“Stay hungry” isn’t near as fun as staying curious

This is not your typical post.

What follows is an online-offline exchange with one of the best creative minds in the business right now — Greg Walter of 2Tall Animation.

His sports-related animation studio has become a sought-after partner across global sports leagues and their teams with millions of eyeballs on the content they create. And for someone who I assumed owned the cheat code for timely, buzzworthy creative content, I didn’t see this question coming — at least not from him.

The question he posed online to fellow creatives is below, and what I feel strongly, via my own creative practices, is simply one way to respond to it.

I talked with Greg about this before posting to get his blessing on sharing insights from our exchange (slightly modified). Frankly, I would’ve responded publicly in the app, but found I had more to say than the tiny window afforded. I also think a lot of hard-working, thoughtful and creative people who have been on the scene for a while can glean some helpful takeaways here. At least that’s my hope.

GREG:

To the Gen Xers, the children of the 80s, the greying ass-kickers who are still at it, still risking, still creating… what are your tricks to staying sharp, creative, and hungry?

ME:

Greg, I saw your post and it got me to thinking….

While I lack any tricks or life hacks, I interpret your question as being about “more work” or new work – and, I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling drained by “feeding the beast” and doing “treadmill sprints” more often than I’d like to admit.

So I have to stop looking at this as “work” and, instead, as curiosity. A curiosity that I trust will feed new ideas that become the energizing work we “get to” do — not just have to do.

I know, curiosity = buzzword, so let me explain my take.

My version of curiosity isn’t surface-level and business-relevant hot takes of saying, “dang, look at Agency X killing it over there. Why didn’t we think of that? How can we riff off that?”

No. What I mean is:

Go hang out with younger people.

In particular, I’m looking at people who are 15 to 29 years old (and young 30s). And here’s why:

The age range reveals an interesting learning loop. 15-year-olds are starting to think for themselves, breaking away from parental molds and “discovering” who they are, their likes and dislikes.

A lot of it is peer-induced, but it’s the beginning of noticing trends. Trends that, like all trends, once existed in a different time, different shape or container, and are now recycled for a new generation. This to me is a well of fascination.

They fall in like and then in love with things borne of the 80s or 90s or aughts often without knowing the origin source, because it has a new twist on it just for them. So looking at them and through their lens, I see things of my past differently.

We have a choice — we can be the old farts who say, “I remember when Don Henley sang Boys of Summer back in 1984” and shake an angry fist at a cloud when we hear a cover of it; or we can embrace The Ataris version that is faster, more punk-pop, swapping out a Dead-head sticker on a Cadillac for a Black Flag sticker (which, arguably, I’d prefer). It’s the same dang thing slightly tweaked for a new audience. And I realize I can love them both.

It’s the sharpness and clarity of old becoming new again. That makes me hungry to learn more. To ask “what if” more. Pursue more.

Same is true for college-age people and those post-college young adults entering the workforce and adulting, what they are willing to work for (and not work for), their questioning of purpose, value, commerce – a more cerebral, personal awakening that isn’t solely material, but feeds their choices.

The more time I spend with those younger than me by a good stretch, the more alive they make me feel, the more curious I become, the more I translate that into my work of creating and mashing things up. Because if the cliché of there’s nothing new to discover is only partially true, then it’s in the remix where all the next great inventions exist.

CASE IN POINT:
I would love to know what percentage of your younger audience consuming 2Tall’s basketball results content has a clue that it is a mashup of a Charlie Brown Christmas and NBA personas and outcomes. It’s like an Easter Egg for us Gen Xers, with a wink and a nod to say, I saw what you did there!

But that knowledge isn’t necessary for a younger jet set to love it. That’s feeds their hunger. Not just borrowing from the past, but making it relevant for today’s audiences.  

Funny, when I get together with some of our long-time friends, I’m often more energized in hanging with their college-age kids. Talking and experiencing music, culture, whatever. It’s absolutely life-giving when you have a curiosity mindset.  But if I reduce my exposure to those my age, we digress into easy and comfortable territory, talking about the trials of aging, our latest health issue, stress, problems, because we’re on the same chapter together. While it can be comfortable, it also can be life-draining.

I think the more bold, the more crazy, the more inspiration from the unlikeliest places, the better. That’s where genuinely fun and interesting ideas come from.

Maybe your NBA playoff results look totally different — or don’t exist at all — if you and your team aren’t mining your childhoods, or rewatching a Charlie Brown Christmas with your kids.

So, how many other cultural levers can we find and pull and borrow from to make an old thing totally new?

This is what stirs the creative juices, IMO.

Not another brainstorm in the War Room.

Showing up and being present in the lives of those a generation or two behind us has so much give-and-take value for both side. There’s so much to glean and rethink — if we’re listening and paying attention. Because everything we’re looking for isn’t mysterious and hiding. It’s residing in our past memories and histories, waiting to be rekindled in a new way.

You’re already there. You’re leading the way in many respects.

Keep leaning into that grab-bag of curiosities and what-if mashups.

And for all the geezers who live for the data over the art, you can feel confident knowing your delivering both.

GREG:

Holy Crap, Thad. This is an amazing take. Never thought about it this way before. And it's totally true. I love hanging out with 20 somethings, but I never thought about it this way. This is how we stay relevant, keep moving forward, and keep our edge - it's by being around people who are in that stage of life where they're testing, striving, remixing, rethinking in a way that 50-somethings generally aren't.

I love hanging out with my 50-year-old friends because it's comfortable.

But I love hanging out with 20-somethings because it's electrical.

Maybe that's why I'm one of the few who really likes having teenage kids. It's invigorating as heck.

Thoughtful leadership requires more of this overlooked habit

“I don't have time to read – I’m too busy.”

For years I’d hear that kind of a remark from a leader and assume I had no idea the kind of pressure they were under. Being none the wiser, I would give them a pass. After all, it is hard to make time for something that isn’t a priority.

Today I know better.

I get that some people don’t enjoy reading and that it feels like more work on top of the work they already must do. But keep reading (or stick with me through this post). It doesn’t have to be drudgery, and I believe it can become a priority if we focus less on the act of reading and instead look to outcomes reading presents.

Recently, James Clear shared this thought on the value of reading and it struck a chord:

"Reading is like a software update for your brain. 

Whenever you learn a new concept or idea, the "software" improves. You download new features and fix old bugs."

That should push us to think about how many “old bugs” we have that need fixing, as well as how many new ideas that could be of real benefit if we’re open and curious enough. 

Now imagine the leader of your organization working on Windows 98, using a decade-old Blackberry, and sending email from an AOL account. They’ve signaled that these tools are necessary if not important, but refused relevant updates for their tools, processes and practices to advance the business. 

Processing new information, and then applying that which is useful or helpful, is in part the art of remaining relevant — and we need our leaders to be relevant leaders who know where to guide us and our organizations. 

Looking back, I can pinpoint which leaders and mentors of mine were avid readers and curious thinkers, in part because we talked about books and new ideas. It shaped my thinking and encouraged me to dig in and dig deeper.

Conversely, I am also reminded of those whose leadership style was less about curiosity, innovation and new ideas. Instead they held fiercely to rigid views and a “this is how we (meaning you) do it” mentality.  

Still think you don't have time to read?

In the last three years I've nearly tripled the amount of books (ideas) I consume. Like you, I’m still the same busy human — running a business, raising a family, and being pulled and distracted in multiple directions. My consumption of deeper content (vs. social scanning and intermittent browsing) has grown by listening to books — in the car, while exercising or walking the dog. This is not a new idea, but I was slow to adopt it. But I’m choosing to steal back some of that lost time, reclaim bits and pieces of it, while also leaving enough margin to think and also unclutter the mind.

Last year, I completed 71 books. It wasn't a chore. Only a third of the titles were overtly about business. I track them not to “keep score” but simply to remind me of what I’ve read and what I might want to revisit. A log also reminds me if I’m active in my reading and if I’m getting derailed.

I'm continuing to gain perspective on things and people that I was previously ignorant about (software update). And no doubt I'm thinking differently and more broadly than I did just a handful of years ago. My curiosity quotient continues to rise.

Further, a diverse selection of reading material can open us up to becoming more empathetic and aware of those around us. But it requires us to humbly approach new ideas, different perspectives, and unique voices with an “I don’t know what I don’t know” attitude. Although this HBR article isn’t a recent one, it’s still relevant. And it’s comforting to know we’re in good company as we embrace this critical leadership habit.

We owe this kind of upgraded thinking and curiosity to our clients and colleagues, family and friends. We also owe it to ourselves. And it’s as easy as opening a book or pushing play on an audio version.  

So to all busy leaders and those who aspire to lead others: read to learn, read for enjoyment, but also read to lead. There’s no doubt that you, and those around you, will see the benefits of being not just well read, but more engaged and curious in contrast to that time when you didn’t have time to read.