The Crazy One
The Crazy One helps you find new insights and breakthroughs in your career, creativity, and leadership. In every episode, Stephen Gates gives you honest and actionable insights taken from his experience leading global in-house and agency creative teams, building multiple Fortune 100 brands, and working as InVision’s Chief Design Evangelist coaching and working with companies ranging from small start-ups to some of the world's biggest and innovative companies. Recognized with 2020 Webby Awards Honoree for Best Technology podcast, Inside Design’s #1 favorite design podcast, How Design Live #1 design leadership podcast, Springboard’s #1 must-listen UX design podcast and more.
Episodes
135 episodes
Ep 129 Keynote: BeMore Festival 2023 - How to build a breakthrough career
My keynote about how to build a breakthrough career from the 2023 BeMore festival which is an annual epic 24-hour super conference bringing 100+ legendary speakers in Design, AI, Product & Career Growth. Elevate your future with live keynot...
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Episode 129
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56:26
Ep 128 Career: How to start your studio or freelance business
The last few months have seen more layoffs, more uncertain futures, and creative frustration, which has many people wondering if they should go out on their own. It could be as a freelancer, consultant, or starting their own business. But...
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Episode 128
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47:24
Ep 127 Career: How to navigate and succeed in the era of defensive employment
We are in a time when most people have realized that they have to take on a lot more to have a successful career. But it can be tough to navigate and know what you need to do to be successful. In this episode, we will look at what has caused th...
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Episode 127
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45:35
Ep 126 Career: Understanding the 2022 job market, a shift is coming
The job market continues to evolve from a war for talent where people were getting multiple offers to rampant layoffs and tons of frustration. I think all of this will add up to a big change, and it is something I haven't seen in a while. It wi...
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Episode 126
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49:39
Ep 125 Value of Design P3: Showing the value and impact of design
The third in a 3 part series where we will look at the steps you can take to help your team and company understand the value of design. In this episode, we will look at how to show the value of design through design reviews, set a different ton...
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Episode 125
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36:57
Ep 124 Value of Design P2: Creating demand for design
The second in a 3 part series where we will look at the steps you can take to help your team and company understand the value of design. In this episode, we will look at creating the demand for design by creating an effective plan and using thr...
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Episode 124
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35:18
Ep 123 Value of Design P1: Understanding the power and stigma of the word 'Design'
The first of a 3 part series where we will look at the steps you can take to help your team and company understand the value of design. In this episode, we will talk about how people can see design as a claim of ownership instead of a process, ...
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Episode 123
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35:15
Ep 122 Career: How to decide if you should quit your job (or get a promotion)
While trying to get promoted or deciding if you should quit your job are at very different stages in your career journey, they share the need for clarity, action, and a way to understand the way forward. They also share that you might be the pr...
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Episode 122
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40:57
Ep 121 Design Thinking: The U.S. Army can teach you a lot about Design Thinking
The past six months have been a fascinating exploration into a new perspective on Design Thinking. I never thought I get it from the US Army as I learned about how they teach and use the Army Design Methodology. In this episode, we will go over...
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Episode 121
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45:55
Ep 120 Career: Don't apply for your next job (and what to do instead)
Most people would probably be shocked to learn that applying for your next job is only going to work 5% of the time, but when you look at the numbers, this is only the tip of the iceberg. We are all engaged in a process that doesn't work for us...
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Episode 120
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41:33
Back from hiatus
I'm sure you noticed this show went on an unannounced 7-month hiatus. Before I started recording new episodes, I wanted to take a few minutes to explain what happened that made me stop, what kept me from restarting, and why it is coming back no...
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10:26
Ep 119 Teamwork: How to become a great meeting and workshop facilitator
Facilitation asks to balance the goals of the meeting, the team's social dynamics, and all while creating an environment that is a participation democracy where everyone can be heard. Unfortunately, it is a rare skill, mainly because few compan...
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Episode 119
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44:55
Ep 118 Teamwork: The best remote team building activities
Everyone is still trying to get used to remote work, but the three biggest things people struggle with remote work are unplugging after work, loneliness, and collaboration and/or communication. Even now, over 18 months later, too many teams sti...
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Episode 118
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45:05
Ep 117 Teamwork: Understanding your team's cognitive and emotional culture
Most people think about company culture as team building events and ping pong tables, but there is more going on under the surface than most people realize. Culture is shaped by how all employees, from the top executives to the interns, show up...
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Episode 117
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54:17
Ep 116 Creativity: Understanding the new imposter syndrome triggers from remote work
It's no secret that the pandemic has changed how we work forever, but many people have not caught up to the fact that it also changed the triggers and ways that our imposter syndrome manifests in our work. In this episode, we will look at the t...
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Episode 116
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47:17
Ep 115 Leadership: How to write an effective and unbiased job description
We have talked before about how job descriptions are one of the most significant sources of imposter syndrome. Why don't we find a more effective format and address the bias built into this process? In this episode, we will look at the common p...
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Episode 115
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37:11
Ep 114 Career: Overcoming fear and self-doubt
The pandemic has grown and magnified many people's fears and imposter syndrome. We have all been forced into a huge amount of change in a short amount of time, and those new and old fears are starting to manifest in bad ways for a lot of people...
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Episode 114
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41:51
Ep 113 Career: Understanding the 2021 job market
The last year has brought challenges none of us could have seen coming. 2021 has just started, but there is a surprising amount of new opportunities, companies evolving, and creative talent on the move as companies and people react to those cha...
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Episode 113
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35:48
Ep 112 #ShareTheMicNow: The Power of Youth in Redesigning Systems by Antionette Carroll
The fifth of the #ShareTheMicNow episodes was created by Antionette Carroll discussing The Power of Youth in Redesigning Systems with Connie Flores<...
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Episode 112
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53:49
Ep 111 #ShareTheMicNow: Dismantling White Supremacy in Design by Antionette Carroll
The fourth of the #ShareTheMicNow episodes was created by Antionette Carroll in conversation with David Clifford t...
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Episode 111
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48:54
Ep 110 Creativity: 'Metallica’s rock ‘n roll insights on creativity and leadership’ from HOW Design Live 2020
In a rare public interview, I sat down with Marc Reiter, who has worked with Metallica for a quarter-century as their “Chief Creative Guy” to discuss what he has learned working with such iconic creative teams, what drives originality, and what...
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Episode 110
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50:59
Ep 109 Creativity: ’Hope is not a strategy’ keynote from HOW Design Live 2020
This episode is a replay of my main stage keynote from HOW Design Live 2020. In a continuation of the most popular talk and main stage keynote from HOW 2019, we will look at the debt we all carry that shares our perspective, the barriers ...
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Episode 109
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48:17
Ep 108 Memorial: The life and lessons of my father, David Gates
Many of you may know that my relationship with my father was unique in that he was my father, but he was also a creative director, my mentor, my first boss, and the foundation of everything I am. On October 5th, 2020, he suddenly passed away. I...
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Episode 108
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40:16
Ep 107 Career: How to outsmart the broken recruiting system
As we search for a new job, we often slam into a wall of frustration and self-doubt where we aren't sure how to overcome it or get better results in the hiring process. In this episode, we will look at all of the problems that arise during a jo...
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Episode 107
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37:38
Ep 106 Career: How to build a personal brand people will love to hate
It's never a good time to be generic in your career or your work, but that has never been more true than now. Why do so many people have such generic resumes, portfolios, and personal brands that blend into the crowd? In this episode, we will d...
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Episode 106
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45:31