Blog: Books

Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky

If you’ve ever felt creatively stalled or unable to execute existing ideas then this book is definitely for you. I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.

Years ago I made it a habit to always have a notebook on hand for jotting down ideas. Ideas about anything really, but as a writer I naturally tended to gravitate towards ideas about what I was working on or wanted to work on in the future.

I quickly discovered that for anyone paying attention good ideas present themselves all the time and writing them down is no great feat. The hard part is choosing one and (for a time at least) ignoring the others so that you can actually execute your concept.

Enter: Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky

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Official Book Description

According to productivity expert Scott Belsky, no one is born with the ability to drive creative projects to completion. Execution is a skill that must be developed by building your organizational habits and harnessing the support of your colleagues.

As the founder and CEO of Behance, a company on a mission to empower and organize the creative world, Belsky has studied the habits of especially productive individuals and teams across industries. Now he has compiled the principles and techniques they share, and presents a systematic approach to creative organization and productivity.

While many of us focus on generating and searching for great ideas, Belsky shows why it’s better to develop the capacity to make ideas happen-a capacity that endures over time.

What to Expect

In the beginning of the book Belsky explains that the reason most ideas never happen is because there’s no system in place to nurture those ideas from the concept phase to completion; a fundamental lack of idea stewardship.

It is a shame that countless ideas with the potential to change our lives – concepts for new drug discoveries, models for new businesses, inklings for musical masterpieces, sketches for iconic pieces of art – are conceived and squandered in the hands of creative geniuses every day. The ideas that move industries forward are not the result of tremendous creative insight but rather of masterful stewardship.

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He then follows that up with a series of shockingly simple, straight-forward pieces of advice on how to become a masterful steward of your own ideas.

He does this by…

  • Explaining how to organize your ideas
  • Develop actionable steps from project conception through completion
  • Including how to prioritize and focus on the important stuff while maintaining an organized project back-burner for things you can’t get to right away
  • He also helps explain the importance of tapping your creative community
  • As well as leading creative teams and/or partnerships for projects that are bigger than just one person

In Closing

If you’ve ever felt creatively stalled or unable to execute existing ideas then this book is definitely for you. I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.

Get Making Ideas Happen today

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5 Comments

  1. Olivia Mitchell

    YES! I remember talking about this book…i am gonna get it.
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Nathan B Weller

      You should! Such a great read. I still reference it regularly a year and a half after reading it for the first time.

      Reply
    • Scott

      Good read. I have a copy of Making Ideas Happen and to me its all about putting EVERYTHING into their own individual projects and breaking each project into bite sized action steps. You’ll be amazed at what you’ll get done.

      Reply
  2. Arman

    This is great. Keep updating.

    Reply

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