Robby Novak's most popular video has been seen over 44 million times, and even though it's his face, his words, and his VIDEO, almost nobody watching knows his name is Robby Novak. Instead, they call him something else: Kid President. In this episode, hear why even the most enjoyable of videos KP has created -- and the best work from the best creators on the planet -- suffers from one issue that we must face as well. Watch Kid President's Pep Talk video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-gQLqv9f4o   JOIN THE NEWSLETTER to get weekly inspiration and insights to help you challenge conventional thinking and create your best work: http://bit.ly/DamnTheBestPractices.  A quick welcome note and video. IMMEDIATELY: A quick welcome note and video. WEEK ONE: A few of the most foundational ideas we need to go on this journey together. EVERY WEEK THEREAFTER: One new story and idea for questioning best practices, being consistently creative, and producing refreshing work.   WORK WITH ME:  Keynote Speaking: jay@unthinkablemedia.com or jayacunzo.com Creating shows for B2B clients: unthinkablemedia.com Get my book, Break the Wheel: Question Best Practices, Hone Your Intuition, and Do Your Best Work: http://bit.ly/BTWbook   ABOUT UNTHINKABLE: Hosted by author and keynote speaker Jay Acunzo, Unthinkable is a sweet-sounding, story-style show exploring conventional thinking that forms in our work and sharing stories of the people who dare to question it. From big brands like Disney/ESPN and Slack to fast-risers like Death Wish Coffee and InVision to craft-driven makers and marketers in the arts, real estate, design/illustration, content marketing, public speaking, books, comedy, and a ton more, we travel to the far reaches of the business world to dig up stories you've never heard, revealing ideas you'd never considered. It's all focused on breaking from conventional thinking to think for ourselves in our work. It's Unthinkable.    ABOUT JAY ACUNZO: Jay is an author, keynote speaker, and a critically acclaimed show host and executive producer. As a digital media strategist at Google, Jay was previously responsible for pushing marketing executives and practitioners into the digital age. He then held multiple leadership positions at high-growth tech startups, including HubSpot, and served as Vice President of Brand at the venture capital firm NextView. Jay’s work has been cited in courses at Harvard Business School and by writers at the New York Times, the Washington Post, FastCompany, Fortune, Forbes, and more. He’s been called a “creative savant” by Salesforce and was named to the city of Boston’s “50 on Fire” list. Today, Jay travels the world delivering keynotes and producing/hosting episodes of docuseries about creative work as the founder of Unthinkable Media.

I kick off Season 5 by sharing the worst advice I've ever received and announcing the next leg of our journey together to fight against conventional thinking in our work. As promised, here are the two links mentioned: TRAVEL LOG: http://bit.ly/jay2019log My transparent, public, and continually updated account (editorial calendar and more) of my work this year, packaged as a travel journal. We're fighting against one awful phenomenon in business (shortcut culture) and fighting for one major goal (creating unassailable work). My hypothesis is that we need to master the ability to create consistently great work -- that consistency is key. But how does that work? What does it take? The Travel Log contains all questions, ideas, stories, mental frameworks, science, and other goodies I'm uncovering and creating. NEWSLETTER: http://bit.ly/DamnTheBestPractices Subscribe to get a new story to start each week feeling inspired. The newsletter is the main vehicle where I push this quest forward, sharing everything from the podcast, as well as exclusive 1:1 video chat invitations, new projects and experiments, and behind-the-scenes insights that don't make it anywhere else. WORK WITH ME:  I give ~20 keynote speeches a year to audiences ranging from 40 global brand executives to 400 fire safety officers to 4,000 marketers and everything in between: jay@unthinkablemedia.com or jayacunzo.com Hire me to host/produce an original series for your B2B company: unthinkablemedia.com Read my book, Break the Wheel: Question Best Practices, Hone Your Intuition, and Do Your Best Work: http://bit.ly/BTWbook ABOUT UNTHINKABLE: Hosted by author and keynote speaker Jay Acunzo, Unthinkable is a sweet-sounding, story-style show exploring conventional thinking that forms in our work and sharing stories of the people who dare to question it. From big brands like Disney/ESPN and Slack to fast-risers like Death Wish Coffee and InVision to craft-driven makers and marketers in the arts, real estate, design/illustration, content marketing, public speaking, books, comedy, and a ton more, we travel to the far reaches of the business world to dig up stories you've never heard, revealing ideas you'd never considered. It's all focused on breaking from conventional thinking to think for ourselves in our work. It's Unthinkable.  ABOUT JAY ACUNZO: Jay is a critically acclaimed show host and executive producer, as well as the founder of Unthinkable Media, which creates documentary series with brand clients. As a digital media strategist at Google, Jay was responsible for pushing marketing executives and practitioners into the digital age. He then held multiple leadership positions at high-growth tech startups, including HubSpot, and served as Vice President of Brand at the venture capital firm NextView. Jay’s work has been cited in courses at Harvard Business School and by writers at the New York Times, the Washington Post, FastCompany, Fortune, Forbes, and more. He’s been called a “creative savant” by Salesforce and was named to the city of Boston’s “50 on Fire” list. In a world where “storyteller” has become a buzzword, Jay has earned a living by understanding how to tell actual stories -- emotional tales of people and teams doing their best work that help inspire others to push past conventional thinking in theirs.

In Episode 7 of my docuseries with brand partner Drift, we go inside a rising star in B2B, Lessonly. The company's internal principles guide everything they do, and they articulate some very atypical but refreshing principles. Underpinning every principle and every action spawned from those principles is one core concept: Psychological Safety.  Hear why it's so dangerous to overlook this idea, and the very real ways it's changed Lessonly's team for the better. Plus, why is the company's VP of Marketing Kyle Lacy spraypainting 700 toy llamas gold in his garage?  MORE GOOD STUFF: My book, Break the Wheel, is about questioning best practices to think for yourself. If you want to make better decisions, faster, in your unique context, check it out on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Break-Wheel-Question-Practices-Intuition/dp/1544501056/ You can also get one new story each each week about thinking for yourself when surrounded by conventional thinking by subscribing to my newsletter at bit.ly/DamnTheBestPractices

In Episode 6 of my docuseries with brand partner Drift, I continue to explore why the world's best B2B companies are betting big on brand. Today, we go inside social media software company Buffer. They're an exception for many reasons, but chief among them is how they increase emotional resonance between their team and their audience. In this episode, I define the differences between traffic, audience, and resonance, and we hear how Buffer executes against each. Special thanks to Brian Peters and Kevan Lee for joining. MORE GOOD STUFF: My book, Break the Wheel, is about questioning best practices to think for yourself. If you want to make better decisions, faster, in your unique context, check it out on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Break-Wheel-Question-Practices-Intuition/dp/1544501056/ You can also get one new story each each week about thinking for yourself when surrounded by conventional thinking by subscribing to my newsletter at bit.ly/DamnTheBestPractices

In Episode 5 of my docuseries with brand partner Drift, I continue to explore why the world's best B2B companies are betting big on brand, with a twist: We go outside the world of product companies and talk to one of the world's most well-known VC firms in tech, First Round Capital. In the episode, we talk to Looker cofounder and CTO Lloyd Tabb about his experiences working with FRC, and then hear from Bill Trenchard, one of the partners at the firm.  MORE GOOD STUFF: My book, Break the Wheel, is now available on Amazon in print, ebook, and audio formats: https://www.amazon.com/Break-Wheel-Question-Practices-Intuition/dp/1544501056/ You can also get one new story each each week about thinking for yourself when surrounded by conventional thinking: bit.ly/DamnTheBestPractices

In the third of three Thanksgiving Week specials, we hear the incredible story of two individuals who so in-touch with WHY they do their work that they make decisions others can't possibly stomach, and overcome challenges most of us have never faced. It's Unthinkable ;)  (For more weekly stories, subscribe to my newsletter, Damn the Best Practices: bit.ly/damnpractices)

In the second of three Thanksgiving Week special episodes, an old classic featuring a New York artist's odd but revealing experiment and the story of Frank Warren, creator of PostSecret. Why do we let judgment of our ideas affect our willingness to share them? How do we overcome that? Can we reach a place where we stop shoving others away when they criticize us, claiming they don't "get it"? (For weekly stories, subscribe to my newsletter, Damn the Best Practices: bit.ly/damnpractices)

Why do we gorge ourselves on holidays? Why do we do ANYTHING that seems mindless? "Because that's how we do things around here." In this story, the psychological phenomenon that explains this type of decision-making ... and what we need to do to break from it. This concept was pulled from my book, Break the Wheel: Question Best Practices, Hone Your Intuition, and Do Your Best Work. Buy now on Amazon in print, ebook, or audiobook formats: https://www.amazon.com/Break-Wheel-Question-Practices-Intuition/dp/1544501056/

In Episode 4 of my docuseries with brand partner Drift, I continue to explore why the world's best B2B companies are betting big on brand. Today we go inside Help Scout an talk to CEO/cofounder Nick Francis, head of support Abigail Phillips, and an actual Help Scout customer. Plus, we hear from some of their employee's plants. MORE GOOD STUFF: My book, Break the Wheel, is now available on Amazon in print, ebook, and audio formats: https://www.amazon.com/Break-Wheel-Question-Practices-Intuition/dp/1544501056/ You can also get one new story each each week about thinking for yourself when surrounded by conventional thinking: bit.ly/DamnTheBestPractices

This is Part 2 of a story that originated in my newsletter, Damn the Best Practices. It got such a great response that I'm syndicating it here. You can subscribe at http://bit.ly/damnpractices Last time, I shared a psychological concept I uncovered while researching for my book, Break the Wheel. Today, the solution to that mental barrier blocking better decision-making at work. GET THE BOOK ON AMAZON OR AUDIBLE: Break the Wheel: Question Best Practices, Hone Your Intuition, and Do Your Best Work Amazon (print, Kindle, audiobook): https://www.amazon.com/Break-Wheel-Question-Practices-Intuition/dp/1544501056/ Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Break-the-Wheel-Audiobook/B07JH7FQCJ Thanks for listening!