Burn your business cards.
Whenever we introduce ourselves to another person, we usually lead with our title – whether it’s on our business card or what we claim ourselves to be.
In fact we’re robbing ourselves of some really great opportunities.
Don’t ever work in advertising.
‘I work in advertising; I sell Doritos.’ ‘Fuck OFF!’
Break things.
All our life we’re told to make things. Breaking things is a process from which you can learn so much more if you decide to learn from somebody else whose done something great and break it and take it apart.
When was the last time you mentored somebody who was less experienced than you?
When was the last time you tried to bring together your community and do things for your community?
I like to go to a lot of events and conferences. I read a lot from different essays, bloggers, and books.
And one thing that you expect when you see these people up on stage; when you read these articles from bloggers you expect a little bit of… expertise.
Maybe if we think about making more ugly things and not giving a shit about pretty things we can get somewhere.
Imagine if Craigslist was beautiful?
It wouldn’t feel like we’re getting a deal. So if you’re buying six-month old boxers on a really shiny website, maybe it wouldn’t work.
But because Craigslist is ugly, you feel like you’re getting a cheap deal.
Find out why things go where they go.
Find out why particular scenes in a particular film sequence are edited together or in the fashion they are or in the time that they are and the way that the cuts work.
What you’re really doing in this situation is you’re working on your craft.
You’re looking at something that you really admire and you’re trying to get into the seethe of the person who built this thing to begin with; to get into their head to see why they made the pratical decisions that they made in creating this, whether it’s a logo or a Web page or anything else.
Mig Reyes – Backwards Advice for Creative Mornings citing Jim Coudal
When looking for funding, don’t just look for cash.
Look for the right people.
Startups don’t die because they run out of money, they die because they don’t figure out who they are.
Hampus Jakobsson for Creative Mornings (via shareableadvertising)
Your creative imagination will always be greater than the technology at your disposal.
The people that are doing work that matters aren’t doing work thats popular. They’re just doing work that changes some people.
White lies, why not? Fake it until you make it. Boost yourself. Don’t tell boring stories about yourself for no reason at all.
Spice up the conversation a little bit.
There are only two ways to innovate – or interrupt an economy: 1) work out what people want and find out a clever way of making it, 2) Find out something you can make and work out a way to make people want it.
Rory Sutherland for Creative Mornings
Be nice to people. We had a bottle of red wine with a person, which became three bottles of red wine. Three years later she called us up and now works for a huge festival and we became their agency for now four years. Be nice to people.
If you buy from someone that has a reputation, they have much more to lose by ripping you off. So it may not be that what they produce is better, but it’s much less likely to be shit. Can I make this purchase with a feeling of confidence?
Rory Sutherland for Creative Mornings
Your name. Is it a risk? Every boring company has a similar name and it is really fucking boring.
Don’t be the best one in the room. Go be somewhere where you can learn from other people.
Say yes more. When we started up the company I was scared shitless and I said ‘NO, NO, NO!’ All my life I’ve had more fun saying yes than no.
Focus on one thing, you can become the best at it. Focus on doing 10 things, then you can maybe do 10 things but you’re probably shit at almost every field and you won’t be groundbreaking in any of them.
Niche yourself and don’t be a full-service agency.
Design is an idea of society. Design doesn’t solve all the problems of the world, but it can establish a narrative to a story.
Antonio Scarponi of conceptualdevices.com on Creative Mornings