Robin Landa, How and Why to Unlock YOUR Creative Potential

[00:00:00] If you think you can't generate good ideas, it's not you. It's the framework that you're using.

Here's the million dollar question. How do men like us reach our full potentials? Growing to the men we dream of being while taking care of our responsibilities, working, being good husbands, fathers, and still take care of ourselves. Well, that's the big question. In this podcast, we'll help you answer those questions and more.

My name is Brent and welcome to the Fallible Man Podcast.

Welcome to the Fallible Man Podcast, your home for all things, man, husband, and father. Big shout out to Fallible Nation. You guys make this possible and a warm welcome to our first time listeners. Thanks for checking us out and giving us a try. We hope you enjoyed the show. My name is Brent, and today my guest is professor, consultant and author of over 20 books, Robin Landa.

Robin, welcome to the Fallible Man Podcast. [00:01:00] Thanks so much, Brent. I'm thrilled to be here. I'm excited about our conversation. Robin, uh, your book is incredibly interesting. I, we're gonna get into that a little bit later, guys, and if you're watching on the video, you can see the, uh, icon behind her. But the book's called The New Art of Ideas and the complete title is The New Art of Ideas.

Unlock Your Creative Potential. It's a subtitle. Now, Robin, you've written a lot of books and we're gonna dive into all that, but first we, we gotta have a little fun and, and get to know who you really are. And I like to start the show with a little bit of trivia. So how's your movie Trivia Robin? Um, depends what, what, which era are you talking about?

Fair enough, fair enough. Right. Okay. So who directed the hit 2017 movie? Get Out. Is it a James Wan? B Jordan Peele, C Guiro Del Toro, or D Tim Story. Oh, Jordan Peele. [00:02:00] I love Jordan Peele. Jordan Peele. Okay. Now guys, if you're playing along at home, you know the rules. Don't pause the show. Don't cheat. Make your guests write it down.

We'll get back to that later. 'cause we know how incredibly this important this part is. Right? But don't, don't cheat. Okay? Don't get ahead of us. Now, Robin, I don't do huge introductions. I get to research my guests and you all have such amazing accolades, but it doesn't translate to the person. So in your own words, who is Robin Landa?

I am a mother, a wife. I'm an educator. I'm a professor, I'm an author. Uh, I'm a designer. I'm a creative spirit. Wow. You have that like down, you're ready for this question. Well, you know, you have to have your Twitter handle, right? So your bio, I have more people trip up on that question. They're like, uh, uh.

You, you [00:03:00] think it would be pretty straightforward? Especially 'cause you gotta have that right? You, you go look at mine. We all have our little things under our social medias. This is who we are. Right? Everybody's like, ah. I had one guy who was like, that's so deep. Can we come back to that? Okay. Yeah, that, that's fair enough.

I, I didn't plan it as an existent, existential, existential question, but you know, we got there apparently. Now, Robin, if you could have any superpower, what would it be and why? I. Ooh. Um, I think I would like to be able to, well it personal or more about the world. Um, I think I would like to be able to stop war, which would be great.

I don't know if that's a superpower, but like, sort of. Uh, the way Spidey uses his spiderwebs, I mean, I think I'd like to stop things, but on a personal level, I'd love to be able to be invisible and listen into what people have to say. Okay. [00:04:00] There is no wrong question answer in the first part of this. So you're, you're doing great.

Okay. This, this is the part that makes everybody uncomfortable. It's always a big laugh to me. It's like everybody gets so uncomfortable in these get to know you questions, and then we get into the rest of the show and they're like, oh, it's, I'm good. This is what I talk about. But there is no wrong answer.

It's a great way to start a show to me, uh, because we all have those. Things, right. We all, I, I have the superpowers. I'd like to have, everybody else does and we all have different reasons. That's the always the fun part. Listening in on, man, it would be cool to be able to just like hear. Some of the other conversations going on, I'd like to be on the fly on a wall in a few rooms for sure.

Right, exactly. And I, I have to tell you that the question you just asked me is something I ask my students about superpowers. I use that for a design exercise, so we're on the same page, but I never threw it back at myself. Uh, yeah. That, that, that tends to mess with me. I'll be asking people questions.

They're like, well, what's your answer? I'm like, [00:05:00] oh. Didn't prep for that, my bad. Right. Robin, if you could learn any new skill instantly, what would it be and why? Uh, I would want to learn filmmaking. I. Okay. Um, I've been trying to write a screenplay over the past few years and, um, I really, really, as you saw, I I, as soon as you asked the question about Get Out, I, I am a fan of Jordan Peels and, and any great filmmaker.

I think it's a really great way to get to mass audiences today. I mean, many people don't read much anymore, so film seems to be, or, or, or TV seems to be a way to get to them. Yeah. It's very sad to me that we're, as a society, reading less and less. Mm-hmm. There, there's so much wisdom and knowledge to soak up in books.

Uh, it's something I'm trying to teach, make sure my children understand and, and grow with is they see my [00:06:00] wife and I reading, they have books they're interested in reading so they can just fall in love with it. And, uh, it, it's, that's great. It blows my mind. It's like people read less and less. I, what is it now?

I think people on average read less than three or four books a year or, yeah, I would say, I would say less. Yeah. Yeah. I'm, I'm spit balling that in and look that up guys, so don't hold me to that. I think it is actually less, but I try and be optimistic sometimes. What purchase of a hundred dollars or less have you made in the last year that's had the biggest impact on your life?

Ooh. Um, well, I would say that I recently bought a very inexpensive stationary bike, less than a hundred dollars. Yeah. And so I, yes, and it's really, and it has a desk, and so I can write and pedal at the same time, so Oh, that's very cool. My, my friend has one of those for his work computer. He'll, uh, he, he's been a desk jockey for, oh goodness, 25 or [00:07:00] 30 years, and so he's, A stationary bike where he can sit and work on his computer.

He's right, man. I was so happy when he upgraded. He got a standing desk after I, after I got one from my studio, he got a standing desk for his home office. He's like, this is so much better. It is. And, and I actually write on the elliptical too. I, we have, we got an elliptical during lockdown. Mm-hmm. So, because we stopped going to the gym and I put my laptop on the elliptical and it's the best hour of writing ever.

'cause my, the endorphins are just really flowing. It's amazing. I am not confident that I am coordinating enough to try and do an elliptical and write at the same time where we, well, you, well you can't, you do the arm part, but if you have a, a stand for the laptop on it. Yeah. It, it would, it, it would be a stretch for me to pedal a bike and, and work on my computer.

I'd be afraid I'm gonna dump the computer. Just, [00:08:00] you get used to it. But I've, I've seen standing desks with like a track treadmill on them. Mm-hmm. And I've seen the bike when I hadn't seen a lip going. That's very cool. A little terrifying, but definitely very cool. It can, it can be just to your listeners, don't fall off.

I don't listen to me. No, don't. Robin, you have accomplished a lot of things just like reading through the accolades and reading through your career, uh, getting ready for the show. But what are you most proud of in your life? And that can be anything. It's doesn't have to be an accolade. Just what are you most proud of in your life?

Well, I'll have to say two things if that's okay. 'cause I have to say that I'm very, I'm very proud of my daughter, um, having, having raised a very nice person. Um, and I'm very proud of preparing. I. So many students for entry into careers that are very satisfying for them. Um, and [00:09:00] I mean, I've literally taught thousands of people and so many of them have, I would say 98% of them have very satisfying careers in very competitive fields, and they're earning really good living.

I'm very pleased with that. That's excellent. For our listeners, what specifically subjects do you teach? I teach graphic design, advertising, art direction, promotional design, all aspects of it within the creative professions, copywriting, advertising, communication, design. Okay. Those are, those are really demand, high demand.

Uh, career. So that's awesome. And thank you, by the way. Uh, I'm, I'm deeply appreciative of teachers at all levels of our education system for making a difference. Uh, I have a lot of friends who are teachers. My sister's a teacher, and so I'm, I'm deeply appreciative of people who are investing in our future, so thank you for that.

Thank, thank you for saying that. I, [00:10:00] I, I really think we need great teachers. Oh, yes. Absolutely. I, I know and love so many teachers. Just like I look at what they do every day as like, I am not sure how you handle that. Sometimes I, I don't know that I could handle that many students. I'm really comfortable one-on-one with people and like coaching, but large groups of students who just, I think drive me nuts.

So it's like you get used, you get used to it. In fact, a bigger class full of students. I, I, I actually like that because then you have more chance for dialogue. So more people to contribute. What's one random fact that people don't know about you? I'm a dancer. Yeah. Um, yeah. I'm a, I am a, a amateur dancer.

Actually. I was in a dance company for a while. I used to perform, my father was a professional dancer. I used to perform with him and I'm an amateur champion. Yeah. [00:11:00] Yeah. I'm sorry, what? What particular styles do you prefer? I do ballroom, Latin and swing, and now I'm in, in my, uh, middle age, I'm learning jazz and Broadway theater dance.

Very cool. Very cool. Thank you for sharing. You're welcome. What's something everybody should know about you before we dig into today's subject matter? I really believe in respecting people. I really try to honor the humanity in everyone and, and make sure I'm, I listen to them and, and take everything that they say very seriously.

Okay, now guys, you know the drill. We've been spending some time just getting to know who Robin Landa is and what she's about. In the next part of the show, we're gonna start diving into Ideas, creativity, and Robin's new book, the New Art of Ideas. And I promise you this applies to you. I, [00:12:00] the subject matter seems like maybe a different topic than I've covered in the past, but I promise guys, this is right up your alley, whether you know it or not.

We're gonna roll through our first sponsor and we will be right back with more from Robin Landa. Now, before we go any further, I wanted to share with you guys, I don't always tell you how much I love doing my podcast. Like I passionately love what I'm doing and one of the things that makes my life better as a podcaster is to work with a company like Grow Your Show.

Grow Your Show is a one stop podcast. Do it all. Now I use Grow Your Show for my marketing, but Grow Your Show is literally a one stop shop. You can record your episode and just drop it off with them and they take it from there. It's amazing. If you are interested in picking up podcasting as a hobby, or maybe you're looking to expand your business and use podcasting in that aspect, talk to my friends over grow Your Show.

Adam will take care of you. I guarantee it. I trust him. He's my friend, he's my business colleague, and I wouldn't trust anybody else with my show. [00:13:00] Guys, welcome back. In the first part of the show, we are just spending some time getting to know who Robin is. And in this part of the show we're gonna dive into Ideas, creativity, and Robin's book, the New Art of Ideas.

Now, Robin, I was getting ready for the show and I was looking through the mini titles you've written. Is it 24 books? Is that correct? We're up to 26 right now. I just have a new book coming out in November. Oh my goodness. Okay, so one of the things I've seen, just the reoccurring theme is, You are obsessed with creativity in all forms, whether it's writing, whether it's marketing, whether it's design, all your books tend to center around there.

Where does this come from? Where this, this, a session with creativity? Uh, I think all my life I've just been into creative acts, whether it's drawing or painting or dancing or, um, Writing, uh, and teaching is very creative too, but it, it's something interestingly that most people [00:14:00] think is magic or elusive, and I really try to help people understand that it's not magic that all of us can be creative.

You just have to learn how. Okay. I, I know in the first part of the show, you mentioned you grew up with your father being a dancer, so you grew up in a more creative household anyway. Um, right. My mother was highly creative. I, that's where I get my flare for creativity comes from, but it's always, it, it, it does, it seems like it mystifies people who don't feel like they're naturally creative.

Right. When they interact with people who are. And it's so crucial for business now because we've moved away from a manufacturing society into an innovation society. And so you can't innovate unless you can think creatively. And I like to say that people in business should really think strategically, creatively, because it can't just be like it is in [00:15:00] fine art.

It, it has to be purposeful and aimed and, um, so I, I call strategic creativity. Okay. I like that. And that's one of the books you did recently, isn't it? Strategic Creativity. Right, right, right. I saw that title. I was like, I. I have, check that book out, Nana. Next I'll send, I saw it on your website. I'm like, Ooh, I, I may have to go get me a copy of that one.

Thank you. A, as a creative, I'm always like, okay, there's, there's so much to learn. There's always so many new ideas and concepts and it's like, ah, oh yeah. I can always use more input in that field. Now there are absolutely people listening right now, I guarantee. Who think in their own minds that they're not creatives, right?

This, for some of us, it's a more natural inclination and just something we've grown up with. Like I said, my mother was very creative. Your father was very creative, right? There are some people who [00:16:00] just think I'm, I'm not really it creative. Do you have to be creative to have valuable ideas? No. I think that you're right.

Some people are naturally. I have inclinations towards creative thinking and, um, are, are, you could call it, have talent or gi or gifted in, in in particular ways. There's an inclination towards seeing, uh, mindfully, but you can learn to think creatively and, and there are several practices you can employ, such as mindful listening, mindful, um, observing, uh, really looking at things.

And, and focusing on them listening very carefully so that you're always looking for a possible solution or looking for a prompt or looking for an insight into human behavior. And so people can absolutely [00:17:00] learn to enhance their creativity and their creative thinking, and especially if they're very, very smart and, and, and good critical thinkers.

It's a great. Coupling of critical and creative thinking. Okay. Now I, I really, your process has been held as the new ideation process, the first new ideation process since the mid 20th century. I read that, uh, reading your book and reading the reviews on your book, and it's like, Wow, that's, that, that's weird, right?

'cause we, we get lost in timeframes a lot of times. We don't think about how much time has passed and, uh, the jumps in thought processes, I. Why is it more effective than other processes? Well, I think the, the process that probably your read, your listeners are very familiar with is brainstorming. Like everybody uses that as a kind of a generic word or term [00:18:00] for going and thinking of, of, of an idea.

And brainstorming came out in the mid 20th century. Um, And it really, it, it forces people and it was, it was a really originally meant to be used in a group for, in an advertising agency, for people sitting around a table and coming up with ideas. And so these people were already creative individuals, creative professionals, but it, it, it demands that you throw out a either a fully formed idea or a partially formed idea.

That's very difficult. Like how do you get the idea, how do you form the idea? And so after teaching for all these years and teaching thous literally thousands of, of university students to generate worthwhile ideas, not just any old idea. Good ideas. I codified my process and what seemed to be missing was, um, two main [00:19:00] things.

So my process, should I go into my process? Is that okay? Brent? Um, you know what, we're gonna get there a little bit later, but okay. Okay. I know. I don't wanna spoil the surprise. It's coming guys. It's coming, I promise. Okay. You're gonna love it because it's simple and clean and effective, so just. Hang tight.

We're gonna get there. Uh, you've said something very interesting in that, that just, it like, it hadn't even clicked in my head because I've sat through a lot of brainstorming sessions. Like I said, I work on a lot of creative projects. I actually work on several, uh, events from conferences to youth events, and I have sat around with my co-directors on some of these events in brainstorming sessions.

Right. And I realized, as you were saying, it was like, I'm, I've never like identified that issue. One of the reasons I get frustrated with a couple of my co-directors is they'll throw out a random idea. I'm like, okay, explain that idea a little bit. And they're like, I don't know. It's just an idea. And, and there's no process [00:20:00] behind it.

There's no actual, they came up with a title, but they don't know why it moved them or why it clicked in their head. Mm-hmm. I never, like, I knew it bothered me. When it came up, I never clicked as to why that was so annoying for me. And you're right. 'cause when I throw something out, journally and, and when I'm in those sessions, I can explain it right away.

I have a whole thought process behind it and where it's going and how it's gonna look before it ever comes outta my mouth. Like I said, it's a a difference. I, I've grown up doing this kind of stuff, but yeah, I, I didn't think about that. That is a really valid issue with brainstorming. Because we use that all the time, but it's not right.

It, it's so frustrating. 'cause you do, you really need a full concept when you throw out ideas in those sessions. Right. And the other issue with brainstorming is that people are intimidated. They're afraid to say something risky or something, uh, wild for being judged. And so either [00:21:00] they don't say anything or they'll say something common or pedestrian.

And then since it's a group, Everybody has to agree it's gonna come down to a pedestrian idea that everybody agrees on. And so it's, it's really, uh, a, a problematic method for most, I think for most people. Certainly when you have in an advertising agency or graphic design studio or branding studio, creatively trained people, you know, like yourself, it can work.

But for people who are not trained that way, it's a very challenging process. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Now wanted to stop and talk. You have some great collaboration on this book. You have some great contri contributors to this book. I wanna stop and, and I like the cover. It's very eye-catching and you have these beautiful illustrations throughout it.

And there, there are some other contributors. Let, let's stop and talk about them for a minute. 'cause this is obviously a group project. [00:22:00] So, um, what a lot of people don't know is that the cover as you mentioned, which I think I really love. I didn't design it so I can say that I love it. And the illustrations were created by an actor by Holly Taylor, who, if your listeners who have been enjoying, uh, manifest, which is on Netflix, um, Holly is one of the stars of Manifest, and she's a great villain in, in the, in the TV series.

And, but Holly's also a wonderful person and she's not, she's a wonderful person in real life, a villain in this as this character and a terrific designer. And she was my student. And so that's how we met. Oh, okay. You were teach, I, it's always interesting to see how people connect. Uh, with other people, right?

You, we were talking before the show and, and you mentioned she was an actress. Like, how do we, how, so thank you for answering that, how you synced up. That's, uh, one of the great [00:23:00] things I love about doing the podcast, honestly, between just, you know, total break from the topic is all the people I get to meet and interact with, right?

I, I get to make all these incredible connections with these incredible people. And some lead to other things and some don't. But I've still gotten to meet all these incredible people who have interesting insights and experiences and, and it's so fun for me to get to visit with them some. Now, I, I want to, before we get into, How to generate worthwhile ideas.

In the next part of the show, I wanted to stop for a minute and jump ahead to, I believe it's chapter seven in your book, where you talk about emotional obstacles for ideas and creativity. It's not something I've ever really heard other people bring up as a creative individual. Um, people do not always understand how exhausting.

Emotionally and [00:24:00] mentally exhausting. It is to be creative. Like if you are inherently, naturally creative, I, I have days where literally an idea will click into my head and I am actually unable to do anything else until I sit down and realize that idea. Whether that's a random design, because I sell merchandise on my website, or an idea for an episode or an offering or something, right?

I will get, and it, it gets lodged in there and I literally will hit a point where I am paralyzed. I can't function and do anything else until I get the idea out. It's, it's gotta manifest out. Uh, manifest may be the wrong word, but it's gotta come out, right? Mm-hmm. But like I stopped doing the livestream I used to do because I was emotionally exhausted after every livestream.

Like we would, we'd kill the livestream for the night. I used to do 'em on Monday nights, and literally I was shut down my [00:25:00] computer and I was done. Nothing else happened that night. I went, I curled, changing my sweatshirts, curled up on the couch with my daughters and, and watched something that I could just.

Let my brain soak into like Big Bang Theory or something, just really light, and it was just draining for me to do that. And I think there are a lot of people who don't understand that creativity, whether you're naturally creative or whether you've had to learn to be creative, has some drawbacks. And some obstacles you create and you don't always know, right?

You don't always realize that's what it is that's actually blocking you from wanting to do that or even ride that dragon. So can we talk a little bit about emotional obstacles? Sure. Yeah. I mean, I think you're right. Uh, I, I, I have a lot of friends who, like, you have to get it out of their heads. You know, it, it's, it's living in [00:26:00] there and you have to get it out into the world.

There's so many different obstacles from, uh, whether it's, it's being distracted today by social media or email, or phone calls or, um, Or having to do too many things, right? Too many chores. So if you are, if you're trying to work or create and, and laundry's piling up, or if people are demanding of your time, um, there's so many different things that come into play, let alone the psychology of.

Feeling that you're creative or feeling, um, creative professionals. And this goes across the board for, I think musicians and actors and fine artists tend to, to go from feeling that, wow, this is like the best idea anyone's ever had to, this is total junk. And, and we, we run this gamut with, you know, it can happen within a half an hour.

And, uh, I, I've noticed. After teaching all these years that a lot of my [00:27:00] students feel, uh, that their, their, their self-worth isn't there. And it's a really, people are very vulnerable when they're trying to create and, and come up with ideas. And so we really have to figure out ways to. Boost ourselves to see if anybody can step in and help a little bit, like with laundry or walking the dog or, or uh, attending to a toddler.

All of those things are, are obstacles and we really have to identify them. And the one thing that I find when I, um, mentor other faculty is that they don't put time in to what they need to do or what they think they want to do. What I advise people to do is to make the time, like as you said, that you wanna create something or work on a business project, non-negotiable.

Just like taking a shower, brushing your teeth. Non-negotiable, right? Taking your [00:28:00] medicine non-negotiable. You just have to do it. I feel that way about I, I advise people to feel that way about their work. Do you do that with your writing? Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I do that with writing and with exercise.

Non-negotiable. Um, it just, it has to be done. And it's sort of like, you know, for your listeners, those of you who say, well, you know, I may be too tired to exercise today, or I'm too tired to go to the gym, I'm sure you always feel better once you've done it. And it's the same thing with creating and, and as, as with a workout, you always feel better after you've done it.

I, I've spoken to other authors, none who have written as many books as you. That's an, that, that's a feat on its own to, to be able to write that many books. But all of 'em, I, I've heard that same echo who have success. I've talked to a lot of people who've thought about writing books and I've gotten 120 pages into my manuscript three times.

Very good three times now. [00:29:00] 'cause I got 120 pages in and stopped doing it for a while and totally changed where I was going with it. The ones who actually get to print and become authors and have books out there, I've seen with all of them, it's like you, you have to just put the time down and I'm going to write from this time to this time, whether that's every day or every other day, whatever pace you need to go at.

But all of 'em have said, you have to just block that time and say, this is what I'm doing, or your book will never finish. Right. And as, as you said, I think it's the same for musicians and, and, um, dancers and, uh, writers, is that once you're doing it feels good. The endorphins start to flow. And so if you do sustain it for a, a, an extended period of time, you will feel good and it's rewarding.

And so, but if you do it at bits, it's not so rewarding. Your brain doesn't get a [00:30:00] chance to give you a gift back. I'm, I'm a big fan of time blocking. We talk about it a lot on the show and with my men's groups because Right. I think I, I did research for one show, and I think on average, if I remember right, it takes about 23 minutes to get back on task when you get interrupted in the middle of something, to actually get back into that same flow state where you were when you got interrupted.

You know, you can jump back in at actually get your head back in the right place and your heart back in the right place. The average is 23 minutes of lost time. Wow. Everything be interrupted. And so I'm a huge fan of time blocking, like we start with the non-negotiables as you called them. Right. And block those in.

Other things get filtered in around there, but we start with non-negotiables and projects we need to take care of and then move from there 'cause Right. I, I have a lot of things going most of the time. A lot of projects I'm working on. If I don't block them into work on [00:31:00] them, they're not getting done.

Life happens, right. Uh, yes. Right. And that's, that's one of the obstacles, right? That's Oh, yeah. Yeah. We, I, I had to change my schedule radically yesterday, as I told you, via emailed this morning. So, yeah, yesterday did not play out the way I planned. Uh, and, and life happens, unfortunately. That's right. That's right.

But guys, Why are we talking about creativity? Why are we talking about ideas? We're talking about them because you have them. You have ideas. You may not think they're creative, you may not think they're necessary. You may not think you are a creative. You have value inside your mind. Absolutely. You have something to contribute to your family, to your company, to your own business, to the world at large.

You have value inside your head. It matters, and so Robin is helping us. Help you get to a place where [00:32:00] you're comfortable actually see actually processing that out. And that's what we're gonna get into in the next phase of the show. We've been discussing Robin's book a little bit and just ideas and creativity in general, which for some people is a very uncomfortable subject.

And the next part of the show, we're gonna dive into how to generate worthwhile ideas. We're gonna roll to our next sponsor and we will be right back with Morph and Robin Landa, how well do you sleep at night? Do you toss and turn and wake up more tired than when you went to bed? Sleep is commonly one of the critical elements people fall short on in their life.

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I love my ghost bed. I've been sleeping on one for a couple years and it's made a huge difference in how I sleep. Hit ghostbed.com. Use the code, the Fallible man 30 to get 30% off your order and start getting better night's Sleep tomorrow. Now let's [00:33:00] go on to the show. Guys, welcome back. In the last part of the show, we are discussing just ideas and creativity in Robin's book, the New Art of Ideas.

In this part of the show, we're going to dig into how to generate worthwhile ideas. And Robin, I want to just get this out of the way 'cause this is the most important question that our listeners need to hear right at this moment is, can anyone use this process to help generate beneficial ideas?

Absolutely, I've, I've made it a completely accessible, uh, easy to use framework. That's really easy to remember. Guys, no matter what you do for a living, no matter where you are in your life, you'll be able to utilize these steps to help you generate ideas, and you can call them creation or not, whatever you're, you're comfortable with in your terminology, whether you wanna call them creative, but you can use this to generate.

Useful ideas. Wherever you are, wherever you want to apply it to, I [00:34:00] promise you or I wouldn't be sharing this with you guys today. Now, Robin, this is a process you call the three Gs, and so I don't want to overexplain those. I want you to explain those. So let's get into goals. Right. So the goal is, is the simplest part of my framework, which is the goal is what you wanna achieve, right?

And a lot of people think that a goal is the idea, but it's just what you wanna do. It's what you wanna achieve, but then it has to be modified by the other two Gs. Okay? So we start with goal setting, and guys, if you've listened to the show for any length of time, you understand goals. Okay. We talk about goals.

A lot of times we talk about smart goals, excuse me, and this is no different. You are setting a goal for what you want to achieve, right? This is something should be comfortable for you. The rest of [00:35:00] this is where you're really going to dial into what's moving the needle. So the next one on the dial or on your list is, the real secret sauce, as far as I'm concerned, is gap.

When will you explain that a little bit? 'cause that seems weird. Yes. The, the gap is, you're right. I think it is. It is one, one half of the secret sauce and the gap is the unmet need. What hasn't been created, what isn't out there that would meet a need of people or meet a desire? Um, what's the missing piece?

So when, when academics, people at faculty at universities do research, we do what's called the literature search. And it's not about reading literature, but it's about looking at the existing body of knowledge. And we're looking at it to see what's been done and what needs to be done and what's missing.

And then in my other fields of graphic design and advertising, when we wanna differentiate [00:36:00] a brand or an entity, or an organization or a social cause, we think about differentiating, about doing something different than the competition. And so, Those are both gaps. And so a gap in my framework can be a missing piece of research.

It can be a crack in the research. It can be an area that has not yet been explored. So for example, can you store objects in outer space, um, that hasn't been really explored. It's starting to be explored. Is there an underserved or an unconsidered audience? A. Priority group of people who haven't been, whose needs haven't been met.

Um, is there a lack of understanding about something about a process? Is there a method of delivery that hasn't been utilized? Is there a toxic free method? Is there a system that's not been examined? Is there a way to look at the world's, uh, [00:37:00] chronic issues like, uh, people who don't have homes or. Or people who don't have access to clean water.

So there's so many gaps out there. You, you tell some terrific examples in your book. Uh, I love the fact that Lego is looking into more friendly plastic alternatives for their blocks. As, as a parent who has kids who play with Legos and love Legos, I grew up on Legos. I think they're an awesome tool. Cool.

Just because they foster creativity. Mm-hmm. Uh, so it's, it's great to see that Lego is going, Hey, how can we do this in a better way? Um, right. Exactly. And then you told a story about a guy who designs controllers for, with Microsoft, for, uh, a veterans foundation to help them be able to gain despite. Any injuries or disabilities as a former Microsoft vendor?

Uh, I'm, [00:38:00] I'm a huge fan, ah, when, when they do those philanthropic endeavors. But, you know, that is, as a former gamer, I spent a lot of years gaming. Uh, the fact that someone went, you know what? There, there are veterans who are, you know, coming back with disabilities and, and that that's an incredible example of, you know, filling a gap, getting in there and taking care of that.

And she has other examples in there, guys, but those, those who resonated really well with you guys. Like, uh, the, the controller, the Microsoft Adaptive Controller is one of my absolute favorite industrial design pieces, and it was many years in the making. Very dedicated people. I think a lot of people don't know that there are 46 million gamers living with disability in the US alone, so imagine what it is worldwide and gaming is very important to people.

It's, it's a way to connect, especially you're gaming [00:39:00] online to others or, or in a room with other people. It's, it's therapeutic. And so, so many veterans come back with, uh, major, major injuries, um, that this is, was really, really an important project. It is. I, I love it. Now, the third G in the set is gain. So let's talk about gain for a few minutes.

So you just did, uh, because Right, this ma, this Microsoft adaptive controller was a benefit. For people, for gamers living with disability who had limited mobility, um, this enabled them to game just like anybody else could game. And so what I always think of in terms of what makes an idea worthwhile or what makes an idea a good idea, because people have a lot of bad ideas, is, is there a benefit for either individuals, society, business, or the [00:40:00] planet?

And so I'm sure that a lot of your listeners understand the triple bottom line. So the usual bottom line is how can we make a profit, right? Mm-hmm. It's about profit for business. The triple bottom line really thinks about it's three Ps. It, it's people, planet, and profit. And so I, I teach my students and, and my clients to really think about how can this benefit the world in, in, in a meaningful way.

One of the things you mentioned in the book is sometimes those ideas start with gap, which is, is one of the things that like triggers things for me. 'cause I'll, I'll look at something and go, why isn't somebody doing that? What do you mean there isn't a solution for this? Right? And so guys listening, I, I want you to understand.

Look around your world and it might be something, an idea involving your family. You know what, what's missing in the way [00:41:00] we do things for us to achieve a certain feeling, right? So you can start with what's missing and what the reward is, and just figure out, you know, the first G of goals, right? You can reverse engineer this, you can play this all three directions.

It's one of the things I love about the concept. Mm-hmm. Is, yeah, it's not a linear path, right? You can start at any one of these three places, guys, and be inspired. Once you start with, huh, this is what I'd like to achieve, or What can make this better? You can go each direction from there to solidify whether this VA idea is gonna have good value.

To you personally, to you as a business, to you as an employee, right. You may solve a great solution for one of your businesses that you work for. I, I had a colleague who created a new tool when I was a Microsoft [00:42:00] vendor. He created a new tool, new solution, which saved Microsoft a lot of money in one of the processes we had because it was just so time consuming.

He figured out a way to that and, and took a lot of work and a lot of effort, but he had an end goal in mind, right? He knew what the game was gonna be for Microsoft. He knew what the goal was 'cause he was trying to make our lives easier, and he figured out what the gap was, what the missing pieces were, and then built solutions for it.

This can be used to vet work. This can be used in your home life. This can be used in your personal endeavors. It is good ideas. It's just about how to have good ideas and vet that it's worth your time. See, I told you, this applies to all of you listening. Let me be very clear about that. We talked a lot about creativity.

You don't have to be a quote unquote [00:43:00] creative, okay? This is about identifying this is a good idea and I wanna do something with it. It can apply to all the pieces of your life. Guys, if you're getting something outta the conversation, do all the good social media nonsense that I hate, like thumbs up, share all that stupid social media nonsense.

Uh, the best thing you can do is share this with somebody who needs to hear this. Now, Robin, what are the first three steps are listeners can implement right now coming off this conversation to start utilizing this? You've actually said it. You're so insightful, Brent. Sorry. It, it's really, IM, it's really No, no, no.

It's great because you'll, you're, I'm gonna say it in a different way. You wanna look for pain points? What is something like, so whether you're working on an assembly line and you, you notice something that if we did this, this is, this is not working that well. What could we do to make this better? What, what is the pain point?

Or if you, you [00:44:00] said it in terms of your family. Um, the, the man, and I'm forgetting his name right now, I apologize. Who created, um, O X O, the, the goods, uh, product design company. His wife has arthritis and she had trouble opening a jar and he thought there must be a better way to create products that can help people.

1. Who have an issue like this. So to have a product with a can opener, with a better grip or, or something like that. So what, what is a pain point for people? What's keeping people up at night? And it's sometimes it's really simple. There's a, a fellow named Sharma who I wrote about in the book who is in the financial sector, and he helped people, um, with their retirement accounts and he realized that there wasn't really a.

Uh, an actual firm or a business that was dedicated to people either being able to roll over their retirement accounts or how to just work on retirement [00:45:00] accounts alone. And so he, he created that business or somebody whose friend really needed therapy, um, but couldn't afford it, and she, she came up with a model of a very inexpensive monthly rate for psychotherapy.

So it can happen. In your life, I, I really urge you to be observant, to watch human behavior. Just the way when we listen to observational comedians talk about their lives and the things that they notice, if you start to really look around you and notice people's behaviors, you will notice gaps. You will notice pain points.

And that's a really easy way to enter my framework and to, to start thinking of ideas or think about what would benefit people. What, what's n what's not out there that people would really help people. Okay. Robin, what's next for Robin Land? Are we getting more books? Are you going to follow that dream and become a filmmaker too?[00:46:00]

What's, what's next for Robin? I'm, thank you. I'm, I'm, I'm writing, I have a new book coming out in the fall about careers and I'm now working on a new proposal for, uh, a book for Columbia University Press. Okay. Where is the best place for people to find you? I'm all over the place. I'm on LinkedIn and Facebook and Instagram and Twitter.

Uh, I haven't hit be real yet. I don't know if you have, but I haven't hit that French platform of, uh, unfiltered images yet. So, um, but everywhere else, and then there's my website too. I, I have so many platforms that I. I'm not about to jump on another one. I haven't heard of that one yet, but there's no way I'm going down that rabbit hole.

I'm, I'm already on like eight is horrible. As someone who hates social media, the irony of making a living on these kind of platforms is not lost on me. But my [00:47:00] friends who know me really well just. They mock me. They're like, oh, better upgrade your, update your Instagram, darling. I hate it. I hate it. Don't want another one.

I, I'm too spread thin on those. So be real. I'll have to look. I hear you. I've never heard of that one before. But it's a, it's French, French, uh, another platform. Oh, this is, yep. Too many. Now. I know you guys are dying to know. Who directed the hit 2017 movie? Get Out The options. Were a James Wan b Jordan Pill, C Guillermo De Deltoro, or D Tim Story Yuis Jordan Peel and congratulations, Robin.

You are right. So your movie trivia skills are up there, right? You were, you were trying to say that, you know, it depends on what era it came out of. 2017 is relatively recent for all of us who are pretty new. 15. Uh, so hey, you're, you're doing pretty well if you got that one. I. [00:48:00] I had to look it up. I, I couldn't have told you that.

I'm like Jordan, who I, I recognize Guillermo du Deltoro out of that set, but the rest of 'em, I'm like, dude, direct movies. I don't know. So, hey, congratulations. And if you guys guess that, right, congratulations to you. Now, we know that that's the important thing on the show, but just, just to satisfy my curiosity.

Robin, wrap us out. What is the most important thing you want listeners to hear today? If they hear nothing else, what's the most important thing you want 'em to hear? If you think you can't generate good ideas, it's not you. It's the framework that you're using. Alright, Robin, thank you for joining us today and taking time to be on the show.

Gents, be better tomorrow because what you do today, and we'll see you on the next one. This has been the Followable Man Podcast. Your home for everything, man, [00:49:00] husband, and father. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss a show. Head over to www.thefollowibleman.com for more content and get your own Fallible man gear.