People tend to talk more frequently about their successes, rather than their failures. This is natural, but it can make you feel awfully small when you think you’re the only one in the room who has failed. FuckUpNights is an organization that hosts events in cities around the world where individuals from all industries meet to share stories about their failures and then welcome questions and conversation. In addition to removing the shame from failure, this organization helps you learn from it. They also host a failure institute and have … [Read more...]
It’s a Shark.
Have you heard the saying "a few sharks can ruin the sea"? Probably not. It’s not an actual saying. Perhaps it should be. Have you ever wanted to take a chance on a new idea or project but found yourself hesitating? Why? It could be because you realize there is a chance it might fail, so you find yourself afraid to follow through. Our friend, Beck Tench, writes often about failure. About confronting it, admitting it and defining it. On her blog, she offers a "flow chart for fear" to help you better understand its root. The fear of failure … [Read more...]
Setting Intention
"One great lesson we learn when we mess up is how to set intention." In this Forbes article, Liz Ryan highlights this as one of the great take-a-ways from a big failure. Ryan notes that after making a mistake, creative leaders have the opportunity to set intention. I believe we have this opportunity as we venture into any task. Each morning during the Creative Community House, a cornerstone component to the Creative Community Fellows program, we begin the day by setting intention together. Each day has a theme, a theme that the day's content … [Read more...]
Complex Problem? Fail your way to a solution.
Like Ed Catmull of Pixar states, failure is necessary to producing successful creative work. If only because the first idea is not always the best idea. It requires reworking, shapeshifting. In this article, Financial Times columnist Tim Harford provides principles that you can use to accomplish this so-called ‘productive failure’: 1. “You have to cast a wide net” 2. “’Practice failing” in a safe space’” 3. “Be primed to let go of your idea if you’ve missed the mark” We've seen over past two days that folks continue to come back to: … [Read more...]
The Story Behind Toy Story
Why are Pixar’s movies such a huge success? Creative successes might be more related to failure than you think. In this article on his book, Creativity Inc., Ed Catmull, President of Pixar Animation and Disney Animation shares his insight on managing a creative organization that thrives on innovation and embracing new ideas. In order to be truly open to new ideas, he argues, organizations must have a culture of trust. “The antidote to fear is trust, and we all have a desire to find something to trust in an uncertain world. Fear and trust … [Read more...]
10 Reasons We Fail
There are a myriad of reasons that we fail, from plain bad luck to miscommunication or organizational shortcomings. In this article, entrepreneur Caroline Cummings, offers a set of ten reasons why many of the startups she's seen throughout her career, failed. Her observations reflect much of what we have seen and heard from our colleagues in the Creative Community Fellows program. They touch on team building, audience research and change. Caroline’s list leaves us thinking about what failure can teach us about success. Have you experienced … [Read more...]
Fail Better
Best selling author, Seth Godin shares what we all know to be true, we all fail. So, how do we make the most of it? If you’re going to fail, you should fail in the best way possible, right? We can’t control what external events occur, but we can control our reactions to setbacks and failures. Seth offers six ways to help us fail better and with intention: Whenever possible, take on specific projects. Make detailed promises about what success looks like and when it will occur. Engage others in your projects. If you … [Read more...]
What is failure?
What is failure? How do you define it? Is it really the worst thing that can happen? Does fear of failure prevent you from innovation and opportunity? Watch Ekaterina Walter’s Ted Talk on redefining failure and how it can lead to success. Walter says that our definition of failure is affected by three things: Passion, Attitude, and Purpose. Your passion and your purpose control your attitude. This affects your reaction to failure. If you have a strong passion and purpose, as many in the arts do, you will be much more resilient in the face of … [Read more...]
Failing… Without Platitudes
We live in a society that largely looks at those who fail as, to quote a certain Presidential candidate, “Losers.” And, no one wants to be a loser. Often the tighter our budgets, the less likely we are to try new things for fear of failing. The only way to never fail, as the saying goes, is to not try at all. All of this stands in contrast with the platitude-laden conference panels, posts and conversations about failure. They say that is is ok to fail. That failure is part of the learning process. That it is but one step in the innovation … [Read more...]
Leftovers? Again?
Last Thursday when I came home from work, followed by a two-mile run and high intensity circuit workout, I was not in the mood to make the chickpea turmeric soup I had planned to whip up for us to eat that night. It was the middle of the week. The dark, winter days were getting to me. I was not prepared to spend an hour of my evening in the kitchen when the couch and my book were looking at me, calling my name. To paint the picture more clearly, I ritually cook a meal from scratch every night of the week. I simmer sauces. I roast vegetables. … [Read more...]
Art Spaces as Places for Community Engagement
This week, we're sharing reflections on the Summit at Sundance process and on the ideas leaders in the Chief Executive Program: Community and Culture worked on during this Summit last month. We encourage you to add your voice, questions and experiences to the conversation, and to use the information and conversations to inform action! In this post, Daniel Gorman (Shubbak Festival), Cristy Johnston Límon (Destiny Arts Center) and Carol Varney (Bay Area Video Coalition) share their ideas on how they might use their spaces to heighten community … [Read more...]
Place, process and making your own reservation
This week, we're sharing reflections on the Summit at Sundance process and on the ideas leaders in the Chief Executive Program: Community and Culture worked on during this Summit last month. We encourage you to add your voice, questions and experiences to the conversation, and to use the information and conversations to inform action! How might we ensure the arts are a convener and participant in identifying and addressing important community issues and in community planning? When we asked Chief Executive Program: Community and Culture … [Read more...]
Beyond Financials
This week, we're sharing reflections on the Summit at Sundance process and on the ideas leaders in the Chief Executive Program: Community and Culture worked on during this Summit last month. We encourage you to add your voice, questions and experiences to the conversation, and to use the information and conversations to inform action! How might we, as leaders in the cultural sector, be critical, formative drivers of building the vision for a new economy?(‘New Economy’ refers not to the high-tech economy, but a reconsideration of what the … [Read more...]
You Gotta Know Why
This week, we're sharing reflections on the process and the ideas leaders in our Chief Executive Program: Community and Culture worked on during their Summit at Sundance last month. We encourage you to add your voice, your questions and experiences to the conversation, and to use the information and conversations to inform action! Communities, funders and the environment all shift over time. Arts and culture organizations can get stuck in patterns of doing and being. How might we change so that we remain relevant when our communities … [Read more...]
The Ideation Summit: Transforming Stakeholders into Collaborators
Conversations about critical issues happen all the time. Conferences, blogs and community meetings offer any number of opportunities to raise and share experiences with these issues. And yet, we experience seemingly endless discussion with little discernible progress towards shared solutions. Throughout the field, our colleagues are working towards creating meaningful conversations that result in collective action and shared solutions. NAS is experimenting with an ideation process to lend form and action to conversations The Ideation Summit … [Read more...]