Spark Your Creativity and Innovate Today with Michael Hendrix & Panos Panay

In today’s episode, we cover the power of music and listening with Panos A. Panay and R. Michael Hendrix. Panay is a Cypress-born entrepreneur and educator, Hendrix is an American graphic designer and entrepreneur, and both are the authors of Two Beats Ahead: What Musical Minds Teach Us About Innovation, featuring interviews with some of the top creative geniuses of our time.

Some of the best music humans create comes from collaborative work between artists, but why is collaboration so important, what should you avoid when collaborating with others on any project, and why is it important to focus on the process of creating something just as much as the end product?

What to Listen For

The Power of Listening - 0:00

What is the difference between hearing music and listening to it?
Why is the silence between notes more important than the notes themselves?
What creative acts do design and music have in common?
What are you NOT doing if you feel like you run out of things to talk about in a conversation?

The Power of Collaboration - 16:45

What great approaches to collaboration can you use in your life and business to come up with new ideas?
Why are trust and respect so important when pursuing collaborative opportunities with individuals and groups?
What is missing from project based learning that can lead to a total failure for the teams working on the projects?
What can you do if you find yourself on a team with people you don’t like or get along with?
What conversation are professional organizations and businesses not having and why is it killing the effectiveness of project teams?

Process Focused vs Outcome Focused - 29:38

Why is it more important to focus on the process of creating something rather than just the end result?
How do you work with individuals who refuse to compromise when working on collaborative projects?
What mistake do many companies make when trying to find collaboration opportunities?
How do you bring out the individuality in your team members to get the best of the collaboration?

Humans have likely been creating music for as long as we have been around. And the process of making music can teach us about the values that define humanity. The value of not just the notes, but the silence between them - both contribute to the sound of the music we love and hate. Similarly, it’s important for humans to have periods of rest in between periods of effort because in those periods of rest and boredom are when we come up with some of our best ideas. Those periods of rest between intense workouts are when our bodies get stronger. We cannot live fulfilling lives by simply resting all the time nor can we by working all the time. Balance is important in all things.

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Resources from this Episode

Two Beats Ahead: What Musical Minds Teach Us About Innovation

Michael Hendrix’s website

Panos A. Panay on Twitter

Sonic Bids

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