Provoke Actions That Advance Careers

Anita Brick: Hi, this is Anita Brick. And welcome to CareerCast at Chicago Booth. To help you advance in your career. Today we're delighted to be speaking with Roy Sharples. He is the founder and CEO of Unknown Origins, and is on a mission to save the world from banality by unleashing creative power. He has a global track record of innovation, delivered by building beloved brands, bringing new products and services to market, creating and developing startups and leading large businesses across global regions.

Before founding Unknown Origins, Roy was Managing Director, Global Industry Product Marketing at Microsoft. The book that he wrote that we're going to talk about is Creativity Without Frontiers. Thank you so much for making the time, Roy.

Roy Sharples: Thank you Anita, it is a pleasure to be here.

Anita Brick: I am struggling with something and maybe you can help me understand and in doing so, help our listeners understand. What does it mean to have creativity without frontiers? I always think of creativity and frontiers going together. Explain to us, if you can, just very briefly, what does it mean to have creativity without frontiers?

Roy Sharples: I wanted to demystify creativity. So by unleashing creativity in all of us. Creativity Without Frontiers is a manifesto to see the world from unoriginality by drawing upon decades of experience at the forefront of business innovation. It examines the conditions that nourish creativity in organizations of all sizes, from artists to corporations to civilizations, and broadening capacity to connect the past to the present by putting things together in new ways that light the way into the future.

Anita Brick: Okay. An MBA student said she was reading the book and started feeling a bit overwhelmed. And she said, where does a person even start to be as great as the people and things influencing you–in this case influencing me? You do set the bar really high and the influences we know are massive. They're hitting us from all different angles. Where does someone start to be as great as those influences?

Roy Sharples: It is an excellent question, Anita. It starts by defining yourself by what you are and what you are not. And appreciate the difference which will free you to excel at your craft. And when you are clear about yourself, you can guide your future and attract all the right people to your life and into your creative circle. It starts with belief then make the necessary sacrifices by being committed, focused on self discipline. By making yourself accountable for the decisions you make and the actions you take. By being resilient and positive when faced with setbacks and adversity, and being open minded by redefining these situations as a process to grow.

Anita Brick: You know, that sounds really nice in principle, when you're in the midst of a challenge or an impasse. I think it's very hard for people to move forward, myself included. And an alum brought this to the forefront. And he said: “How would you advise someone who wants to be true to themselves and really believe in themselves when the influences to be different are so strong? I feel like I’m at an impasse. Any ideas that you have for me to help me move forward?”

Roy Sharples: This is a great one. Of course, idiosyncrasies exist, though fundamentally people are the same everywhere. But what makes us unique is how we self-identify by interpreting the world around us, discovering our strengths and expressing our personalities, talents, and triumphs. Manifest what is inside and around you in everyday life and transcend ordinary and routine into something that has value by putting things together in a way that has never been done before.

Anita Brick: All right, that sounds like a really tall order. So maybe we bring it back to earth a little bit. And an MBA student, he said: “As I share a story about my new career transition to a new target audience, how do I find the intersection of the meaning of the story to me so I am true to myself and the meaning of the story to the listener?” So when you know what you want and you have a good sense of your talents and your strengths and all of those things, how do you then craft the messaging to be meaningful for the people that you want to influence, to hire you, promote you, fund you depending on what the situation is?

Roy Sharples: Be clear about the purpose of the story you want to tell and the audience you want to tell it to. Why it matters to you and them. And if it doesn't matter, then the story itself is probably not worth telling. By doing this, it means finding the answer to the questions around what do your audience care about? What's the call to action that you want your audience to take away? How do you want to make them feel? And a well-told story engages the mind, heart, and soul, and a powerful narrative is built from simple principles. One, truth is how we connect emotionally with a story and relate it to ourselves. Secondly, convey in the right style and voice, bring clarity and to make what you see memorable. And thirdly, never forget that we exist in time and our lives have beginnings, middles and endings filled with ups and downs and conflict is the engine of narrative, and that's what keeps us listening. And finally, we tell stories to share and understand human experiences, to build connections and pass on wisdom.

Anita Brick: How do you check in to make sure you're on–I hate to use this phrase–on trend or on point with your message? How do you check in to make sure that you're still relevant?

Roy Sharples: It’s being deeply connected to your audience, and also things like the industry that you operate within and also culture as well. Multiple obvious channels that we can tap into. Do our own research through the internet, through social media, through social listening, but also conversations and forums that we are involved in and participate within as well. Never resting on your laurels and always staying a step ahead by tuning in to all of those different touchpoints.

Anita Brick: It's really interesting because someone asked the question: “I've been working in my field for more than two decades. How can someone like me have an outsider perspective?” Because you talk about in order to stay current, you have to kind of be removed in a way. So someone's been in a career in a field for a couple of decades. How do you keep that outsider or beginner's mind present?

Roy Sharples: I believe two key things. One is cross-pollinate and collaborate across multiple and disparate domains and knowledge bases to seek broader insights and ways of doing. And secondly, it's to continually analyze and question. That you lead creatively by provoking actions that bring about change and being able to continuously circumnavigate the status quo to find an alternative.

Anita Brick: What's very interesting, Roy, because I am avidly curious, I believe that that helps a great deal, is you find these connections in different places, like I have these hubs of people who don't know each other in my network. When I speak to them, I never thought about it that way. You can listen, borrow, and recombine. You don't have to come up with something brand new in order to create innovation.

Roy Sharples: That's correct.

Anita Brick: So, speaking of innovation, and this really caught my attention. You talk about incremental and radical innovation. How would you advise someone to apply this in a career?

Roy Sharples: Be clear about what you desire based on what motivates you and makes you happy, not what your friends and peers are doing or the external pressures that may be forcing you away from your core. Then, once you are clear about that, identify the organizations that are aligned to your values, ambitions, and moral compass. If there aren't any, then go start your own company. But be honest. Not everyone is or wants to be on the edge. Some people are just so suited to startup environments, like really fast paced, very risk oriented, very frontiered.

Whereas some people are not and are more suited to structure, to predictability. And so it's finding that balance and finding what you feel that would connect most to your psyche. Makes you feel good about that, the work that you can do in the environment you do it in.

Anita Brick: So in a way, when you're saying radical innovation could be asking people to jump off the cliff with you proverbially and that's not right for everyone in our society. Well, in pockets all over the world, really, the entrepreneur or the mythology of entrepreneurship seems to be highly valued. I mean, not seems, it is highly valued and people feel like they're missing out on something. You know, the whole FOMO on fear of missing out if they don't do that. But I think what you're saying is honor who you are. If that's who you are, go for it. If it's not who you are, find ways to innovate within the context that you're in.

Roy Sharples: That's exactly right. And I also put it out there to companies to stop falsely promoting the jobs that you're advertising, the types of people that you seek to recruit, and saying things like, you're looking for entrepreneurial people when you're really not, you're looking for someone that can keep the lights on and be very risk averse, right? Companies should be a lot more transparent and honest about the credentials that they really are looking for, and it's reflective of the operating culture that they function within.

Anita Brick: It's very good advice, and it's also good to be on the other side as someone seeking a role to also read between the lines or come up with really good questions during an interview. Questions that don't make the other person defensive, but find out what they really want. Find out really who does succeed there. And I think it's a really good point.

One of the things you talk about in the book is about mastery and failure. And an MBA student said, she said: “I agree with the idea of starting with self-belief and intellectually knowing that failure is the path to mastery, but I'm struggling to put this into action within the realities of my daily life. How can I begin to break through this pattern that clearly holds me back?” If people talk about failure being a good thing and challenge being a good thing, we need that in order to get to the next level or get to where we want to go. But in reality, how do you balance that failure is a path to mastery with not being scared about it.

Roy Sharples: Yeah, treat failure as a step forward, not a step backward or a reason to disengage. However, when I say that I do not mean being reckless and doing things in ignorance and repeatedly failing as a result, acquiring the essential skill and knowledge which comes from doing–rolling up your sleeves and doing it until you can. And then the continuous aptitude to hone your craft along the way and never giving up. And this will give you the confidence and inner strength to pursue your creative pursuits with the necessary belief and swagger.

Anita Brick: That's really interesting. An alum asked this question, said: “Roy, with pressure to produce creative solutions almost like a machine, how do you see people finding the space to have the innovative perspective you discuss and not miss deadlines?”

Roy Sharples: Creativity is not something that is incidental. It is essential and it is not a license to miss deadlines that you have committed to. It's a human process, creativity and imagination. And so I would never mix the fact that by being creative means that you're going to miss deadlines and you need unstructured time to go and think. Creativity is doing. It's a way of life. It's a way of thinking. It's a way of operating. And that needs to be infused from the off.

Anita Brick: That's a really good point, because creativity isn't something you put on when you walk in the door. And you take it off in the evening. People who really do build this creativity without frontiers. It's on all the time. Right?

Roy Sharples: That's a great point. Every single true creative will tell you there's no on or off button. It's just something that you do. It's something that you are, and it's a way that you are wired.

Anita Brick: Where do you get started if it was beaten out of you as a child?

Roy Sharples: Don't worry. Don't overthink things. Just be yourself and relax and you'll find that will come to you. That natural side will come out to you.

Anita Brick: Yeah, I think that's easier said than done, though.

Roy Sharples: It is.

Anita Brick: What are a couple of things that someone can do so they don't have to go all in? They're going to run some low risk experiments. What would be an experiment that you would suggest someone could run to test out or test drive creativity? Maybe we could be a little bit more specific.

Roy Sharples: Some of the things that spring to mind. It's about really embedding key principles and practices, which is around leadership. Do it yourself, craftsmanship, collaboration and mentorship. So leadership is leading by action to find the future, by breaking through the status quo. And people who lead create clarity by synthesizing complex concepts. They generate energy by inspiring optimism, creativity in others. And they deliver results by driving innovation, by tenaciously pursuing the outcome. Do it yourself means rejecting conventions. The rebellious impetuosity of nonconformity by taking direct action, by doing it in your own style and pace, and embracing that challenge and accepting that you may fail along the way. But being able to persist and the face of setback and learn by doing is a path to mastery.

Thirdly, around craftsmanship. It's being passionately dedicated and really fabulous at your craft, or as best as you possibly can be at your craft and remaining honest, trustworthy, and responsible by taking pride in everything you do, that will help you achieve the highest quality craft and whatever domain you're in. And then fourthly, collaboration. It's essential to collaborate when exploring new ideas, finding new solutions and collaboration is the cross-pollination and sharing of knowledge across multiple domains by combining the individual's intellectual capital across multiple areas and understanding the know-how within those areas. And then finally, and this is a really important one throughout your career, it's to seek mentorship, seeking counsel from people you trust, respect, and admire, but finding positive role models who can share their skills, insights, and expertise to help nurture your ideas. And also to understand and respect history and infuse best practice into finding the future to truly innovate and not to reinvent the wheel, but always to connect, give credit. Applying those principles in your own unique way and style will help you navigate through your creative process and help accelerate you on your creative pursuits.

Anita Brick: I understand that, and I think from an experiment side, maybe we need to go a little bit deeper, but maybe I can synthesize a little bit of what you were talking about. We each have a lot of control about building our craft, showing up, learning, making sure that we're prepared. All of those things are under our control. So that’s maybe not so scary because we can control that, and we can control how well we continue to develop and learn and track trends and all of those things. With all of that, leadership doesn't mean leading a big company.

It could be leading our career. It could be leading our team, using our craft, moving toward mastery. We can take that information and the things that we learned through collaboration and synthesize it and use it, whether it's for ourselves or a team and of course, learning from mentors, etc., etc. All of those could be done incrementally, so you're not throwing yourself into an area where failure will be a disaster. Failure will just be a little bit of learning. Does that make sense?

Roy Sharples: It makes total sense and very well summarized.

Anita Brick: Okay. Thank you. So here's someone maybe who is concerned about ego getting in the way. So it's kind of like a little bit of a flip side of what we've been talking about a little bit. An alum said: “How do you advise individuals to combine learning experience and growth (kiind of what we've been talking about) with a childlike imagination and minimize the allure of ego taking over? I struggle with this. Thanks.”

Roy Sharples: Learning is critical to human existence. As water and food nourish our body, so too does information and knowledge fuel our minds. So it's important to keep an open mind and avoid the trap of becoming a know-it-all, as opposed to being a learner. The real key to success there is not being a know-it-all, but being a learn-it-all. I truly don't believe your imagination is more straight when you're young. There's a component of that. But I don't believe that's the end of the story. I think you never lose the ability to be creative. In fact, I believe that creativity increases with time because we all gain more knowledge and insight as we experience more of life. And life events provide us with more reference points and the knowledge gained through experience in them, combined with our own imagination and ability to maintain our childlike wonder throughout life. Ego-based decisions are a deadly sin because when people assess their well-being by their own ego, they become self-fulfilling, critical, judgmental, sometimes manipulative of others, even if they don't directly intend to do that.

That's sometimes how it manifests itself, being rigid and inflexible, and this state of mind can be counter-productive to progress, leading to mistrust, less functionality, and toxicity.

Anita Brick: When ego leads the decision, they're never very good decisions.

Roy Sharples: Exactly.

Anita Brick: Do you have time for a couple more questions?

Roy Sharples: I do, yes, absolutely.

Anita Brick: Okay, great. So an MBA student said–this one really struck me a little bit. He said: “Hi, Roy. In your book you talk about respect for the audience. I'm all about respect and yet I tend to really go from respect to wanting them to like me and get stuck there. Help! Thanks.”

Roy Sharples: I've got to say, the quality and mindfulness within all of these questions are brilliant. Specific to this, having respect for your audience means holding yourself accountable for your actions and having a social conscience and empathy for continuously managing innovation that powers the products, services or experiences that you design, make, and sell and the businesses you run. By connecting emotionally to your audience, by providing meaning and delivering unforgettable experiences. And that's when alchemy truly happens. And brand love is created by having a purpose, establishing trust, and making people feel good and connected to something greater. So play the long game in good taste and with integrity.

Anita Brick: That's great, I totally agree. What are three things that you would advise someone listening today to do to incorporate creativity without frontiers for greater career success and dare I say, impact beyond themselves?

Roy Sharples: Have confidence in your ideas and never give up on bringing them to fruition. It means seeing around the corners and fearlessly navigating into the future. On that, the three key things I would consider within that is: one, fearlessly lead by example by winning the crowd, by navigating territory where no one else has ventured. Avoid the mainstream and work to develop a deeper relationship between yourself and your audience. By being authentic, to live in the moment with conviction and confidence. Always stay true to yourself.

Secondly, is to reject conventions by constantly analyzing and questioning the status quo in your everyday life and provide an alternative and bring it to life. People who achieve greatness do not fit a formula or follow a structure per se. They break the mold by following their own path. And finally, keep true to the dreams of your youth and create outside the boundaries. Don't give up on your childhood dreams and your approach to the world through a child's eyes. Learn, innovate, and never waste a second on anything that seems to restrict you.

Anita Brick: Wow, that's a tall order and I think we can all chip away a little bit of that in ways that don't freak us out, but help us move forward. It is super important for us to do this and for us to do this together, because we've got some big challenges as a human race. But there are solutions. I believe it after reading the book, I feel that you believe it too.

Roy Sharples: Indeed.

Anita Brick: Great. Thank you so much, Roy. This has been so terrific. As I said, I really like the book Creativity Without Frontiers. And if you want to learn more about the book or about Roy or you can go to unknownorigins.com. Thanks again Roy, and I'm glad we could make the time to do this.

Roy Sharples: It's a wonderful experience and they're very well put together, so thank you Anita.

Anita Brick: You're very welcome and thanks again. And thank you all for listening. This is Anita Brick with CareerCast at Chicago Booth. Keep advancing.