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The Accidental Creative
Podcast: Permission To Screw Up (with Kristen Hadeed)
Podcast: Permission To Screw Up (with Kristen Hadeed)

Podcast: Permission To Screw Up (with Kristen Hadeed)

When you hear the story of the founding of a business, you often get the sanitized version. You only hear the high points. However, it's often in failure that the biggest lessons are learned. Today's guest Kristen Hadeed founded Student Maid several years ago, but the early days weren't always so smooth. She's just published a book called Permission To Screw Up in which she chronicles some of the lessons learned as an entrepreneur and a boss, and on today's show she shares some of the hightlights.

The Accidental Creative
Podcast: 3 Ways Leaders Unknowingly Limit Creativity
Podcast: 3 Ways Leaders Unknowingly Limit Creativity

Podcast: 3 Ways Leaders Unknowingly Limit Creativity

There are many things a good leader does to help their team gain focus, stay motivated, and produce great work. However, there are also some very common mistakes that many leaders make that they don’t even know are killing their team’s ability to engage with their work. This is especially true when doing creative work, because it requires tremendous trust and an ability to take risks that could be costly to correct later.

The better you are at setting good rails for your team, the more they will feel freedom to bring their best ideas and work to the table.

Today I discuss a few ways that leaders unknowingly squelch their team’s creativity, and to do about it.

The Accidental Creative
Podcast: Uncertainty, Systems, and Action (with Seth Godin)
Podcast: Uncertainty, Systems, and Action (with Seth Godin)

Podcast: Uncertainty, Systems, and Action (with Seth Godin)

It's such a joy to have Seth Godin back on the podcast. In this conversation, Seth shares insights about the nature of doing creative work in the face of uncertainty, and how to succeed with the smallest possible market instead of aiming for big.

He also shared a bit about his altMBA program, an intensive, 4-week online workshop for high-performing individuals who want to level up and lead.

The Accidental Creative
Podcast: The 3 Letter Word That’s Robbing You Of Great Work
Podcast: The 3 Letter Word That’s Robbing You Of Great Work

Podcast: The 3 Letter Word That’s Robbing You Of Great Work

One three letter word might be killing your creative output. Worse, it's the reason your team doesn't want to collaborate with you, and it's the thing that's preventing you from doing the best work of your life. On today's episode, I share what this three letter word is and some ways you can spot it before it derails you.

The Accidental Creative
Podcast: Why We Resist Creative Change (with Jennifer Mueller)
Podcast: Why We Resist Creative Change (with Jennifer Mueller)

Podcast: Why We Resist Creative Change (with Jennifer Mueller)

Ever tried to get your manager to go along with a great idea, but faced resistance on every front? You're not alone. In fact, today's guest Jennifer Mueller argues that most of us are actually resistant to creative change, regardless of what we say. However, she also says that there are some things we can do about our bias against creativity, and they can also help us be more effective in leading change within our workplace. In this episode, she shares insights from her new book Creative Change.

The Accidental Creative
Podcast: Leading Creative Teams (with Jeremy Bailey)
Podcast: Leading Creative Teams (with Jeremy Bailey)

Podcast: Leading Creative Teams (with Jeremy Bailey)

Leading a team of creative people, especially in times of change and uncertainty, means constantly striking a balance between strategy and creativity. In today's episode, Freshbooks' Creative Director Jeremy Bailey shares insights about how he helps his team stay connected to client needs, how he helps them share their specialized skills throughout the organization, and how the team stays aligned during times of transition.

The Accidental Creative
Podcast: Becoming A Prestige Brand (With JP Kuehlwein)
Podcast: Becoming A Prestige Brand (With JP Kuehlwein)

Podcast: Becoming A Prestige Brand (With JP Kuehlwein)

How do the world's greatest brands set themselves apart from the competition, and elicit irrational love from their customers? That's the question that today's guest JP Kuehlwein has been studying for years as he's worked with numerous prestige brands, co-authored Rethinking Prestige Branding, and interviewed great brand leaders via his podcast Ueberbrands. In this episode, he helps all of us consider how we can position our work and stand apart in our competitive space.

The Accidental Creative
Podcast: 3 Leadership Skills You Need To Develop Now
Podcast: 3 Leadership Skills You Need To Develop Now

Podcast: 3 Leadership Skills You Need To Develop Now

Whether you lead a team or you aspire to, there are certain skills that you need to learn in order to succeed. However, some of those skills are not so intuitive. Today, I share three specific, though not-so-intuitive skills that everyone should develop whether they lead a team or simply have to collaborate with others.

The Accidental Creative
Podcast: How To Be Simply Brilliant (with Bill Taylor)
Podcast: How To Be Simply Brilliant (with Bill Taylor)

Podcast: How To Be Simply Brilliant (with Bill Taylor)

What is it that separates unique, brilliant businesses from their competitors? Today's guest Bill Taylor is the co-fouder of Fast Company magazine, and the author of a brand new book called Simply Brilliant. He tells us how to stop striving to be the best, and to start striving to be the only in our industry.

Collaboration
A Rocket Scientist’s Advice On How To Do Impossible Things
A Rocket Scientist’s Advice On How To Do Impossible Things

A Rocket Scientist’s Advice On How To Do Impossible Things

Have you ever been at a cocktail party, had someone ask you what you do for a living, and wished you could come up with something impressive-sounding to wow them? Adam Stelztner probably never experiences that. He's an engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory who has worked on flight missions including Galileo, Cassini, and Mars Pathfinder, and the Mars Exploration Rover project. He has a lot to say about innovation and leadership.

The Accidental Creative
Podcast: Adam Steltzner on The Right Kind Of Crazy
Podcast: Adam Steltzner on The Right Kind Of Crazy

Podcast: Adam Steltzner on The Right Kind Of Crazy

Adam Steltzner has a more interesting job than you. And me. And probably most of the people listening to this show. He's an engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and he helps design things and land them on Mars. In today's episode, he shares some of what he's learned about doing hard things, and some insights from his new book The Right Kind Of Crazy.