Session wrap up: Behance – Tips for making ideas happen
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Dave's review of Behance CEO Scott Belsky's SXSW discussion about making ideas happen.
Nothing happens if you do nothing with your ideas. Seems so simple.
Making the case for organization to a room full of creative folk isn't always easy, but it sure did make sense. Scott Belsky, CEO of Behance, ran through a bit about the problems they've identified within creative organizations. Three of the big ones were what he calls the idea-to-idea syndrome, importance hording, and not sharing ideas early enough.
Idea-to-idea syndrome
This is when you generate a ton of ideas and never take the time to develop them.
Importance hoarding
This is a paraphrased version of the topic, but it happens when someone in a position of leadership spends more time taking care of little items of importance that could be designated with equal success.
Not sharing ideas
This is actually a larger topic, but it hits on a common theme in creative places. People don't like to share their ideas early on in the process because they're scared of them being stolen, changed or killed.
So how do you solve these problems?
Scott stressed the fact that ideas don't happen just because they're great. They also don't happen by simply talking about them. He introduced his formula for making ideas happen:
Creativity x Organization = Impact
Case in point:
100 x 0 = 0
3 x 2 = 6
You have to have an approach that works
It doesn't matter what it is, to a point, as long as it works. Belsky talked specifically about arguing within an organization. His point was that even though it may not be ideal, at least the issue is getting worked out and the design is being explored. But if someone just says, "this is too much, I'm out" then that person's thoughts are lost.
One company Behance has worked with actually asks prospective candidates how comfortable they are with fighting. The point is that managed conflict can help you work out an idea.
Another idea Scott put out to the crowd comes from a trait shared by many of the companies he has worked with. They hire people with initiative over experience. The thinking is that if someone has even a minimal background of getting things done, they will continue to do so. Makes a lot of sense.
This blog post however feels as though it's beginning not to. All of these are pretty much getting put up on the fly, so I'm sure I'm leaving gaping holes in them that need to be filled. Rest assured that after this week, I'm positive that I'll have plenty to write about for quite some time.
So for now, I'll just leave you with a final thought from Scott. He pointed out that it's worthwhile to look for different ways of doing things by reminding us that society has a tendency to shun people who do so but then celebrate their success.
I think the arguing point is pretty important. In the book <cite>Managing Humans</cite>, Michael Lopp says that if his team is arguing over how to implement things he’s happy: it means they are thinking about how to solve the problem and also that they care about the results. That’s the kind of argument that you want to see, and it’s the kind of argument that’s constructive — even if it becomes heated.
The real trick is knowing when it’s gone on long enough and a decision needs to be made.
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Posted by John Williams on 03/15/09 at 4:42AM