The Proximity Paradox: How to Create Distance from Business as Usual and Do Something Truly Innovative

  • 5h 26m 9s
  • Alex Varricchio, Kiirsten May
  • Gildan Media
  • 2020

You're too close to your business, and it's killing your creativity.

Traditional business structures love stability and predictability. Yet many organizations believe the two essential ingredients for long-term success are creativity and innovation. Kirsten May and Alex Varricchio, founders of the marketing agency UpHouse, call the relationship between these two opposing expectations the Proximity Paradox - the belief that those who are closest to a subject are best-qualified to innovate for it, when, in reality, intense proximity limits creativity.

Instead, people need to create distance from challenges in order to see the best way forward. May and Varricchio believe that until we can separate innovation and execution within ourselves, we will only innovate to the level at which we can execute the idea. To be effective, we need to create distance between our innovation brain and our execution brain.

Unpacking 10 common Proximity Paradoxes that affect a company's people, processes, and industry, the authors share some practical ideas to create the distance necessary for your next great idea. An especially valuable book for creatives, and non-creatives in creative industries, but equally applicable to all businesses that depend on innovation.

In this Audiobook

  • Chapter 1 - Be an Innovator, Not an Executor
  • Chapter 2 - Listen to the New Blood
  • Chapter 3 - Stop Trying to Be So Efficient
  • Chapter 4 - Trust Yourself before Data
  • Chapter 5 - Don't Be Precious with Ideas
  • Chapter 6 - Come up with Ideas to Plan
  • Chapter 7 - Invert the Org Chart
  • Chapter 8 - Create for Future Customers
  • Chapter 9 - Keep a Healthy Distance from Partners
  • Chapter 10 - Compete with Those You Admire