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FEI11: Scott Belsky, CEO, Behance & 99Percent on Making Ideas Happen

Posted by on 18 May 2011
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I was delighted to sit down next to Scott Belsky, right before his narrative on Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming Obstacles Between Vision & Reality, within the Think Differently track during the morning session of Day 3 at the Front End of Innovation event here in Boston.

Scott Belsky, considered one of the world's most creative people, is CEO of Behance (a Linkedin like network for creatives) and the 99percent, a think tank of which I am a huge fan. He is also the author of a book on the same topic.

He opened by sharing some (comforting) stats:
- Only 7% of creative people feel that they are very organized
- While 48% feel they are completely disorganized

Then he shared some great tips on taking ideas from vision to fruition:

  • - Optimize organization:
  • creativity x organization = Impact
  • - Organize w/a bias toward action (use lots of verbs):
  • Action method = action steps + backburners + materials
    * There's an app for that:Action Method App by Behance
  • - Surround yourself visually with completed tasks as motivation to keep taking action (positive creative stimuli)
  • - Prioritize your projects visually << energy line >>>
  • - Don't become burdened by consensus
  • - Be fearless as a creative in the face of the (traditional) stigma of self-marketer
  • - Trust your intuition - when in doubt, listen but don't be afraid to try!
  • - Society shuns what society ultimately celebrates. Take the risk.

Lastly, don't get boggled down by the idea to idea syndrome. Create a culture of action-oriented ideation.

The most organized companies include logistics businesses like UPS but interestingly enough, one of the most innovative companies of 2011, Apple, ranks 3rd in that space making their COO, Timothy Cook, just as important and valuable as Steve Jobs.

Valerie M. Russo is a Senior Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a technology, anthropology, marketing and publishing business acumen. She is a published poet and also maintains a literary blog. She may be reached at vrusso@iirusa.com. Follow her @Literanista.

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