Breakthrough Builders The Edge of Reason: Scott Belsky
[2m23s] The parallels and synergies Scott sees between the product development and writing processes
[6m45s] Why Scott decided to go "all in" on advancing creative meritocracy in his career
[11m03s] The opportunity Scott sees for our world to get to true creative meritocracy
[13m26s] A framework Scott counsels organizations leaders to use when recognizing and rewarding creatives
[16m56s] Scott's perspective on thinking at the "Edge of Reason" as an essential ingredient to innovating product, advancing culture, and improving diversity
[25m36s] How Scott helped drive Adobe's business and technology transformation, including his reflection on the amazing journey of bringing Behance into the company whose Photoshop software he tinkered with as a kid
[30m07s] Scott's view on the brand portfolio strategy at Adobe, including the Adobe master brand, the Creative Cloud brand, and the signature application (product) brands
[33m53s] Scott's perspective on the product culture at Adobe
[35m34s] Scott's view on the most promising broad-based technology innovations coming our way over the next 5-10 years
[37m58s] Scott and Jesse discuss the future of work, and the changing psychology, operating models, and use cases of working physically together
[40m56s] Scott offers his perspective on the future of NFT technology and the linkages between NFT, digital (art)ifacts, and creative meritocracy
[44m02s] How Scott chooses people and organizations to partner with as an investor and advisor
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How can companies sustain product and brand innovation in the face of constant challenges? And how can they nurture creative collaboration in our new world of work while providing employees the space and autonomy to do the best work of their lives?
Perhaps no one is better suited to answer these questions than Scott Belsky, bestselling author and Chief Product Officer at Adobe. In his 2018 book The Messy Middle, Scott laid out the methods that enable people to find their way through the most difficult phases of bold projects and new ventures. In his talk with Jesse, Scott describes why it’s critical to make product decisions at “The Edge of Reason,” and discusses how his ability to bring to life a vision for the future of creative collaboration would turn out to make him a key contributor to Adobe’s well-chronicled transition to the Cloud.
Along with his reflections on what it was like to ultimately assume the next phase of growth for products he had used and revered since his early years, Scott discusses his motivations for founding Behance; the parallels he discovered between the processes of writing books and of developing software products; his transformative ideas on product culture; and even his beliefs about the future of NFT technology to continue to unlock creative democratization. Time and again, he offers us timeless guidance on how to gain confidence from doubt and nurture our ability to create without limits.
Guest Bio
Scott Belsky is an executive, entrepreneur, author, and investor (and all-around product obsessive). He currently serves as Adobe's Chief Product Officer and Executive Vice President, Creative Cloud. Scott's passion is to make the creative world more productive, connected, and adaptive to new technologies. Scott co-founded Behance in 2006, and served as CEO until Adobe acquired Behance in 2012.
Alongside his role at Adobe, Scott actively advises and invests in businesses that cross the intersection of technology and design - and help empower people. He works closely with a number of venture capital firms including Benchmark and Homebrew, and is an early advisor and investor in Pinterest, Uber, sweetgreen, Carta, Cheddar, Flexport, Airtable, and Periscope (now part of Twitter) as well as several others in the early stages.
Helpful Links
Scott’s books: The Messy Middle (2018) and Making Ideas Happen (2010)
Inc.: What it Takes to Keep Your Business Ahead of the Pace of Innovation
Medium: The Furry Lisa, CryptoArt, & The New Economy Of Digital Creativity
Loved this talk with Scott? Check out our conversation with Cisco’s Jeetu Patel