Scott Belsky of Behance

Contrary to popular belief, creativity can exist in bureaucratic environments. You can see it in the form of brainstorms and “exciting days” in offices across the corporate world. A new idea flourishes, but then it enters a bureaucratic mess that substantially reduces the likelihood of execution.

“Don” (real name protected) had an internship this summer at a social networking startup that shall go nameless. As he explains, “ideas for changes and small improvements would originate in a brainstorm, and then be preserved for a meeting with our design agency. A week later, a meeting with designers would end with a series of questions for the programmers. The programmers (some work on the opposite coast and some work in India), would have to agree on a meeting time with the designers and with the executives. By the time that meeting happened, everyone would need a refresher on the topic, weeks would have passed, and money evaporated.” Painful.

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Any small business reaches a point at which the inability to delegate will cripple a manager. Yes, delegation is a critical skill. You must always ask yourself if you are doing something that someone else could do. Ultimately, as a manager, you should strive to spend your time on the things that ONLY you can do, like generating new business, developing new products, or strengthening client relationships. Delegation is the methodology for scaling a business.

Here are a few tips that a small business manager should keep in mind: read more

Self-starters are often successful doing everything themselves. However, when forced to grow beyond the one gal/guy-show, many creative professionals are unable to take the leap from a solo success to a successful collaboration.

The transition from running with your own ideas to working with a creative team can be painful. The skills needed to lead yourself (primarily self-reliance) are quite different than the skills required to lead others. Once the best candidate for every task, you can become a victim of your own talents as you are forced to delegate, share ownership, and “let things go.”

Here are a few classic problems that Behance Reseach has observed: read more

We live in a world of choices. When we buy, we have to make a choice between varieties, brands, and sizes. Similarly, when we work we have to decide what to focus on and how to use our time. While prioritization helps us focus, our minds still have the tendency to wander. We are most likely to focus on whatever catches our eye. Along the lines of “out of sight, out of mind” we learn that “right before our eyes, actions thrive.”

It is no secret that design is a critical element of productivity. Design helps us organize thoughts and maintain a sense of order amidst creative chaos. However, design is also a valuable tool for managing our own attention span. Design can help us advertise actions to ourselves.

Think of it as your own personal Madison Avenue marketing agency. You have some critical, time-intensive projects that will require your energy and relentless focus. Your time is precious currency. How are you going to advertise the project – and its many action steps – to yourself? read more

Every action taken (or not taken) either pushes your idea forward or holds it back. Sometimes we ignore the intangible elements of productivity, namely self-awareness, discipline, and confidence. You must manage yourself as you manage ideas. If you stop and think about it, your ability to make ideas happen is dependent on you and…the ball.

Are you moving the ball forward?
With everything you say and do, you either move the ball forward or backwards. Excess chatter in meetings, repetitive questions, and inconsequential concerns only distract you and others from action - thus moving the ball backwards. Aspire to content-make rather than commentate. Moving the ball forward is adding value that enriches and expedites the outcome.

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Ultimately, success is a result of differentiation and emphasizing your unique value.

While conformity lubricates the gears of society, the world is pushed forward by contrarians. The advancements we know and love - new technology, medical breakthroughs, artistic achievements - are made by passionate people with bold and often unpopular ideas (this is not a new realization, Apple captured this quite well with their “Think Different” campaign. These creative geniuses also had the guts to endure unchartered territory. Strange that so many people preach a “traditional path to success.” After all, the catalyst for making a meaningful impact is doing something different. read more

When something is urgent, you rush to do it. When something is important, you prioritize it. In our everyday lives, we are forced to manage urgency and importance simultaneously. Especially in the buzzing environment of a small business, important projects require time and mental loyalty. The “urgent” matters that arise with everyday projects can interfere with our long-term objectives. Without a discerning effort to focus on long-term initiatives, your progress will stall.

You have goals that are important to you, and you have day-to-day problems that require urgent solutions. All too often, our tendency is to focus on fixing. “If it’s urgent, I’m on it,” you might proclaim. But how do we stay focused on our long-term goals? Can we really let everything that is merely “important” suffer at the mercy of urgent tasks? Especially for those of us that have families or passions of the utmost importance, how can we protect them? If you let urgent matters consume your time, you’ll never make progress on anything important. read more

The philosophy to “share ideas liberally” defies the age-old instinct to keep ideas secret. However, emerging businesses are likely to benefit more from sharing ideas than from withholding them. For starters, new ideas are likely to die in isolation unless they gain traction among employees and partners. Ideas are also liable to alienate your partners and customers unless they are “tested.” Of course, ideas area also likely to succeed when refined. Business leaders flush with ideas should take every opportunity to communicate new ideas broadly, seek feedback, and develop a sense of accountability.

Share your ideas liberally. The benefits from accountability and feedback outweigh the risk that someone steals your idea! Many entrepreneurs claim that they become more committed to their ideas after telling people about them! The fact is that great ideas are plentiful, and very few people have the discipline and resources to make them happen. When you are accountable to others, you are more likely to stay focused. read more