We are THRILLED to be interviewing the amazing Todd Henry today. In case you don’t already know, Todd is the founder and CEO of The Accidental Creative, a company that helps creatives enhance their creativity and boost their effectiveness. The site teams with helpful articles and some really wonderful podcasts but the real winner for us is his book, The Accidental Creative, which teaches you how to ‘turn on’ and ‘tune in’ to your creativity so that you can be productive and imaginative at all times of the day. Sounds good, right? Well, if that wasn’t good enough, Todd has shared some great insight with you today in our interview. Happy reading!
The Accidental Creative site has SO many projects in a range of media, from podcasts to blog posts to books. How do you decide which aspects of Accidental Creative to launch and which are simply too diverse?
This is the key challenge for any creative and entrepreneur, I think. It’s important to think about strategy and sequencing, not just viability. A lot of ideas are viable, but may not be a good strategic fit at a particular point in time. When we follow our frequent creative impulses we are sometimes less capable of pulling together a cohesive long-term plan. I think it helps to see a big project or a business as being kind of like a developing photo. You have to be patient, and as the picture begins to develop you see more and more details and are able to make better choices about what something really is, versus trying to force it to be something based upon arbitrary decisions that were made at the beginning of the project.
Podcasts are a big part of your site. What are the advantages to using podcasts and would you recommend that format to other creative entrepreneurs?
Podcasting allows a deeply personal connection to the audience that is often unavailable through the printed word. It offers the ability to use the nuances of vocal communication or visual communication so subtlety and intimacy are more of a possibility. If you enjoy speaking with people, I’d highly recommend podcasting as one avenue of sharing information and developing a connection with your audience, but it’s also important to remember that many people don’t have the ability to experience podcasts throughout the day because of their environment. Podcasts are generally less convenient than articles, so the key is to make it super simple for people to get them and experience them.
Your site is all about creative business teams (both in a traditional workplace and a non-traditional one). What are the advantages of joining forces with so many people and how can that be applied to smaller businesses?
The notion of the lone innovator working in a cabin in the woods on the “next big thing” is a cultural myth. In reality, most great innovations and cultural breakthroughs are the result of highly networked groups of individuals collectively grasping for what’s next. It’s important to stay wired in to what’s happening in places where you don’t have time to look frequently, and to have people in your life who can expose new ideas, reveal potential pitfalls and share opportunities that you may otherwise overlook. For small business owners it’s especially critical to stay connected with others because it’s easy to fall into your own little world of problems and concerns. Connecting with others you trust often provides much needed perspective.
What is one simple step from your book that our readers could do today to change their creative output?
The first place I begin is by helping people define their work. Many creatives walk around with the weight of the world on their shoulders because they’ve not taken the time to effectively define the problems they’re trying to solve. By simply examining each project and associating a “challenge”, or short problem statement, to it you are focusing your mind of the real problem you’re trying to solve and you’re eliminating much of the superfluous angst that many creatives carry around because of the lack of definition around the creative process.
Is your brain whirling with ideas now? We thought it might be. Don’t forget to stop on by The Accidental Creative and get more tips on boosting your creative effectiveness.
Recent Comments