The 4 Weapons Of Exceptional Creative Leaders. For the leader of a company powered by creativity, the difficulties of navigating today’s complex marketplace are compounded by the fact that, in every decision, two forces are loudly asserting their dominance: creativity and profitability. A fractious relationship at the best of times. Leading a company that must, by definition, exist in a constant state of dispute provides enough challenges to fill a book. But in my work as a coach and confidant to creative and business leaders, I have come to recognize that exceptional leaders unlock the power of "profitable creativity" by developing four benevolent weapons. Context Context is the most underappreciated asset of business leadership because without it, every decision becomes a guess. But context requires you have the full picture, which is why well-disguised guesswork is what passes for strategic decision making in many of today’s creative businesses.
Many creative companies know what they do, but not where they’re trying to get to. When. Triple Pundit: How To Transform Cities With Community Supported Art. Artists can transform cities. They turn wasted buildings into studios and lofts. Galleries and cafes follow. The neighborhood gentrifies. Rents go up. Next come condos… But do cities return the favor? Laura Zabel of Springboard for the Arts in Minneapolis thinks they should. She developed an innovative program called Community Supported Art. Regularly Scheduled Art The idea for community supported artists came to her after seeing her mother’s regular veg delivery. The Community Supported Art program in Minneapolis is so popular, it regularly sells out. Image credit: Scott Streble (Continue reading original article here.)
How The Occupy Movement Inspired A Different Approach To Human Storytelling [Video] Shhhopping: Selfridges launches new No-Noise initiative. Maria Popova On Making Communities Using Cool Content. This article titled “Maria Popova: why we need an antidote to the culture of Google” was written by Kathy Sweeney, for The Observer on Sunday 30th December 2012 00.04 UTC You describe yourself as a “curator of interestingness” and run a website from New York called Brain Pickings, which covers all things curious and inspiring – books, art, science, photographs etc. What’s the common denominator for publishing something? If something interests me and is both timeless and timely, I write about it. Much of what is published online is content designed to be dead within hours, so I find most of my material offline.
With 1.2 million readers a month and 3m page views, your site would be a good place to advertise, but, instead, you ask readers for voluntary contributions. There’s a really beautiful letter that a newspaper journalist named Bruce Bliven wrote in 1923 to his editor. Why do people pay for what they can get for free? Contribution-based podcasts and websites are becoming more common.