a Following Around It by Dorie Clark

Good Life Project

The Positivity Project

Accidental Creative

Herding Tigers: Be the Leader That Creative People Need by Todd Henry

Liquid Agency

Upheavals of Thought: The Intelligence of Emotions by Martha C. Nussbaum

You have to have a purpose bigger than profits.

The landscape of branding has changed over time, and with the advent of two-way communication via the internet, a mission statement that prioritizes a financial responsibility to shareholders simply won't cut it anymore. People want to support—and be a part of—the companies that aspire to a higher purpose and align with their own personal values.

How does a brand go about identifying its purpose? How do you do good AND do good business at the same time?

Today, Jeffrey sits down with Marty Neumeier, the Director of CEO Branding and de-facto thought leader at Liquid Agency. Marty is also a bestselling author, speaker and facilitator in the realm of helping people and organizations uncover their creative genius. Marty describes growing up with a mother who taught him the magic of art and a love of learning. He speaks to his time in Silicon Valley, learning to translate tech into English and pictures, and the history of branding from the agricultural age through the current consumer-led movement. Marty explains the concept of ludic learning, the difference between a brand and branding, and the business advantage of identifying a purpose beyond simply making money. Listen in for Marty's insight around the nature of sin as the choice for a short-term, selfish good and learn the value in a brand driven by purpose for the benefit of society.

[3:15] Marty's young genius

• Learned magic of drawing from mom
• Wanted to be commercial artist at 8

[5:58] The adults who nurtured Marty's love of learning

• Creative pursuits (e.g.: weaving) from mom
• Grandfather interested in how things worked

[9:05] Marty's experience in Silicon Valley

• Worked with Apple, met Steve Jobs
• Learned to translate tech into English

[18:55] The difference between a brand and branding

• Brand = customer's gut feeling
• Branding = company's efforts to influence perception

[20:31] How the landscape of branding has changed

• 1930—Naming, packaging, corporate identity
• 1970—Trout and Ries codify positioning
• 1990—Aaker creates strategy framework
• 2000—Design, strategy become partners
• 2020—Customer-led companies

[28:11] The shift to a customer focus

• Internet opens up two-way conversation
• Goodwill impacts balance sheet (brand value)

[30:15] How to hone your branding

• Identify purpose beyond profits
• Ride trends (e.g.: authenticity, surprise)

[32:49] The brand advantage of being driven by purpose

• People want to join companies doing something bigger
• Examples include Method, Apple and Amazon

[39:32] Marty's take on campaigns like REI's #OptOutside

• Possible to do good while doing good business
• Statements must align with who you are as brand

[43:43] Marty's insight on the nature of sin

• Chose short-term, selfish good over long-term, broadly beneficial good
• Brand might lie about dangers of product, reputation suffers long-term
• Human evolution slowly moving toward beauty, coherence and order

[51:50] The definition of ludic learning

• Learn through play in state of flow
• Purposeful learning by caring

[54:29] Marty's advice around unlearning

• Take on new challenges to keep curiosity alive
• Consider how someone might disrupt your business

[57:30] What Marty is pursuing moving forward

• Continue to reinvent self, reach people in new ways
• Writing thriller based on fictional business case

Liquid Agency

Marty's Website

Marty on Twitter

The Third Wave by Alvin Toffler

The Brand Gap: How to Bridge the Distance Between Business Strategy and Design by Marty Neumeier

Books by Al Ries and Jack Trout

Books by David Aaker

The Brand Flip: Why Customers Now Run Companies and How to Profit from It by Marty Neumeier

Metaskills: Five Talents for the Robotic Age by Marty Neumeier

Method

The 46 Rules of Genius: An Innovator's Guide to Creativity by Marty Neumeier

Brand Artistry Labs

As entrepreneurs and creatives, we know the feeling of pouring our whole heart into our work. Of devoting all our attention to the project at hand in pursuit of something greater than ourselves. How do we balance that quest for our best work with the desire to nurture our long-term, loving relationships? How do we make room for the people we love—and love us back?

What if the qualities necessary to sustain our long-term, loving relationships are the very same qualities we use to sustain our commitment to the creative path?

On this episode of Tracking Wonder, Jeffrey is joined by Susan Piver, renowned Shambhala Buddhist teacher, New York Times bestselling author, and founder of the world's largest virtual mindfulness community, the Open Heart Project. Susan shares the significance of bringing a constant curiosity to our loving relationships, explaining how the practice of love demands an attention not on the extraordinary, but on the familiar and ordinary. She offers insight around the four noble truths of love, the challenges of standing in love versus falling in love, and the idea of meeting instability together. Listen in to understand why long-term love doesn't have to be in battle with one or both partners' devotion to creative work and learn and learn how mindfulness is the practice of love.

[3:19] Susan's young genius

• At best when at worst
• Desire to connect through reading, music

[7:04] Susan's experience being hit by a drunk driver

• Working at Blues bar in Austin
• Accident caused sense of unreality
• Felt 'between worlds'
• Then-boyfriend infused with life force

[15:36] How Susan came to practice Buddhism

• Moved back east after breakup
• Extensive reading about heartbreak
• Resonated with wisdom of strong emotion
• Extraordinary meditation training

[21:59] Why Susan is fascinated with love

• Confounded by way people treat each other
• Born with sensitivity to way taken in/not

[26:28] The four noble truths of love

• Life is suffering, relationships never stabilize
• Grasping causes suffering
• Cessation of suffering (offers sense of cure)
• Path to liberate from cycle, meet instability together

[34:04] The tension between familiarity and mystery

• Knowing of each other IS love
• Romance ends, intimacy lives on

[45:29] The practice of conversation in long-term relationships

• Set aside 20 minutes to ask, 'How are you?'
• Really listen and really answer

[51:22] The challenge of long-term relationships and creative work

• Problem arises when want other to be different
• One pulls for togetherness, one for individuation
• Both important to healthy relationship, tension is useful

[1:02:20] Susan's insight on negotiating attention

• 'Attention is most basic form of love'
• Take mind out of self, place in partner's experience

[1:03:58] The noble truths of love through music

• "I'd Rather Go Blind" by Etta James
• "Blue Gardenia" by Dinah Washington
• John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman

[1:09:21] What Susan is pursuing moving forward

• Meditation as path to love (not life hack)
• Genuine quest for inclusiveness

Open Heart Project

Credit: "To You Again" is from Incarnadine by MarySzybist, . Copyright © 2012 byMarySzybist. Used with the permission of the publisher, Graywolf Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota, www.graywolfpress.org.

The Four Noble Truths of Love: Buddhist Wisdom for Modern Relationships by Susan Piver

The Hard Questions: 100 Essential Questions to Ask Before You Say 'I Do' by Susan Piver

The Wisdom of a Broken Heart: An Uncommon Guide to Healing, Insight, and Love by Susan Piver

The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm

All About Love: New Visions by Bell Hooks

Incarnadine: Poems by Mary Szybist

Start Here Now: An Open-Hearted Guide to the Path and Practice of Meditation by Susan Piver

"Big Red Sun Blues" by Lucinda Williams

"I Felt the Chill" by Elvis Costello and Loretta Lynn

"I'd Rather Go Blind" by Etta James

"Blue Gardenia" by Dinah Washington

John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman

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