Interview with Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, Professor of Psychology at University of Pennsylvania:

Award-winning author Peter Sims shares some heartening research on how people like Steve Jobs, Chris Rock and Frank Gehry use small experiments to lay the groundwork for big creative successes. It’s an encouraging episode for all the creative types out there thinking they have to have it all figured it out from the get go. Also, Scott and Peter banter across a wide spectrum of topics including improving education, the empathy deficit in America, deliberate practice and the importance of marching to the beat of your own drummer.

In this episode you will hear about:

How big name creatives use small scale experiments to find and improve ideas
The many benefits of being a black sheep
The philosophical frameworks big companies use to innovate
The vital importance of deliberate practice and forming a growth mindset
How creative success requires the ability to persist through failure
Developing healthy life expectations: you don’t have to have it all!
Pixar’s “Plusing” technique to craft their beloved film plots
The Darwinian model of creativity
The drive to be unique vs. the drive to belong
Crafting a social group that cultivates your desired attributes
A most heroic undertaking: to be yourself in a homogenized world
The practical ability to teach yourself new skills
Peter’s thoughts on measuring creativity and creativity in different fields

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Resources: 

Peter’s book: Little Bets
Peter’s book: True North
Peter’s website
An explanation of Montessori education
Ted talk – Carol Dweck on growth mindsets
Blkshp inc.
Silicon_Guild’s Facebook page
Simonton’s book on Darwinian creativity: Origins of Genius

“Peter Sims is a best-selling author, co-founder of The Silicon Guild, and founder of The BLK SHP (“black sheep”) Foundation. His latest book is Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries, which grew out of a long collaboration with faculty at Stanford’s Institute of Design (the d.school), as well as his previous work in venture capital. He was also the coauthor with Bill George of the best-seller True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership, a member of General Electric’s Innovation Advisory Panel, an Innosight Fellow, and the co-founder of Fuse Corps, a social venture that places entrepreneurial leaders on year-long grassroots projects with mayors to tackle some of America’s most pressing problems.” –Blurb taken from Amazon.com