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Nov 28, 2010

John rated it:

I'm of two minds about this book. If you're looking for a "how to," read Getting Things Done instead. The "how" of making tasks happen is more pragmatically covered there.

What's compelling about Belsky's book is the sense he gives that many, many conversations led into this book. If you read it as a catalogue of the simple things effective creatives do, there's some things to learn here. Otherwise, it's not terribly compelling.

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Feb 14, 2012

Jinnie rated it:

This book is written by a guy who was interested in organization and productivity within the creative business community (designers, etc.), whom he observered was awash in great ideas but too many failed to get implemented or were not implemented successfully. So he put together a productivity "system" for this audience, as well as an online community where they can support each other in developing the habits, as well as sharing work for feedback and sharing job opportunities. The " More...

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Oct 25, 2011

Eric rated it:

Belsky’s main idea is that creative people tend to have lots of ideas on how to improve products or services, but they have difficulty executing those ideas. And that’s crucial because ideas are cheap. We have tons of ideas that come and go. But success only comes to those who can execute. Belsky believes that “making ideas happen” is simply a matter of satisfying a formula: Ideas + Organization and Execution + Forces of Community + Leadership Capability. With the exception of ideas, he then foc More...

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Dec 06, 2010

Jorge rated it:

The author finishs this books explainig how difficult is to transform an idea into a reality (a book, a music album, a painting, etc.) and how difficult is for the observer to realize this difficultness. I don't doubt the amount of work behind this book but it is far from what I was expecting.

The first chapter is not so bad but the another-self-help-book-tone is noticiable in many pages and most of the ideas are simply not so innovative. Second chapter is dissapointing, it just does n More...

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Jul 09, 2010

Harkinna rated it:

Mr. Belsky, of www.behance.net, does a great job explaining to artists, photographers, and writers how to go about organizing their work flows to maximize their output. I read the book over the last few weeks and have already seen the results. My boss mentioned I was getting a lot of stuff done and asked if I felt overwhelmed with work. Cute.

The book is organized broadly into three areas: Organization and Execution, Community, and Leadership Capability.

So his organization More...

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May 06, 2010

Book rated it:

Making Ideas Happen Overcoming The Obstacles Between Vision and Reality by Scott Belsky Founder and CEO of Behance

Scott Belsky is a very much a new media type of writer. He is the CEO of Behance which is a social networking platform for creative professionals. I took a look at the site and it is a shared image database of advertisements, designs, and illustrations. It is quite interesting to look at http://www.behance.com/Products/Creative... The site has a new med More...

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May 24, 2010

Blog on Books rated it:

Just what the world needs – another marketing book? We’ve been told how to bring things to market in the traditional sense, in the new world order, in the digital world, in nearly every kind of competitive battlefield by authors and books too numerous to mention. So does the world really need one more?

Actually, yes.

Scott Belsky, a former Goldman Sachs executive, is now the founder of a company called Behance; a virtual firm devoted not to traditional marketing approaches, More...

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Jan 26, 2011

Marcus rated it:

Even though it is written by a different author, this book reads like a sequel to David Allen's über-famous Getting Things Done (GTD), only this time geared specifically toward the broad category of anyone who creates, a.k.a. creative people. Like GTD, the concepts here aren't particularly exciting but I'm hoping that like GTD, they'll be life-changing.

Since reading GTD several years ago the concepts of "what's the next action" and having a trusted system for tracking proje More...

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Oct 23, 2011

Brandon rated it:

Very solid study but don't expect any revelations.

I do appreciate how Belsky didn't make this a blatant advert for Behance or Action Method (his company and software), but he did simply refer to them as options in a sea of choices in helping us to get things done.

I would recommend this book to any creative professional or entrepreneur who needs a basic common sense slap in the face/reality check. The reality is simply that no matter how original or astounding your ideas are More...

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Jan 07, 2012

Goodacre rated it:

Part one is excellent and inspirational. Belsky writes about the project plateau--about ways to keep yourself or a team focused on what's difficult, instead of coming up with a raft of cooler ideas and abandoning ship. Part two about community forces has some good insights, but the banal style starts to grate on me. Part three I could do without--about leadership, which was never my thing. Every time Belsky talks about "creatives" or "leaders" I can't help thinking it's all a More...

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Dec 10, 2011

Angie rated it:

Written founder of Behance, a company aimed at helping creative individuals become more productive. This book aims to share best-of practices. Despite the amount of knowledge Belskey must have on the topic, and the research that went into this book, the book was a major disappointment. I didn't learn much and struggled to find interesting, novel ideas here.

Belskey divided the book into three sections (Organization and Execution; The Forces of Community; Leadership Capacity). He first s More...

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Aug 09, 2011

Tech rated it:

Making Ideas Happen is an amazing insight into productivity and motivation bur falls short of providing a workable and efficient plan of action. Other reviewers have mentioned Getting Things Done as the real first name in productivity, as it gets right to the point and gives immediate and actionable steps right of the bat.

Scott Belsky's Making Ideas Happen, in my opinion, gives a second more academic look into productivity with suggestions on how to improve only really provided spar More...

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Jan 24, 2011

Brad rated it:

I thought that this book addressed the real problem of being a creative professional, which is not thinking up ideas, but executing them. I really do not like the GTD/Lifehacker/etc. nerdy obsessive productivity systems that seem to put more emphasis on making complex todo lists than they do on actually getting your tasks done. Belsky does not prescribe a certain way of doing things, but instead emphasizes the importance of design on organization and then offers examples of successful artists an More...

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Jul 12, 2010

Elaine rated it:

I've been torn between giving this 1 or 2 stars, or 4 stars, so 3 it is. The good parts are fascinating, and I think potentially very useful to me in work and at home. Some smart techniques and interesting quotes. I may even recommend it to my colleagues.

On the other hand...it's hard for me to take seriously a book that uses "thought leader" non-ironically. And so it has a lot of that sort of thing going on: oh, look, there's Chris Anderson! Malcolm Gladwell! IDEO! etc., etc. More...

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Mar 06, 2011

Michael rated it:

Normally, I'm resistant to popular new business books. Part of it is a natural urge to go against the grain, but all too often, I usually finish one of these titles feeling that the information is obsolete and inapplicable. I'm delighted to say that this is NOT one of those cases.

"Making Ideas Happen" is definitely not a "flavor of the month" book. The ideas and concepts are geared toward artists, but the productivity lessons here are perfect for anyone trying to e More...

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Aug 12, 2011

Ed rated it:

I really enjoyed reading Belsky's thoughts on productivity and how to squeeze the most juice out of your ideas. This book is probably perfect for the most creative silicone valley types, but as an educator and administrator, I got a lot out of it. I'm probably never going to have an earth shattering business idea or product, but as an aspect of my job I need to be creatively considering ways to improve the school. This book gave me some very practical tools and things to think about when tryi More...

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Oct 18, 2010

Tanja rated it:

Based on the conditions in which artists thrive as professionals Behance founder Scott Belsky reveals his formula for creative success in Making Ideas Happen.

Just like his Behance Network, which offers artists an online portfolio-sharing platform, Belsky’s book offers motivation to put concepts into practice, outlining key steps in the execution of ideas. Referencing a framework that involves inspiration, organization, and leadership, it’s a step-by-step primer for making your own cr More...

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Mar 13, 2011

Alexkavel rated it:

The book is organsied to into 3 sections:

# Organization and Execution
# Community
# Leadership Capability

The first section really demonstrated Belsky's understanding of the creative mind and the execution issues which follow. I have adopted the method describe and its improved efficiency and thought my processes.

After reading the first section my expectation were sky high followed by a disappointing "Community" and "Leadership Capabil More...

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Sep 11, 2011

David rated it:

This is not going to be a book for everyone; however, it was one of those books that felt like it had been written particularly for me. I rarely read a book twice, but after reading Making Ideas Happen I knew that I would benefit from reading it on occasion, perhaps annually. The book is about "execution," or as the title makes clear, "making ideas happen." Similar to "Good to Great" the author has taken his findings from the most successful in their field and laid More...

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Mar 29, 2011

Lianda rated it:

Are you a creative type? Although I have been a professional artist, played music from the time of a young child, this was not a word that I used to describe my life - UNTIL... Belsky's book was eye and mind opening for me, helping me to understand that my disorganization, notes of paper written on backs of envelopes, shopping lists, on my voice recorder, were all attempts to bring my creative thoughts to light of day. This book has helped me redefine myself, and learn how to organize my prolifi More...

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Sep 24, 2010

Jeff rated it:

This is the best book I've read this year. (There's a free iPhone app, Action Method, to go along with the book as well.)

Here are some key points:

The Forces that Make Ideas Happen:
Organization & Execution + Forces of Community + Leadership Capability

The way you organize projects, prioritize and manage your energy is arguably more than the quality of the ideas you wish to pursue.

The truth is, creativity isn't about wild talent as much as i More...

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Jan 08, 2011

Dave rated it:

I really enjoyed this book. In a way, I feel like it was written just me for me: I have tons of 'great' ideas, but I very rarely act on them because it's easier to just think I'm a genius and go about my day. The challenge, as this book points out, is to commit to, and execute your ideas. Coming up with ideas is easy, and ultimately it's not really all that valuable if ideas aren't executed.

I was thinking about this when I watched The Social Network: the brothers who 'came up' with Fa More...

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Jan 08, 2011

Jorge rated it:

Comment: "The author finishs this books explainig how difficult is to transform an idea into a reality (a book, a music album, a painting, etc.) and how difficult is for the observer to realize this difficultness. I don't doubt the amount of work behind this book but it is far from what I was expecting.

The first chapter is not so bad but the another-self-help-book-tone is noticiable in many pages and most of the ideas are simply not so innovative. Second chapter is dissapointing, More...

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Jan 08, 2011

Michael rated it:

The book starts off well enough with fine examples and a clearly defined methodology. After the introduction the book becomes muddled and confusing to follow because of its redundancy. At first I thought I had read the same page for a second time, but no, it was a different page. This bad habit is throughout the rest of the book.

Belsky often times try to back up his methods with a high profile company's process. This tries to spice up his writing and backup his point, but it's all ra More...

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Dec 10, 2010

James rated it:

“Good judgment comes from experience, and experience – well, that comes from poor judgment.” – A. A. Milne

“How To” books are a perilous endeavor. How to Win Friends and Influence People is worthwhile but The Secret is drivel. Right?

And so we are confronted with [How To] Make Ideas Happen, an instructional tome for creatives encouraging accomplishment by way of organization & execution, community involvement, and dynamic leadership.

I found it a worthwhile read of rec More...

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May 11, 2011

Bill rated it:

This book contains lots of useful ideas on not only how to foster good ideas, but also how to maintain them, work on them, and to see them to fruition.

There are no easy, formulaic recipes to creativity, and author Scott Belsky knows this by experience.

It's always important to maintain a work/life balance. Belsky sees no difference between the two, and that is a liberating idea. Everything - honey-does, Little League games, product management meetings, annual conferences More...

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Mar 31, 2011

Derek rated it:

Great book if you already have an idea that you are working on as it gives you a good framework and guidelines to get your vision off the ground from start to finish. Particularly if you feel a bit lost as to where to go next or find that you/your team has lost momentum.

For each concept discussed you get an added bonus of quotes and real-life examples of people who have embraced the techniques shown to keep you interested and inspired to push on.

It was these quotes and e More...

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Feb 14, 2012

Kevin rated it:

If you are familiar with Scott Belsky and his company Behance, then you won't be surprised that this book delivers on it's promise to give you the tools needed to execute your ideas. I really enjoyed this book. The first part of the book on "organization" was probably the most immediately applicable, but I know I'll be revisiting this book as my career and projects develop.

Though cheesy, the best synopsis of the book is actually found on the back of the book. Ji Lee, Creative More...

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Dec 13, 2011

Apryl rated it:

This was super-duper! I'm the reigning star of unfinished projects, and I've been making myself crazy.

Belsky lays out the reality of my condition, and rather than preach to the choir about overcoming my fears and all that I've read 100x before, he shows me how to walk through every step--without telling me how to do it, and I love him for it!

This is the Strategic Life Journal with bells on!

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Jun 19, 2011

Wes rated it:

While this book has plenty of good points (taking responsibility, using your time wisely, improving teams) I feel that it's more of a rehash or a summary of recent rediscoveries. It's worth a read if you've been out of touch with productivity, time management and team dynamics, but if you've been paying attention, I wouldn't take the time to read this book.

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