My obsession, since before the founding days of Behance, has been to better understand the forces behind making ideas happen. In a perfect world, the best ideas would be the easiest to execute. Or, at the very least, there would be some correlation between the quality of an idea and the probability that it becomes a reality. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
The result of this quest Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision & Reality (Penguin, Portfolio Imprint). In about 240 pages, the book collects a series of pragmatic tips, tools, and anecdotes about the art (and science) of making ideas happen.
The result of this quest Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision & Reality (Penguin, Portfolio Imprint). In about 240 pages, the book collects a series of pragmatic tips, tools, and anecdotes about the art (and science) of making ideas happen.
Over the years, the book has been translated into more than a dozen languages. I have had the opportunity to travel the world to talk about "Making Ideas Happen," and I am very grateful.
Ideas are worthless if you can't make them happen.
Many of us believe that great ideas inevitably lead to success. Nothing could be further from the truth. Whether it is the perfect solution for an everyday problem or a bold new concept for a creative masterpiece, you must transform vision into reality for an idea to have value.
This book chronicles the methods of exceptionally productive creative leaders and teams – companies like Google, IDEO, and Disney, and individuals like author Chris Anderson and Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh – that make their ideas happen, time and time again.
Making Ideas Happen will change the way you work:
Overcome “reactionary workflow” and start pushing ideas forward.
You can easily spend your entire day just responding to incoming communications – email, texts, voicemails, tweets, etc – while never finding time to push the big, meaningful ideas forward. Learn proven methods for organizing with a bias-toward-action, prioritizing amidst a creative process, and pushing bold projects to completion.
Let go of the myth of the lonely creative genius.
Understanding how to leverage your community for feedback, resources, and exposure is crucial to gaining traction with your ideas. Discover the advantages of broadcasting your ideas early, seeking out competition, tapping into the power of “Circles,” and overcoming the stigma of self-marketing.
Push through the “project plateau”... and finish!
Most ideas get lost in that dreaded period of execution where your natural creative tendencies turn against you. Acquire methods for thriving when long-term vision is not enough. You will learn how to short-circuit the traditional rewards system, fight your way to breakthroughs, and gain strength from the doubts you will face along the way.
