Creative work requires keeping up with trends, language and the surrounding culture, and agencies that keep fresh will keep talent. "The best creatives are the ones who are 60 years old and still want to learn," says Ish Traore of Wieden+Kennedy, adding, "Thinking you have all the knowledge will only lead you down a very weird path."
Team members who push back on change are the ones leaders should want to hear more from because they may have ideas or insights that can improve plans, writes communication specialist Josh Ritter. "If you can 'convert' the naysayer, then they will be more persuasive, more productive and more loyal to your change, vision or plan than any other person on your team," Ritter writes.
The latest figures suggest that the job market is still strong, but there are signs that conditions are changing amid challenges in the broader economy. Professionals can take several steps to stay competitive, including keeping up with trends and learning new skills.
Friendships made at your first major job were often instrumental in your career and even resulted in lifelong personal relationships. Today, with more people working remotely and meeting over Zoom, forging such friendships is more difficult, but some employers are striving to foster work relationships.
Turning your idea into a real business means you'll need "due diligence, intelligent road mapping, access to capital, operational execution and lastly, a bit of luck," says Remedy Products co-founder Tom Kurz. Things to consider when you first start leading your company include the lack of experts in any new marketplaces and the need to have storage and fulfillment operations in place early on, Kurz says.
During the pandemic, writer Tracee Herbaugh took a class in green woodcarving, in which carvers use fresh timber and a very sharp sloyd knife to make spoons and other items. Herbaugh found the practice was a good way to relieve stress, due to its sense of flow, and it also provided a community of others interested in the craft. It's cool to see that something that dates back thousands of years still has fans in the digital age.
