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    The Crazy One

    The Crazy One helps you find new insights and breakthroughs in your career, creativity, and leadership. In every episode, Stephen Gates gives you honest and actionable insights taken from his experience leading global in-house and agency creative teams, building multiple Fortune 100 brands, and working as InVision’s Chief Design Evangelist coaching and working with companies ranging from small start-ups to some of the world's biggest and innovative companies. Recognized with 2020 Webby Awards Honoree for Best Technology podcast, Inside Design’s #1 favorite design podcast, How Design Live #1 design leadership podcast, Springboard’s #1 must-listen UX design podcast and more.
    enStephen Gates135 Episodes

    Episodes (135)

    Ep 94 Creativity: The lost art of boredom.

    Ep 94 Creativity: The lost art of boredom.

    Creativity has steadily declined for the past 25 years, and no one seems to know why. There are a lot of theories, but I think part of it is because all of our technology and constant engagement is killing boredom, which is an essential part of creativity. In this episode, we will look at why I think boredom is essential to creativity, why it's in incredibly rare supply, and how you can find more of it.

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    http://thecrazy1.com/episode94
     
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    Ep 93 Career: Why you have to build and maintain a personal support system.

    Ep 93 Career: Why you have to build and maintain a personal support system.

    You face a lot of challenges in your career, and having a good support system can make getting through them a lot easier. But we all battle insecurity, have less support as we grow our career, experience compassion fatigue, and so much more. In this episode, we will look at why we struggle to keep a support system through our career, the 4 parts of a good support system, and how you can start building one that can help you.

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    http://thecrazy1.com/episode93
     
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    Ep 92 Career: How to deal with difficult and creativity killing people

    Ep 92 Career: How to deal with difficult and creativity killing people

    One of the hardest parts of creativity is that it's subjective, which means it can be discussed, debated, derailed, or even killed by difficult people. We will all have to work with these types of people, and knowing how to do it successfully can be a massive part of it you are successful or not. In this episode, we will look at the 4 different personality types you experience at work, why you have to deal with difficult people, how to do it in a productive way, and what to do if it doesn't work.

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    http://thecrazy1.com/episode92
     
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    Ep 91 Career: The critical difference between design vs. creativity

    Ep 91 Career: The critical difference between design vs. creativity

    Design and creativity are two terms most people use interchangeably, but they could not be more different, and understanding those differences can make huge differences in your career, your team, and the impact you make in your company. In this episode, we will look at how design and creativity are often confused and misunderstood, how they should be defined, why the difference is important, and how to apply them to your career and team.

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    http://thecrazy1.com/episode91
     
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    Ep 90 Career: The real reason why you aren't getting promoted.

    Ep 90 Career: The real reason why you aren't getting promoted.

    I talk with people every week who are frustrated because they feel they are stuck in their career or doing something wrong because they can't seem to get promoted. In this episode, we are going to look at the problem we are up against in getting promoted, look behind the scenes of the promotion process, understand why your current strategy probably isn't working and give you a new way of looking at how to build your career to get better results.

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    http://thecrazy1.com/episode90
     
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    Ep 89 Career: Trends in recruiting, hiring, and retaining the best talent.

    Ep 89 Career: Trends in recruiting, hiring, and retaining the best talent.

    Finding and hiring great creative talent is getting harder every day due to record low levels of unemployment, the increasing demand for creative skills, and the expanding role of design. In this episode, we will look at a few of the trends taken from the new Design Trends Report I co-authored that affecting how we find, recruit, hire, and train the best creative people.

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    http://thecrazy1.com/episode89
     
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    Ep 88 Creativity: Trust is the key to everything.

    Ep 88 Creativity: Trust is the key to everything.

    Few things are more important to creativity, teamwork, and leadership than trust. Yet trust is one of the rarest and most misunderstood things on most teams and in most companies. In this episode, we will look at the different types of trust, understand where trust is important, look at how to assess the various aspects of trust, understand human-centered transformation, and some of the best ways to build trust.

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    http://thecrazy1.com/episode88
     
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    Ep 87 Creativity: Supporting and empowering introverts

    Ep 87 Creativity: Supporting and empowering introverts

    Too many people think "good" leaders or teammates have to be energetic extroverts while introverts as described as shy, anti-social, asking too many questions, or needing too much time to think. In this episode, we will find a new perspective and understanding of what introverts go through, why their way of work is really valuable, some tips for those of you who work with introverts, and some things introverts can do to find more support and understanding at work.

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    http://thecrazy1.com/episode87
     
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    Ep 86 Career: How to make peace with yourself to improve your creativity.

    Ep 86 Career: How to make peace with yourself to improve your creativity.

    Creativity and insecurity go hand in hand because our ideas and creative process are strongly influenced by what we have experienced in our life. The challenge is that we have all led different lives, so it is pretty much impossible to find other people who have the exact same problems you do. In this episode, we will look at where some of the most common creative insecurities come from, and with that understanding talk through a framework that can help you have a new way of dealing with yourself and your work.

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    http://thecrazy1.com/episode86
     
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    Ep 85 Creativity: How to get and give better creative feedback

    Ep 85 Creativity: How to get and give better creative feedback

    Feedback is an incredibly important moment at multiple points in the creative process because it can make things a lot better or a lot worse. Yet so many people don’t know how to give good feedback which endlessly frustrates creatives. In this episode, we will look at what makes bad feedback, how to give better feedback, and how to hear and act on all of that feedback.

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    http://thecrazy1.com/episode85
     
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    Ep 84 Design: The need for ethical design

    Ep 84 Design: The need for ethical design

    You may be tempted to skip this episode because ethics isn't the most exciting topic, but the need for a deeper understanding of ethical design is a huge emerging design trend. In this episode, we will look at two examples that highlight the need for a better understanding of ethical design, the 5 steps you can take to improve your ethical design process and why it needs to be an ongoing investment.

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    http://thecrazy1.com/episode84
     
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    Ep 83 Leadership: Your leadership maturity level, persona and communication style

    Ep 83 Leadership: Your leadership maturity level, persona and communication style

    We have talked a lot about leadership over the course of this show but this episode will focus more on concrete ways of measuring your leadership maturity, figuring out your leadership persona and look at 4 different leadership communication styles.

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    http://thecrazy1.com/episode83
     
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    Ep 82 Conference talk: ’The Future is Creative’ keynote from HOW Design Live 2019

    Ep 82 Conference talk: ’The Future is Creative’ keynote from HOW Design Live 2019

    This episode is a replay of my main stage keynote from HOW Design Live 2019. This talk is a culmination of everything I have seen and learned over the past year and a half working at InVision. It is made up of three truths that I think affect all of us and the six things we need to work on in our companies and in our work and lives.

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    http://thecrazy1.com/episode82
     
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    Ep 81 Keynote: ‘Why innovation is rarely authorized’ panel from HOW Design 2019

    Ep 81 Keynote: ‘Why innovation is rarely authorized’ panel from HOW Design 2019

    Every company says they want more innovation and leaders who are able to deliver it yet they are often more afraid of extinction than the change that’s necessary. As a result, innovation often happens when teams go against the rules and even risk their jobs to get it done. This episode is a replay of a panel discussion about innovation with two of the smartest and most inspirational people I know - best-selling author, Greg Larkin and ex-IDEO and current Managing Director of Expa, Sina Mossayeb.

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    http://thecrazy1.com/episode81
     
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    Ep 80 Emotional intelligence: How to find and restore your confidence

    Ep 80 Emotional intelligence: How to find and restore your confidence

    Confidence is something we all seem to be constantly working on since it can be easily faked, lost, or thanks to design imposter syndrome always in short supply. Yet confidence is something that is critical for creativity, leadership, and happiness so we need to understand what undermines it and find new ways of restoring it. In this episode, we will look at the fears that commonly undermine our confidence and 5 ways effective ways to find or rebuild it.

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    http://thecrazy1.com/episode80
     
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    Ep 79 Listener questions: Design operations, start-ups, company “purpose", your career and building a team.

    Ep 79 Listener questions: Design operations, start-ups, company “purpose", your career and building a team.

    In this episode, we will answer listener questions about clarifying design operations as a discipline, advice for designers who want to run their own start-up, how companies can make their purpose real and not just a marketing-induced pipe dream, dealing with the fear that your best work is behind you, and where to begin to create a UX strategy for a company that’s never had one before.

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    http://thecrazy1.com/episode79
     
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    Ep 78 Teamwork: How improv can make your team more creative

    Ep 78 Teamwork: How improv can make your team more creative

    At its best, creativity is about spontaneity, creativity, and collaboration. There are few places where we can all of these on display more easily than with improvisational comedy groups but what can they show us about how to improve our creative process and our teams? In this episode, we will look at what happens with improv that lets the creativity flow, what everyone can learn from it and how it can help your team and its culture.

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    http://thecrazy1.com/episode78
     
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    Ep 77 Keynote: ‘Building an In-House Design Powerhouse’ keynote from SXSW 2019

    Ep 77 Keynote: ‘Building an In-House Design Powerhouse’ keynote from SXSW 2019

    A replay of my sold-out keynote ‘Building an In-House Design Powerhouse’ from SXSW 2019 that looked at how companies want creativity and design like never before, but very few of their internal creative teams have been empowered to take advantage of this demand. In this episode, I share proven techniques and insights I've has gained from working alongside the world’s best in-house creative teams as InVision’s Head Design Evangelist.

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    http://thecrazy1.com/episode77
     
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    Ep 76 Creativity: Why cognitive bias is the real problem with your work.

    Ep 76 Creativity: Why cognitive bias is the real problem with your work.

    Why is it no matter where we work we run into the same frustrating behaviors in our team, our clients, and even ourselves time and time again? More than likely there are some fundamental psychological biases we all have that are causing and fueling these problems. In this episode, we are going to look at the six different types of cognitive bias that are affecting your work, what you can do to start to fight each one of them and help you understand why all of this is critical to your work, your team and your company.

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    http://thecrazy1.com/episode76
     
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    Ep 75 Career: How to survive corporate politics with grace and integrity

    Ep 75 Career: How to survive corporate politics with grace and integrity

    Dealing with politics is a necessary evil no matter where you work and at their worst can be so complicated that they can drive you out of a company or stand in the way of great work going out the door. In this episode, we will look at some of the emotional issues behind office politics and talk about the 8 habits that you can use to be able to survive them with grace and integrity.

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    http://thecrazy1.com/episode75
     
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