“The New Art of Ideas” with Robin Landa
The New Art of Ideas with Robin Landa
Episode 431 LIVE on February 8, 2023 at 7:30 pm GMT / 2:30 pm ET / 11:30am PT / 9:30am in Hawaii
I can’t tell you how many Robin Landa books I own because I have them everywhere. I even have multiple copies of the same book. That is how much I love what Robin creates. I have different editions of the same book even. She is always adding so much value to the different editions it is like it is a new book.
Robin Landa is a professor, an author, a designer, and an inspiration. She has written over 20 books (25 I think), I use them with clients, in my creative practice, and in my research. This book was great at setting a framework for new ideas. It gives suggestions on how to tackle projects differently. There are tons of stories and examples inside the pages.
I am excited to share this book and have a conversation with Robin Landa on Wed, Feb 8. I hope you will join me.
Listen here
WEEK 2 of Love On Designers: ENCOURAGE
Create a post with an encouraging phrase or video on social media specifically to someone who needs a lift. Tag them and me. Remember to use the hashtag #loveondesigners
Send an old fashioned letter to someone who you know who has been killing it in our industry. Maybe do the research and find their company address or PO Box or if you know them ask them for their mailing address then send them some love in the mail.
Direct message someone and let them know you have seen their work and know how much time and energy they have been putting into it and it isn’t going unnoticed.
I hope you will join us as we lift up the creative community this month and spread the love.
Here is how to enter to win one of the five giveaways this month:
I am focused on growing my YouTube channel and one way for me to do this is to have more engagement and comments. GIVEAWAY TIME! To enter the drawing for some of my favorite drawing and mixed media tools, plus a few cards to send to friends and people who inspire you, postcards which you can hang in your office, and a few special surprise bonus items here’s what you have to do.
Five total winners will be randomly selected. Each week I post on YouTube @creativesignite. Anyone who comments on any of my YouTube videos will be entered to win. I will be randomly select a winner each week (Feb 1–15) (three YouTube winners). To be entered to win all you have to do is:
Subscribe to my YouTube channel @creativesignite.
Comment and share the video with a friend.
OR for the two LIVE SHOW winners
Come to the live show and make a comment. The more you comment the more chances you have to win. The last two weeks I will choose a person during the Feb 15th live show and during the Feb 22nd live show. All you have to do is: Come to the live show and comment in the chat during the live show.
Tune in to hear how you can join me in lifting others and have a chance to win.
Join us LIVE on Wednesday, Feb 8 at 11:30am PT / 2:30pm ET / 7:30pm GMT / 9:30am in Hawaii
Sign up here to get the link delivered to your inbox 30 minutes beforehand. https://creativesignite.com/signup
Questions
- Robin, can you give everybody a little background about your pivot from writing solely about design to writing about Creativity and Business?
- Another amazing book, “The New Art of Ideas, Unlock Your Creative Potential,” sharing so many stories and examples of the principles and concepts. When did you get the idea to write this book, what sparked it?
- One of the main principles was the Three G’s Framework. Can you share the premise behind this framework and explain how it can be used in any order?
- I read where we limit ourselves when we think that a problem is too large to solve or a goal too large. I was wondering how small of a goal, gap, or gain is too small?
- Creative block is definitely real. You are a designer, writer, entrepreneur, and professor. How do you deal with Creative block?
- What are some tricks you have utilized to help you get past the block?
- How do you incorporate your creative habits into your daily life?
- How would someone go from being a conventional thinker to an unconventional thinker? Are there steps we can take to start thinking unconventionally? To better grow that muscle?
- You’ve had many different publishers over the years. You mentioned one recent struggle with the book publisher and how you looking at it from a different perspective allowed you to not get derailed. Can you share that story?
- I really liked the flipping it question. You stated in the book, “solve the worst scenario problem, which was how to get people to unsubscribe.” This was ingenious and really helped me to implement things that would make them not want to unsubscribe. You gave the example of your students and having them attend your classes. Can you share that story?
- What is the thing you’ve learned about yourself in the last year, that has been most impactful to your life and/or business?
- What is next?
Connect with Robin
https://www.robinlanda.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinlanda/
https://www.instagram.com/proflanda/
https://twitter.com/rlanda
Transcript
[00:00:00] diane: Hey everybody. Welcome to another episode of, I was about to say design recharge, but I’ve changed the name and Rebranded Creatives Ignite and I am excited to once again have Robin Landon. Robin has written so many books, I can’t even hold them all in my hands, . Um, but I have many of the same book, just a different, um, addition.
[00:00:26] So like, I love this [00:00:30] lady and how she writes, and she’s written for years. And I have books that the, my favorite book I have three copies of, and it’s a spiral bound and it’s uh, uh, the branding one and it’s kind of like a bright green cover. It’s a little lighter green than this. It’s like a yellow green, but that is one of my favorite brand books.
[00:00:52] And the other day I was on a Zoom call with John Engels and I was like, what’s that book? It was the back of your book. But I kind of thought it was, that was what it [00:01:00] was. And I was like, is that is? And he turned it around and I was like, oh my gosh, that’s Robin Land’s book. She’s on the show next week. So I’m really excited that that other people love you too.
[00:01:11] And, and you have a new book. So you are a professor, an author. You now write not just non-fiction like this, you also write short stories of fiction, which is a big, I mean, you are always a great example of somebody who’s exploring, but also really, [00:01:30] really top in your field. So I love everything that you do, and I’m excited to have, uh, this new book to talk to you about.
[00:01:37] But can you give them just a little bit of your background and then I’ll ask you the rest of the questions.
[00:01:43] Robin Landa: Well, thank you Diane. It’s a mutual fan club. I love you and adore you, and thank you for all that you do, for everybody and for the discipline really. Thank you so much. Um, I hold the title of Distinguished Professor in the Michael Graves College at Kane University, which [00:02:00] is a pu, a big public university in, in the state of, in the wonderful state of New Jersey.
[00:02:05] Um, and we also have a campus in China, by the way. So I always say that I, I teach in the USA and I, as you said, I write a lot of books. I love to write. I’ve written about advertising and branding and graphic design and creative thinking and, and drawing and drawing and personal branding, as you said. And um, now I’m working on a [00:02:30] book about careers, but.
[00:02:32] two latest books. One is called Strategic Creativity, and that one is a field guide to thinking about advertising, branding, and design. And it’s, I aimed it at business people so that they would understand what we do. But it turns out that a lot of graphic design faculty like it because it’s kind of a condensed, uh, journal or field, field guide, I guess, of, of what we do.
[00:02:59] And then my [00:03:00] latest book that just came out in November is The New Art of Ideas, and it’s really the first idea generation methods since 1950 something. Since the mid 20th century.
[00:03:13] diane: Yeah, I think you had said 1953, which I thought was really un I mean, I, I was just repeating you from when you had said it before, but that’s really interesting that there hasn’t really been any new.
[00:03:25] Formulas or systems to come up with new ideas and you, you cover a lot of [00:03:30] things. And this was, uh, I listened and read. Um, there are lots of great illustrations in the beginning of each chapter. You always have awesome things inside here, which I think is really helpful. Um, and I was talking to one of our grad students and he was like, I wanna look at all your Robin Landa books.
[00:03:48] So I had already had ’em out, um, except the ones I forgot to. But I was like, I love how there’s these sections and you do this in the drawing book or in the personal branding book as well, [00:04:00] and in other books as if in the past that it gives me a place to kind of think about you have some questions or some prompts for me.
[00:04:08] And I think that that’s really beneficial, um, as I’m reading the book instead of it just being chapter end. And there’s where I think you’re a great professor to be able to kind of have, Hey, here’s some things to kind of rethink. So I just like the way you structure books. You don’t structure books like everybody else.
[00:04:25] And I think it’s really helpful. I, it helps me to learn. And [00:04:30] so it mean to me, it’s like each chapter is something and you’re giving, like sometimes there’s, unlock your creative potential and then build a creative habit I think is almost in everyone. But then there’s just, um, anyway, it’s just, it’s just well organized for my brain, so it’s really helpful.
[00:04:47] So I’m
[00:04:48] Robin Landa: excited. I really, that’s great feedback for me because it, it’s helpful and I realize that people do like the, the parts that you’re saying. And I just wanna give a shout out [00:05:00] to the woman who illustrated the book. You just showed the illustration, and if any of your, uh, people who are attending today, or listeners, viewers watch manifest, uh, Holly Taylor illustrated the book and designed the cover and she plays Angelina Meyer on Manifest.
[00:05:19] And she was, um, the daughter on the Americans, and I was very lucky to have Holly as my student. That’s how we made the connection. That’s
[00:05:28] diane: cool. That’s really [00:05:30] cool. Well, all right, so we’re gonna dive right in if you guys have questions as always. Uh, Watching on YouTube or listening on, um, a podcast platform.
[00:05:40] Obviously you can always come live and participate, but if you guys have a question, I definitely want you to, um, write it in the chat and I will absolutely be happy to help. And I see lots of other people have come in, so I’m excited. So one of the things, this is a big pivot for writing for over 20 years for the field of graphic [00:06:00] design going from, I mean, and you wrote two books during the pandemic, which I think is pretty impressive.
[00:06:07] The strategic, uh, creativity book I, I’m gonna get next. And then we’ll have you back on. And me and Paul were actually talking about, we really like that cover. That cover is really cool and it’s. I’m sure the inside’s even better, but there, this is a difference. And you and I had talked about this of pivoting from writing for just graphic [00:06:30] design to now business and then more about creativity.
[00:06:34] Can you talk about why you decided to do that or what kind of drove you to niche down in that area?
[00:06:41] Robin Landa: Well, I’ve been writing about our field, right? Graphic design and creative side of advertising and branding for, for many, many years. And very recently, uh, a student of mine got a really an internship at a really prestigious ad agency in New York [00:07:00] City.
[00:07:00] And she came back after her first week and she said, Robin, I have to tell you, there are a lot of interns on our creative team. And the creative director gave us a problem to solve. And I said, we can do this and we can do that, and we can do the other thing. And the other interns were just sitting there and I thought, wow, well, The way I’ve taught her to ideate works.
[00:07:22] Yeah. And then, and then another student reached out to me on Facebook Messenger, a student I had not had at the [00:07:30] university, but one of the other students told her to reach out to me, to ask me to teach her how to generate ideas. No way, and I realized I have to teach this person how to do it via Facebook Messenger, so I better codify my method so that I can teach it to Judy very easily.
[00:07:53] And I realized how well it was working for Brooke and, and all my other students. We have about 98% employment, which. [00:08:00] Terrific. Wow. I mean, yeah, that’s really, and Ed agencies call and say, you know, can you send someone else? And I’m like, I don’t have anybody else left. So it, it works. And I thought, well, let me find a publisher who’s willing to take a shot on me for a business book.
[00:08:19] And actually the first business book was Strategic Creativity, but that is about what we do, right? That is about graphic design and advertising. And oh, by the way, the cover that you like, that was [00:08:30] designed by one of my students. I always let students have a hand and he’s amazed. He got a job right at a school, at a design studio.
[00:08:38] He’s not an ad person, he’s a graphic design person. Ramit Sakara. Fabulous. Fabulous.
[00:08:44] diane: I love, I love that. And I love the illustrations in this. And sometimes, you know, sometimes it’s hard to do things that are just in black and white. I mean, there’s gray as well, but the illustrations in here are terrific.
[00:08:55] Like, anyway, they’re, they’re good thought provoking, but. [00:09:00] Anyway, so just for, I mean, I couldn’t see them when I was, uh, listening, right? So this is one advantage of getting a physical book in. I like to write notes all in my books. So, um, one of the, and I think Paul and I were analyzing a whole bunch of things.
[00:09:16] So Paul, I’m not throwing you under the bus. I’m, I’m telling you what me and him were talking about, but talking about how as a writer, um, I mean, talk about some amazing publishers. So how publishing you wrote for [00:09:30] them many, many years. Um, uh, Rutledge I think is the one that is the, um, is that, this one, I can’t tell.
[00:09:38] I even have my glasses on. I can’t even tell
[00:09:41] Robin Landa: that one’s bar. That one’s Barrett. Kohler Rutledge published Strategic Creativity and they just gave me a contract for a book about careers.
[00:09:49] diane: Okay. So I love this. So sometimes it’s difficult as, um, And, or sometimes people just stay with one publisher. Um, and [00:10:00] I just think that that’s a really, it’s really great that you’ve been able, you’ve had the freedom to be able to go to different publishers and there was a, a story in here and it’s way down on my list, but since I’m asking this question, I’m gonna just ask you to tell this story.
[00:10:17] And this is another reason I think that you guys, if you read this, you kind of get um, uh, Robin’s perspective and how she’s able to look at something. And a lot of times I [00:10:30] read a lot of books that are business books and they’re not always telling their stories, the teacher or the person who’s writing the author.
[00:10:37] But that’s one thing I love about this is that Robin actually has lots of stories that she’s, uh, seen or heard or read or whatever. But then also she’s sharing some of her own. And I love those. And there’s one about the. Um, you get a letter, everything’s signed, the contract’s signed for the book. Can you tell ’em this story?
[00:10:57] And then, because you end up having [00:11:00] such a great reaction to not getting what you want, and I just think we always deal with this, instead of feeding into that negative or feeling sorry for yourself or whatever you like, this is what I wanna do. So tell them what you did.
[00:11:14] Robin Landa: Right. So I got a contract. Um, I won’t name the publisher, although they’re, they’re out of business, uh, and I can tell you why cuz they’re business practices think or stunk or
[00:11:26] So they, I, I negotiated a really good [00:11:30] contract with, with really decent royalties, which is hard to get. And I was very happy they signed. And two weeks later, a week later, I get an email saying, your contract has been canceled. Because the person who negotiated that those royalties didn’t have the right to do so.
[00:11:50] And I was like, what? ? I had never, that was totally new for me. And I thought, okay. I went on to [00:12:00] LinkedIn and I looked for senior acquiring editors at other publishers. I, I messaged one at, um, Pearson, which was then Peach Kit. Mm-hmm. , and she answered in a matter of 30 seconds and I had a new contract two weeks later.
[00:12:17] diane: Wow. So I love that. You didn’t, you just took that as like a bump. You’re like, okay, well we’ll get it with someone else. And I, instead of being, letting it be [00:12:30] crush crushing. Now granted you’ve had lots of years of experience working with publishers and you understand the industry and you understand maybe what is needed.
[00:12:38] Do you think that you would’ve handled it the same way on like your fifth book?
[00:12:45] Robin Landa: Maybe the fifth book. Yes. But certainly not at the way beginning because it, it’s, it’s devastating to find out you thought you had something and now you don’t have it. And for very bizarre reasons. Um, yeah. And [00:13:00] really bad practice on the publisher’s part, but my whole philosophy is just keep moving forward.
[00:13:06] Yeah. Just don’t stop. And I don’t see the point of, I mean, you can sulk for a day and go have an extra ice cream. Right. , I certainly will do, but just keep moving, you know? And if somebody buys it, somebody buys it. If somebody doesn’t, somebody doesn’t, and then you, you change it or you, you put it in your drawer, maybe it’ll work.
[00:13:27] Sometimes things are out of time. [00:13:30] Yeah. Like it’s not the right time for something and then culture changes and it can work.
[00:13:36] diane: Yeah. Okay. So in this, um, I don’t know why people haven’t written or come up with a new framework for this, but as a teacher, you are always, uh, students think differently, right? Uh, and even with clients, clients think differently.
[00:13:52] You have to, or you have to explain things differently to different kind of clients, different students, whatever. Um, when you [00:14:00] came up with this, there was a story early on, I think, where, um, there was a student who was maybe taking up a lot of your time. and because of that you were like, I need to create something.
[00:14:13] And it ended up sparking something that you’ve done for a long time and you’ve created all these checklists. And I love this idea cuz it’s something that I have done also and that it really does help, it helps me when I’m doing it for me, but it’s also just a good kind of like if you’re new to [00:14:30] something, uh, as for students or if you’re haven’t done this, I need a checklist to make sure that I’m crossing all my T’s and dotting all my i’s Well, like the checklist, the way you were teaching students or, uh, professionals to brainstorm or to come up with new ideas.
[00:14:48] Was that just another thing that kind. Because it’s the three Gs. So I wanna kind of tell people what that is. But was that something that started in the classroom?
[00:14:59] Robin Landa: Yes. It, [00:15:00] it’s an interesting, um, origin story. It, it certainly helps in, you know, worked in the classroom. And as you said, brainstorming is, I think brainstorming is problematic.
[00:15:12] You know, if you, I dunno if any of you follow Brian Collins on LinkedIn or on Facebook, but he goes off on how bad brainstorming is. And brainstorming is, is problematic because it requires you to throw out either a partially formed idea or a fully formed idea, but how do you [00:15:30] form the idea, right? And then the other process, the, um, four stage or five stage process that Graham Wallace created, and then James Webb Young did a riff on the first stage is research preparation.
[00:15:43] Well, we all know we have to do that. The second stage is incubation. We all know. We do that. But the third stage is what they call illumination. And that’s the stage where you’re supposed to have the aha moment, but how do you form [00:16:00] the idea so people like us know how to do it because we’ve been trained to do it.
[00:16:05] And the aha moment can come. But people who haven’t been trained the way we have, don’t know how to form an idea and don’t know how to allow things to incubate. So anyway, the, there has been a new process since before mine, which is question storming, which is very good, better than brainstorming, but still not, doesn’t teach, it’s not a framework for [00:16:30] idea generation.
[00:16:31] It’s kind of a prepara, it’s a great preparation stage. And so in the classroom, I wanted to give them a way. To actually form an idea. And what I did was I based it on two things. One that you and everybody with us today knows, which is we have to differentiate our work, right? For our client. You can’t make it look like the other guys.
[00:16:56] So we have to fill a gap. We look for an [00:17:00] opening in something so that we can differentiate. Then when you do academic research and you do the first stages to do a literature review, meaning you’re looking at everything that everybody else has written and researched, and what you’re looking for is a gap, right?
[00:17:18] What can you do to move the discipline forward? What piece is missing? What can you fill? And so the, the element from our field of differentiation and the [00:17:30] gap from academia and research helped me f codify my f my framework.
[00:17:38] diane: Okay, so then explain to them, uh, it’s the three Gs. One thing I love is that it doesn’t, you don’t have to start with number one and then you go to the next one.
[00:17:47] Because as I know, just from working with other, uh, professionals and people like the people who are here, uh, minus my mom, my mom’s here, Hey mom. Um, but every, everybody else is [00:18:00] running a business or, and they’re designing and they’re meeting with clients or they’re working in, in house and they’re trying to, you know, they’re, they are the ones who have to come up with the ideas.
[00:18:12] And some people have an aversion to the word goal. I don’t know if that’s, uh, if some of y’all are in here, but I know that some people, if I said set a goal, that would just be a hard thing. But you have goal gain and I am blanking. Gap. What’s the [00:18:30] gap? And sometimes we see it as a gap. And there are so many stories in the book, so many that are like, oh, I saw this gap and then I’ve made something.
[00:18:39] And it could be an invention, it could be, um, an, I mean there were, there are, we can think about things like that. And I’ve thought, I don’t know why. Um, like there are just certain things that I’m like, ah, this just doesn’t work, but I don’t know how to solve this. But that’s the gap. That is the gap. I just haven’t, but [00:19:00] maybe I think there’s something really beautiful about collaboration cuz when we do this together instead of soloed out, I think we can come up with different, uh, two brains think differently.
[00:19:12] And so I think it’s always cool. But, so the beauty of this is that you can start with a goal. You can start with a gap or you can start with, uh, some again. Can you kind of explain it a little bit and have you found that more people start with one or the other or it’s just depends [00:19:30] on the day. ?
[00:19:31] Robin Landa: Well, I think it depends on the profession and, and depends on the day too.
[00:19:35] But, so for us, we get a brief, right? We get a design brief or a creative brief. So we’re starting with a goal cuz the client is giving us the goal. Mm-hmm. . And it’s a preset goal. But if it’s a passion project right? Or a side hustle, you might not start with a goal, you might start with a passion. Mm-hmm.
[00:19:53] you might start with something you’re, you know, very into. You might start by noticing a pain point. You might [00:20:00] start with a gap or you might notice that, oh, this has beneficial to people. Let me start from there. But you know, as designers we are, we are always tasked with answering the brief and so they’re starting with a goal.
[00:20:14] But when people are inventors, they might. Elsewhere, and they might be tinkering and notice something or, um, so anyway, the, I’ll, I’ll, I’ll explain the process if that’s okay. So a goal is what you wanna achieve. Mm-hmm. . And a [00:20:30] lot of people think that a goal is the idea, but it’s not it, it’s where you see it, the endpoint, the end point.
[00:20:38] The gap, as I said, is the piece that’s missing. And it can be really pretty much anything. It can be a toxic free method, it can be a more sustainable or green method. It can be something that has not been invented yet. It can be a missing piece. It can be reworking something, it can be an [00:21:00] underserved audience or an ignored audience.
[00:21:03] Um, it can be a new plant, a new process, a new system. You know, it can be thinking about how to address the world’s chronic issues like houselessness or clean lack of clean water or poverty or human trafficking. So there are tons of gaps to think about and the gain is the benefit. What’s in it for [00:21:30] individuals, society, creatures, or the planet.
[00:21:34] And I always think triple bottom line, not just profit. Right, right. People, planet, profit. And for me, I think we’re, it’s very important that an idea be worthwhile that, that it has positive impact on people and the planet. We’re at an an infection point where we have to think about impact. And so you can enter this [00:22:00] framework, if you notice, again, if you notice a gap or if you start with a preset goal like we do in graphic design.
[00:22:08] Yeah.
[00:22:08] diane: Okay. So, um, one of my questions was, is there ever like a goal too small or a gap too small? And you have a lot of examples in the book that maybe a big company would say, uh, that’s such a small audience, but it ended up having, and I I could think of other examples as well. Is it, um, there was one where [00:22:30] a guy was, uh, he redesigned the wheel on the wheelchair, right?
[00:22:34] Do you wanna tell this story? Cuz this was so, and I just look,
[00:22:38] Robin Landa: yeah. Oh, it, it’s one of my favorite case studies. Uh, Andrea Malin was, wa always wanted to reinvent the wheel. Now, you can’t get much grander than right than that goal, than that ambition. And after he spoke with para Olympians who told him the issues that they [00:23:00] have with wheelchairs, so people who are wheelchair users, I don’t know if everybody realizes this, but they have to give up their wheelchair when they go on an airline.
[00:23:10] And the airlines are not very careful. And so, so many wheelchairs are damaged. And when you’re giving up your wheelchair, it, it’s like you’re giving up your legs. I mean, that’s, that’s, that’s your mobility. And wheelchairs don’t fit in overhead compartments. So you actually, they have to take [00:23:30] it away from you.
[00:23:30] Sometimes they don’t fit in taxis, they don’t fit in cars. So what he did was design, he’s an, he was a Ferrari designer, and he, he’s an, so he’s an industrial designer and a fabulous designer. And so he designed a compact foldable wheelchair that can go in any universal overhead compartment in an airline that’s easily folded and easily reopened and can fit into any [00:24:00] taxi trunk, into any car trunk.
[00:24:03] So ultimately he did reinvent the wheel because it’s a hexagonal wheel that collapses and then opens.
[00:24:11] diane: I, one thing I l um, it’s kind of like when your heart gets pulled for something that you don’t really know how to solve it, but that is what some of these gaps are. And I think, um, there was another story I believe in the book, um, that was where, um, I don’t know why my brain’s not [00:24:30] working, but they came together to, I think it was for the joysticks, for, um, and, and they, but they did like a, gosh, it’s called something.
[00:24:38] And why can I not think of what this, you know, when they, all these people come together for like eight hours or 24 hours and they
[00:24:44] Robin Landa: do a, yeah, I’m, I’m forgetting the word too. . Good. Okay. We
[00:24:50] diane: both cannot remember the word, but that is Okay. Um, but you get, uh, you come together and then a whole bunch of people are using their brains all together and you solve, it’s like a hackathon.
[00:24:59] [00:25:00] Hackathon, yes. A hackathon. And that’s what this was too. And so, um, and you can explain this one. I don’t wanna tell all the stories, but I, but I think that some of these gaps come out of like, Hey, here’s this, here’s this problem, or with the hackathon, which I really like the collaborative nature of a hackathon, and it’s done really quickly.
[00:25:22] But this, you know, it started with listening, uh, the wheelchair, uh, s. Uh, he heard, and there [00:25:30] was a really powerful, uh, statement or phrase in the book where it was like, can you imagine every time you went on an air, air, um, airplane, your legs got broken? And I was like, oh, like that is a powerful gap. That doesn’t happen.
[00:25:49] Oh, I’m so sorry we broke your legs. Um, good luck. You know, I mean, they’re just pushing you out. Uh, you can’t even roll your wheelchair. A sprint. Yes. Uh, Paul said too, I do think it is a [00:26:00] hack of hackathon for this one, but. Um, I think that there though, I think it was, I don’t remember who, what the company was, if it was Microsoft or if it was somebody else who did the Microsoft, they redid the joysticks for people who were in the military, um, and who had served, but then they’d come back, um, without, um, certain limbs and they couldn’t hold the joystick the same.
[00:26:26] But there’s a lot of therapy that comes in playing games [00:26:30] and they feel like a, a full human right. They, of course, they are a full human already, but they are missing a, a limb, um, or multiple limbs. So this was playing games is it’s, and then they did a whole, I think Microsoft did, um, or whoever it was, they did a campaign that was for kids who didn’t, who, uh, were born that way or it had some sort of, um, uh, loss.
[00:26:58] Right. And. [00:27:00] and I was like, wow, you know, that is a small part of this gaming system and they’re probably not making profit is not, but what happens is they, I might play a game and see, you know what, I’m gonna buy theirs because I saw what they did. They actually are doing some things to help these people.
[00:27:18] So it’s, um, connecting me because I know that they really care or something. I don’t know if that makes sense or, sorry my brain is not working, but I love, [00:27:30] I loved that. I, there are so many stories in here. Um, there’s another one that, uh, unless you want, do you wanna say anything about the joystick one?
[00:27:39] Robin Landa: Oh, I do.
[00:27:39] Because it goes to your point, Diane, that this was a small audience. Even though there are 40, you know, that there are 46 million gamers in the US alone who have limited mobility. Wow. Wow. But Microsoft didn’t wanna do this originally, but there were dedicated people. Working to get [00:28:00] this commercialized and figured out.
[00:28:02] And it took years, but it was the first mass produced adaptive controller, but it started with one Microsoft engineer noticing an image on, on Twitter, uh, from Ken Jones, who, um, as you said, uh, runs war fighter engaged. And he does bespoke adapters for wounded veterans for severely wounded veterans. So he does one at a time.
[00:28:27] Mm-hmm. , which is, you know, [00:28:30] an incredible contribution to people. But Matt Hite wanted to see if Microsoft could indeed mass producers. And they did. They were the first to do it. And it was, the other thing to understand is that it was a very inclusive, uh, team. There were many te actually many teams, cuz it took years, but they were inclusive, which is really important.
[00:28:55] diane: And, and you have a whole chapter in, in the book or multiple chapters that deal with [00:29:00] d e I and, um, diversity, equity and inclusion. And that sometimes we may be thinking one thing, and I see this a lot with students, right? And, but we forget that we can also be this narrow minded as well. So we in, it’s really important because somebody else might be seeing it in a way we didn’t even see it because they have an experience that’s different either culturally or, um, uh, from a different religion or from a [00:29:30] different age or from a different, all kinds of different, um, ways that we need to be.
[00:29:36] If, if we’re trying to reach an audience and we’re trying to have it be there for. Those people, we can’t just eliminate them from what that is. And so that was kind of another way to look at the problem. Um, and, but the goal gap and gain kind of goes throughout the whole book, but it’s shown in different ways.
[00:29:58] And how so? Uh, [00:30:00] again, it, it, it’s, I mean, it’s not short, but I mean, it’s not tiny or big type. Right? But, you know, there’s sections I didn’t write in it yet, but I dogeared this one. Um, but there’s sections for you. Not everyone, but there’s sections for me to go in and, and write things, which I, again, I really like having that, um, prompt for me.
[00:30:23] Um, I’m gonna, uh, so is there ever something that’s too small or too large [00:30:30] for a, something, a problem to use this goal gap
[00:30:35] Robin Landa: gain? I don’t think so. I’ll, I’ll give you another example. Uh, somebody, um, was a financial analyst and working for a very big financial company and he noticed that a lot of his clients, when they, either when they changed jobs or changed employers had trouble rolling over their 5 0 1 or their retirement [00:31:00] funds.
[00:31:00] And so he decided to leave the company he was working for and start his own business of only doing that for people because he knew how and helping them manage that one financial issue. So I think it can be small. I mean, it, it’s, I mean he’s certainly making a profit off of it, but it’s helping people with a pain point.
[00:31:24] And, you know, um, another example is, uh, micro, uh, not Microsoft, sorry, [00:31:30] MasterCard. Noticed that people in the LGBTQIA plus community, when they use credit cards or debit cards, their birth name was on the card and not their true name. And so they had the idea of issuing cards with a person’s true name, and they, they lobbied to get different banks on board.
[00:31:53] They had difficulty, but finally one bank came on board and then other banks. So, you know, it seems like a [00:32:00] small issue, but it’s a pain point for people in that community.
[00:32:04] diane: Yeah, that, that I would actually like to use that as well because I don’t go by my first name. Um, and then people are always like, Hm.
[00:32:13] That is not your name, but it
[00:32:15] Robin Landa: is my name anyway. Exac Exactly. That’s how peop Right,
[00:32:19] diane: exactly Right. Yeah. So, um, yeah, so it, it, but I know that I’ve been, I’ve taught kids who, I never read a list, you know, from a role. I ask [00:32:30] them to tell me their name and what they wanna go by. Um, and sometimes there have been people in transition and I think it’s really, really important that we don’t, uh, use that wrong name.
[00:32:42] So I can only imagine, cuz then it might look like you’re stealing somebody’s card, right?
[00:32:47] Robin Landa: If it’s a Exactly, exactly, exactly. It was causing embarrassment at point of purchase and just, you know, different kinds of issues. But, you know, you think that’s a small thing, but it, it can, it really [00:33:00] changes something for people.
[00:33:01] Yeah.
[00:33:02] diane: Well, uh, there’s confidence of not having to. Be embarrassed on something as what somebody else might think of as small, but this isn’t what I go by. Right. So there’s that. I, I love that. Even those small things. Um, so I wanna ask you about creative block. This wasn’t necessarily part, but I do think you’re coming up with new ideas you do, um, in coming up with new ideas.
[00:33:29] Over [00:33:30] and over and over. We at po some points come into creative block and I love that you have a creative habit of dancing. You dance. And you also told me another trick, so I love that one. Uh, which is, she doesn’t cook. Yay. Somebody else who doesn’t cook. Um, but because I make friends not meals, um, I
[00:33:49] Robin Landa: immediate, I immediately went and told my husband that You said that
[00:33:54] Well, my,
[00:33:54] diane: um, my husband wishes I make me made more meals, I guess, but I’m gonna [00:34:00] get a T-shirt and I’ll send you one. Um, but so creative black is very real for someone who’s not just a visual. Uh, artist. You’re also a, an author and a writer. I mean, I, I don’t know if there’s really a difference, but I think of like a writer as like this, the fiction stuff.
[00:34:19] You’re coming up with stories, and I think of an author as what you are. Obviously an author is both, but maybe in Diane’s brain. That’s just how I, but so I would [00:34:30] say both of those words as, as I was describing you. But, um, how have you, Anne, as an entrepreneur, how have you, how have you dealt with Creative Block and, or have you have ever dealt with it?
[00:34:44] Robin Landa: I think everybody has it. You know, we all have it at different points. I, I tend to have it when something bad has happened in my life. Like when my mother passed away, I became very sad and had trouble working and I had to work through that. But I, I, I can offer [00:35:00] some, some tips and tricks, if you like. One is, um, to get away from not sitting at your computer or sitting at your drawing pad and take a walk.
[00:35:10] A walk is always helpful. And my friend, uh, an esteemed psychologist, Dr. Barbara Bloom, says, walk and talk. Mm-hmm. . So if you’re walking with a friend, talk about the, the, uh, project that you have. Talk about what’s going on, and walk with the actual walking and talking is great for your brain. [00:35:30] Go to a museum, see a really great film, pick up a fantastic novel, something really well written, and.
[00:35:38] Relax a little bit. And I always find that if I see a great work of art or if I see a, a terrific play by, by an excellent playwright, my juices start. I start thinking, and what I do is reverse engineer the play or I reverse engineer the film and I say, how did they figure this [00:36:00] out? What’s the concept? How did they structure it?
[00:36:04] So I’m, I’m learning, but I’m also seeing how somebody might have conceived it. I mean, it’s not totally scrutable, but you know, just the way all of us studied art and, you know, we look at a great piece, a great logo, or a great painting, and we can, you know, figure out the structure. I do that. Uh, a choreographed piece or a play, or a [00:36:30] book or, or, or a great TV show.
[00:36:32] And that really helps me start to think. And then the, the really great one is asking what if? Mm. I love that. It’s fantastic question. Uh, if you, if you’re a Neil Gaiman fan, he has a blog and he went and talked to a group of children in the classroom and they said, how do you get your ideas? And first he said, oh, I don’t know,
[00:36:56] And then when they pressed him for it, he said, well, I always [00:37:00] pose what if questions? What if cats could talk? What if people could jump like cats? And so if you really look at science fiction, Books or films. You can see the what if, you know, what if we could time travel? What if we could, um, beam ourselves from here to there?
[00:37:20] What if we had speaking devices that weren’t corded, right? Whether tethered to the wall. So the what if question is [00:37:30] really terrific. It’s also fun at the dinner table if you have big family or kids go around the table and, and pose the question. .
[00:37:38] diane: And then the book, you also have the Yes. And I wrote a bunch of those down while I was reading that chapter.
[00:37:44] And explain that one cuz that’s a, um, one that is used a lot in, um, not standup, but when you’re Improv. Improv,
[00:37:52] Robin Landa: yeah. Yes, yes. So yes. And is actually very good in the classroom and when you’re working with somebody else. So it’s, it’s a [00:38:00] basic improv tool where in improv you’re, you’re creating in the moment.
[00:38:04] So if Diane, you say to me, oh, I have a cat who can talk. I don’t, I don’t dismiss that. I don’t shut it down. I say, oh yes. And the cat learned. To speak Spanish on duo lingo. I mean, you, you continue with what the person started with. So you never shut anybody down. You just go in a positive [00:38:30] direction and then you might morph it somewhere else, but you don’t shut other people down or your own idea
[00:38:35] diane: down.
[00:38:35] Right? I, I kind of feel like you did that with that publisher said no. You were like, okay. Yes. And we’re gonna keep going because you ended up getting what you, what you want. And I, I think I probably would’ve, um, been like, oh, I asked too much. You know, I’m not gonna get that with anybody else. And I think that we do that a lot in our, in our businesses.
[00:38:56] If one client that’s not connected to other clients [00:39:00] told us this, and I think we probably do it in relationships too, cuz I, I can think of, uh, You know, I had a boyfriend who hated to hear me pop gum or something, and then I never chewed gum around any other boyfriend. You know, like they’re not the same person.
[00:39:18] They don’t all have these same, uh, quirks or whatever. But I, but I feel like sometimes we will say, oh, well this client only wanted this, and then a whole nother client that [00:39:30] doesn’t even know this client. Now we are giving, we’re, our value goes down because of what we think. Now they have set the standard, but really we just need to ask for what we are trying to get.
[00:39:42] So I, I love the story about the, I love that they’re, your stories are interspersed in this. And I think that this is, again, another reason that, I mean, I read a lot of books, uh, and they’re great. I read lots of books and they’re great, but I. When the author is telling other [00:40:00] people’s stories, but they’re also telling their your story, so I really appreciate it.
[00:40:05] Um, okay, so I love the reverse engineer. Um, I think that we do that when we’re trying to figure out how, like you said, how to do a painting, but I love in, even like if we’re watching Shark Tank or something like that, we are seeing how they came up with this thing, solving this problem and then, you know, could we use some of those same reversing [00:40:30] techniques to solve an a problem that, or a gap that we see.
[00:40:34] Um, tell ’em about some of your other, besides just walking and talking or walking you do, um, your creative habits, things that you, um, do regularly so that you are able to be so prolific and continue writing. Um, cuz you have this practice of. Tell ’em about what you do at lunch or what you did at lunch for [00:41:00] a long time.
[00:41:01] Robin Landa: Well, I, I mainly a non-fiction writer that’s most of my publications. I wrote, I wrote one children’s book and way back when I was in, I don’t remember if it was college or graduate school, I wrote, uh, a screenplay, which didn’t go anywhere. But, um, my daughter is, uh, a writer, screenwriter, and at the time she was taking a course at Harvard in short story writing, and she was living there.
[00:41:29] And when she [00:41:30] would call home, I’d say, what did you learn today, ? And at that point, she was willing to talk to me for a little bit, like more than two minutes . And, and so she would tell me about the lesson and then she would call the next day or the ne however many times she would call and say, what’d you learn today?
[00:41:49] And so I was pulling how to write a short story. Out of my daughter. And so at lunchtime, I would take my lunch when I wasn’t teaching at home [00:42:00] at noon, and I would try to write a short story, one short story during lunch. So I would, I was teaching myself through her how to do it. Ultimately, I wrote my first short story and at that point she was still willing to look at what I wrote and she said, oh, this is terrible, mom.
[00:42:21] Start again, . She said, no, you have an short story. It’s one main character who wants [00:42:30] one thing, and that’s it. You have too much going on. Hmm. And I went back. And that was the main lesson that she gave me. And it worked. And I, I wrote a few short stories and I submitted them to literary journals and I got in,
[00:42:46] diane: I know you have it’s award-winning now, so, but this is something that was practice that you were doing.
[00:42:53] You were also asking for feedback and you were getting better. So I think that there’s, we can always learn new [00:43:00] things, but we have to be willing to, to ask for help, take criticism and you were very passionate about practicing that. Um, another thing is that you do dance and, um, you said that you didn’t cook and that, that you made.
[00:43:18] Cuz I was like, well, how have you been able to write nonfiction books for so long? And to be able to think about new ideas? So [00:43:30] regularly and to come up with new, oh, I don’t think you’re just coming up with this to be like, I’m gonna make a buck and put a new book out. Like I’ve, I think that you’re really trying to change the world and make, make it a better place.
[00:43:42] And, and to me that is absolutely what you’re doing. So in that, how have, and you told me you were like, well, I don’t cook so I don’t go to the grocery and I don’t, this saves a ton of time. So tell them, um, cuz has [00:44:00] this been forever, like ever, how long have you not cooked? I mean, you’re in New York so it’s a little bit easier.
[00:44:06] You can still eat Well,
[00:44:08] Robin Landa: you know, um, I, I don’t think I ever really cooked. I mean, I’ll steam vegetables and I dur, I certainly make coffee cuz gotta live on coffee. I really never liked, it wasn’t my thing, uh, wasn’t my mother’s thing, so I didn’t come from a long line of great cooks, but it, it’s a [00:44:30] time saver.
[00:44:30] And you live in Manhattan and you know, we eat, we don’t, we’re pretty much vegetarian, so we eat salad or pizza, you know, it, it’s, we’re easy. Uh, you know, salad and tofu, we’re we bowl of fruit, we’re good. But it, it really does save a lot of time And um, you know, there are other time savers as well, but I am, if I’m not teaching and we all know, teaching will just tar you out.
[00:44:59] I, you [00:45:00] know, especially studio classes that are three hours or six hours. Right. And then, and then a commute, and then office hours. So if it’s not one of those days, I write and I, I really love it. Um, I have colleagues in design, incubation, and in writing space where we do fellowships for people who, and, and this is for all your faculty out there.
[00:45:21] If you do wanna learn to write a non-fiction book and work with me, it, there’s a fellowship and I volunteer. I don’t get paid to do it. [00:45:30] And I, I’ve helped faculty throughout the country get published and they do really, really well. They usually get published, but anyway, some people don’t like writing.
[00:45:40] It’s very painful for them. But it’s not painful for me, it was painful in the beginning because I was not trained as a writer. I went to, I was in this gifted program for kids where they didn’t teach you how to write. They just threw you in. And by the ti Yeah. I mean, I mean, you learned how to write, but you didn’t learn how to [00:46:00] structure an essay or structure a composition or do a, I didn’t even learn how to do a term paper.
[00:46:04] I just like was thrown in the water in college, but I’ve trained myself to write. Yeah.
[00:46:11] diane: Well, okay, so then about dancing. So there was, uh, I believe something in the book where you talk about, um, um, uh, I think you, you talked about, uh, Twila Tharp. Is that her last name? Yeah. And I’ve read that book too. That one’s great.
[00:46:28] Um, but you talk about how when [00:46:30] you’re dancing, your brain is shutting off in some ways so that you can solve, you can solve things. Others, if you’re never giving yourself that, you have to be engaged when you’re dancing. You can’t like, be like thinking about something else. Like it’s very active, um, exercise.
[00:46:50] Um, maybe different than walking. Right? Uh, um, I think that there’s something to it, uh, in, in this of either playing a sport or, [00:47:00] um, having, maybe if you’re biking, mountain biking, you have to be aware of bears and drop offs or something, right? Um, but I think there’s something to that about having that as an active part of every day or, or regularly that is allowing your brain to just focus on this other stuff so that you’re able to, uh, solve these problems.
[00:47:25] When you’re writing, when you’re in the middle of a book, how [00:47:30] important is it for you to keep up that, um, active dancing habit?
[00:47:35] Robin Landa: Oh, it’s really important for me. That’s, that’s my, I don’t know what I would do without dancing. I mean, it’s really been a savior for me. I was very lucky during covid that a lot of the dance teachers taught online, and we got a bunch of people together to take classes online.
[00:47:54] But it, it really just for me is my own, one of my own creative outlets and it, you know, the [00:48:00] endorphins flow and I feel very good afterwards and I’m able to then concentrate better because the endorphins have been flowing. I even write, when I’m on the elliptical, I put my laptop on the handle bars and Oh wow.
[00:48:14] That’s one of my most productive hours in writing because the endorphins are flowing. I know it sounds crazy and people look at me like I’m insane in the gym. , it’s, yes. I can imagine if you’re at the gym and you’re like, [00:48:30]
[00:48:30] diane: Man, she is really a workaholic. But it’s really about your creative flow, like your able, your body’s movement, which I think is incredible.
[00:48:37] I think I need to incorporate something like that in more. So we have a couple questions. Matt Wood is a great illustrator. Um, and he says, wondering about the slate lately, how do you know when an idea is a great idea? And then how would you go about qualifying the qual qualifying the quality of an idea?
[00:48:59] I guess two
[00:48:59] Robin Landa: [00:49:00] questions. Yeah, excellent question. I mean, my, in my framework, there has to be a benefit for individual society creatures or the planet beyond profit. Mm-hmm. . And, you know, that’s, if you’re, you. Doing your own, setting your own goal, and it’s your own project. Certainly if you have a client and it’s a graphic design project or an advertising project, I always see how the idea relates back to the [00:49:30] brief, how it relates back to the audience.
[00:49:33] Are you working off of an insight into the audience and, and what will resonate with them? What’s important to them? And is does the brand have any purpose? Is there is a purpose-driven brand? Is there a way to, um, have it resonate with people, like you said, Diane, if you aren’t gonna buy an adapter from Microsoft, but you might patronize Microsoft in another way because you know that they’re, they do good for [00:50:00] society, right?
[00:50:00] So I always try to evaluate. Is there a benefit in there besides profit for someone? And will it resonate with the audience? Are you on brief, are you on brand? Um, mm-hmm. sometimes, you know, the idea can seem great, but it might be off brand, it might not resonate with the audience. You really have to know your audience.
[00:50:22] Social listening is really a great way to see what people are thinking. That’s [00:50:30] how they got the insight into the Dove Real Beauty campaign. That’s how, um, I, I dunno if it was Pizza Hut or not got this great idea, but if you go on social media, it’s free. You hashtag a word or a product or a service and see what people think, what, what people believe.
[00:50:49] And I dunno if I’m answering your question, but I think there has to be a benefit because people think what’s in it for me. .
[00:50:56] diane: Yeah. Right. And that is, I love the [00:51:00] searching for what people are saying, the social listening. Um, I knew about the Dove campaign, which is a great campaign. Um, but I like, again, it’s kind of that reverse engineering people are saying stuff, what are they saying about, about that thing?
[00:51:16] So maybe we can, um, we can change the perception of a company. Lean into this. Like with Dove, you can be like, Hey, this is real beauty, right? [00:51:30] And it’s the wrinkles or the, uh, flat chested. I remember there were all these, you know, different kinds of what is real beauty and these women didn’t feel, and then there was a, I think Dove did this too with their kids, the, they would be moms.
[00:51:44] And the mom was like, oh, I’m just not a really good mom. And they were like, then they asked the kid and they were like, well, describe your mom. And they were like, she’s, and she was like, all, they were just loving. And they saw their mom in such a different [00:52:00] way than the mom saw themselves. And I just thought that was a really powerful, just to remind us that maybe our, our inner, what we think isn’t really what, how other people are seeing us, which I think is a powerful campaign for Dove.
[00:52:16] Even if you’re not using the product right, you have a better, you think better about that company. So the, any kind of negative there, there isn’t any kind of negative in there. And they
[00:52:28] Robin Landa: changed the conversation. I just wanna go back Yeah. To [00:52:30] Matt’s question for a minute, please. Another way to think about what’s a good idea or a great idea is what would be the bad idea?
[00:52:37] Oh yeah,
[00:52:37] diane: that was, that was, I loved that one. In, in the, in the book. You talked about that. Explain that one to
[00:52:43] Robin Landa: him. So what would, if you were thinking about, let’s say, um, a restaurant, right? And, and you want to get more customers, well, what would, what could you do to get rid of customers? Right? What would be all the behaviors that people would [00:53:00] hate?
[00:53:00] And so if you think about it in terms of what would be an, a bad response or a bad idea, you can eliminate that, right? You can start to use the process of elimination of ways not to go.
[00:53:15] diane: Yeah, I loved that. That was something. And, um, I called it flipping the question. Um, and I’m, this is a quote from the book, solve the Worst Scenario Problem, um, which in the book they were talking about [00:53:30] getting somebody to unsubscribe.
[00:53:31] If you’re trying to get somebody sub to subscribe to your newsletter, to subscribe, subscribe to something that you’re, you’re doing even a magazine, I guess. Um, and I thought this was ingenious and this really helped me to implement things that would, um, helped me to think, just enlist things out of what, what you would not want.
[00:53:51] What I, why I continue to subscribe, subscribe to some people, and then why it’s really easy to unsubscribe to others. [00:54:00] And then I want to do, I don’t, I want it to be hard if they’re, if it’s a one of my clients, we don’t, we wanna have a relationship built. And so how can you build that relationship? So I really like that flipping that opposite scenario.
[00:54:14] Um, Problem. I loved that one. Okay, so we don’t have a lot of, we have five minutes and so, um, I think we have three questions left. So this one will be kind of fast, lightning round. So you talk about conventional thinkers and [00:54:30] unconventional thinkers and I think some people feel like, well, I’m just born unconventional thinker.
[00:54:35] Or some people might be like, well, I’m just a con. I just think, you know, just, I don’t think outside of the box or something. But you talked about some, um, maybe ways somebody can grow that muscle a little bit of becoming the other way. So if you’re a conventional thinker, to be more unconventional and if you’re con unconventional thinker, to think more conventionally, is there [00:55:00] anything that we could do as a, uh, tip or a trick or a step that we could push that a little bit more?
[00:55:09] Robin Landa: I think being curious is, is really important and. Being open-minded, and as you said, Diane, you put your finger on something before where you said getting multiple perspectives from different people from a diverse and inclusive group is really important. And being open to possibilities, open to potential.
[00:55:29] But [00:55:30] being curious, A really easy way to do that is, let’s say you and I were going to the movies. I’d say, Diane, you recommend a film. You know, or when I go to the museum, a lot of friends who are not in the visual arts will say, oh, Robin, take me to see what you think I would like. I’m like, you please take me to see something.
[00:55:48] And you know, often it’s not something I would ever go see and it’s a new experience and I learn from it. Or if I’m listening to, um, NPR radio and the [00:56:00] topics coming on and I’m thinking, oh, not my jam. I force myself to listen and I usually learn something. Oh, yeah. And, and, and it widens my view. So I.
[00:56:12] diane: I’m, uh, I like, I’m like that as well.
[00:56:14] So there, my, uh, Chris Martin who edits the podcast for me, he also has his own podcast Getting Work to work. It’s great. And sometimes I’m like, he has people from all over, all different kinds of backgrounds and sometimes I’m like, yeah, [00:56:30] I’m not, you know, they have the intro and I’m like, nah, I’m not interested in this one.
[00:56:33] And then I am like, oh my God, you’re stuck. And it was like about a guy who buys pallets and sells them and re gets money to take them away and sells them to somebody. I mean, I was like, the way that he’s able to have a conversation and, uh, uh, and tell the story of something that I would’ve never thought I was interested in.
[00:56:58] I think some of that, and [00:57:00] I, I love Hidden Brain from, um, npr. That’s one of my favorites. They’re always different, you know, it’s always something I didn’t know about. And. I do think being curious is really important. So this is a question I’ve added to the lineup. Um, what is one thing you’ve learned about yourself, and you can say in the last year or the last two years over the pandemic that has been the most impactful to your life and business or to your life or business?
[00:57:28] Robin Landa: Wow. I don’t know if I can answer [00:57:30] that quickly. , I, I think I’ve learned that I’m, I. Really am faster than I thought, uh, at, at thinking and writing. And when I ha when I don’t have to drive from New York to New Jersey to teach , I feel much better and more relaxed and taking the commute away during Covid.
[00:57:55] And then the challenge of covid of teaching, you and I were talking about this [00:58:00] last week. Mm-hmm. teaching a six hour online class. I had to pull Stu I mean, and I’m sure all the faculty listening to this did. It was like, you know, tap dance. You had to really entertain these poor kids who were down in the dumps.
[00:58:14] Yeah. And you just pull it out of yourself. That, I guess that’s what I’ve learned, that it’s in there and you can just pull it out when you need it.
[00:58:21] diane: Mm. I love that. Okay, so what is next? Is there another book in the works? Are you looking, working on more short stories? What, what are you working on [00:58:30] next?
[00:58:30] Robin Landa: Right now I’m finishing up. I’m co-authoring with Greg Braun, who’s a retired global chief creative officer of Momentum in Detroit. And we are just finishing up a book for Columbia University Press. It’s my first university press and I’m very excited that it’s Columbia and that’s called shareworthy Storytelling for Advertising.
[00:58:50] And I just started a book called A Career is A Promise, and this one is not in our field, but it’s about, it’s a book for young professionals about [00:59:00] finding purpose and fulfillment.
[00:59:03] diane: Oh, I love that. Well, Robin, I wanna share how people can, um, connect with you. And all these links are at the top, if you’re watching on YouTube or they’re at the top of the more on your podcast and they are above the transcript if you’re on my website.
[00:59:21] But at Robin Landa, r o b i n l a n d a.com. That’s your website. But then you have a couple [00:59:30] of different handles and they’re in the chat for everybody. So on LinkedIn it’s just the regular LinkedIn slash i n slash robin Landa, r o b i n l a n d a. And then Instagram Prof, Landa, which I love. P r O f, Landa.
[00:59:46] And then on Twitter is R, just the letter R. And then Land Landa. Which one is the platform that you’re on the most, like which is the one that you, is your go-to?
[00:59:59] Robin Landa: LinkedIn, I guess [01:00:00] is, is my go-to because, um, well actually Facebook too, because so many graphic design faculty are, believe it or daughter on, we’re all there on Facebook.
[01:00:09] Um, so I, I check all of them, but you know, LinkedIn is, is like the networking place for, um, for, for faculty I guess. So that would be the best place, but I, I’m happy to, I love when people connect. I love meeting people. Well,
[01:00:26] diane: I, you’ve, you’ve been on lots of other podcasts talking [01:00:30] about this. There’s YouTubes as well.
[01:00:32] Um, I suggest, uh, going and watching another one as well, finding one, but I definitely suggest getting the book. Um, she didn’t give me anything for saying this. This is just me telling you. I just love the way she writes. For, for me, who struggled with creative bl or block or being kind of burned out, this was a really nice way to look at even a burnout situation right in, in being creatively blocked.
[01:00:59] So [01:01:00] I just really like this one. I can’t wait to pick up strategic, uh, creativity. I’m setting, sending it to you. Don’t buy. That’ll be the next one that, uh, I’ll have to read it and then I’ll get you, get you back on.
[01:01:11] Robin Landa: I have to tell you, Diane, that I have been on several podcasts, but I feel like I’m home with you.
[01:01:17] Oh. I really feel like this is where my heart is with you.
[01:01:20] diane: Well, thank you. It you, it means a lot that you, that I just don’t really appreciate. So this, this month is [01:01:30] what I call love on designers and this week is the week that we’re encouraging other people. So Robin, to me, this was like the perfect for having you just to know that your work.
[01:01:42] From way when I didn’t know you and all these books have just made such an impact on me as a designer. And you are super humble and you’re really giving, and I love that instead of just doing what you’ve always done in writing for [01:02:00] design, that you’re being willing to, to be kind of raw out there doing something new.
[01:02:06] And what a great example it is, is that we’re not stuck in a box of this is all you have to be. You can only write for graphic design. You know, like it’s really inspiring to know that you’re like, let’s go. And I just, I love that and I appreciate you just being willing to help and you, um, you know, you, you donate a lot of [01:02:30] your time and your proceeds from things to helping other people and I.
[01:02:36] I just thank you for being one of those people that we can look up to. So thank you so much
[01:02:42] Robin Landa: Right back at you. And I should tell your listeners that the, a lot of the money that’s coming out of new art of Ideas I’ve been giving to the International Red Cross because of all the things that are happening in the world.
[01:02:54] And I usually don’t, I mean, you know, teachers, it’s hard to donate off of a teacher’s salary. [01:03:00] So part of the impetus to write is so that I can give money away. I
[01:03:04] diane: love that. Thank you. Well, I can’t wait to have you back on for strategic creativity and um, if anybody has any questions, reach out to Robin. She is, she’s a regular person and she’s just really lovely and I hope you guys get the book.
[01:03:19] Uh, it’s really great. I know Dee was the one who I saw John with your, the personal branding book in, and he’s like, oh, that’s Dee’s book. And I was like, I [01:03:30] know. Uh, d is his wife who’s had the book. It was on his shelf. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Um, but it was, it is just really nice when you recognize something, you know, on a shelf That’s, that my friend wrote.
[01:03:44] So I’m just glad, I’m very thankful to your, your stuff has longevity. It’s not like, do this now and you’ll get 10 million viewers on TikTok or something, right? So it’s
[01:03:56] Robin Landa: so, so does yours, Diane, you’ve influenced so many people. You’ve [01:04:00] given so many people, heart and a platform. I am grateful to you and I admire you greatly.
[01:04:06] Well,
[01:04:06] diane: thank you. Well guys, don’t forget to encourage somebody this week and. Leave us a comment on YouTube. Hit like, subscribe and just thank you guys for, for coming and thank you for being here and listening to the New Art of Ideas. And Robin, we will see you when we talk about the creativity and strategic creativity.
[01:04:29] I can’t [01:04:30] wait. Thank you, Diane. Okay, I will see you guys next week.