I usually investigate books online before I buy. I checkout the number of stars, and read the high and low reviews before I buy. But damn that instant gratification of Amazon Prime! With one-click purchasing It’s way too easy to get got.  I wanted to read something to enhance my creativity for use in business. So sue me for not seeing the full title “Creative, Inc.: The Ultimate Guide to Running a Successful Freelance Business” by Joy Deangdeelert Cho and Mateo Ilasco. "Creativity, Inc." is a “how to" guide for creatives interested in starting a freelance business. Not what I expected but it served up juicy nuggets anyone can put to good use.

What Was Valuable (Even If You're Not a Creative)

·      The cat is alive – curiosity did not kill it. Curiosity is important in the workplace. I’d go further to say that if you find that curiosity is not appreciated from people you work with then that’s probably a bad sign. Bob Pittman, chairman and CEO of I Heart Media, recently echoed that sentiment when he spoke at Syracuse University on Nov. 16, 2017. When hiring he looks for candidates who are curious, have the ability to gain insights and epiphanies, and are willing to take calculated risks. Pittman also suggested there's no difference between failure and success. It's all just experience folks. Keep the lessons, lose the judgment. Love it.

·      It’s not easy being green – don't get discouraged when you're a newbie and don't know it all. As seasoned as I am (I prefer the term "vintage") even I can get caught up in the “am I good enough” brain game. The authors implore novices to just embrace your newness. 

·      Size does matter – so be wary of accepting jobs with short deadlines. I couldn’t agree more on this advice. It's alright to lose a gig that doesn't set you up for success in the beginning. Also, you'll likely find that if a deadline is unreasonable then your client likely is, too. Chalk this up  to the Oprah lesson of “when people show you who they are, believe them” she says she learned from sage Maya Angelou.

·      Originality is overrated – not really but "Creativity, Inc." points out that “just because the playing field may be crowded doesn’t mean there’s not room for something new,” a key entrepreneurial principle. Cho & Ilasco note there will always be some sort of competition but that “they” aren’t you. This encourages us to strive to stand out and have a point of view.

This was a timely lesson for me. As I’m shifting to focus more on startups and innovation, at times I've felt a bit too old, female, brown – basically just conspicuous – to seemlessly make my mark in tech. But I reject that line of thinking as ridiculously narrow-minded, kind of victim-ey, and just straight foolish. My new motto, affirmed from a random post I saw on social media, is: different is good. Now more than ever employers and hiring managers are acknowledging the power that different inputs bring. People with dissimilar backgrounds and experiences produce a broader and deeper array of solutions or outputs which leads to stronger product development and customer delight.

Judge Not

Overall, I learned more than I thought from “Creative, Inc.” The freelance advice was spot on and it helped me find more creative ways to look at business while challenging my own well-worn beliefs. Yeah, I judged a book by its cover, was disappointed, and then unexpectedly enlightened. Who knew.