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
138 episodes
Ep 132 Career: How to navigate the 2024 job market
In this thought-provoking episode of The Crazy One, host Stephen Gates dives deep into the state of the creative industry in 2024. As the industry grapples with unprecedented layoffs and shifting dynamics, Stephen shares invaluable ins...
•
Episode 132
•
15:23
Ep 131 Career: What's stopping you from going out on your own?!?
In episode 131 of The Crazy One podcast, Stephen Gates dives into one of the most common questions he encounters: “Should I start my own thing?” Drawing from his journey of leaving New York, starting his agency, and mentoring creatives...
•
Episode 131
•
14:37
Ep 130: Ending the hiatus. Is this thing still on?
In this long-awaited return to The Crazy One podcast, host Stephen Gates shares an honest and introspective look at his journey over the past year, from leaving New York and launching his own studio to grappling with burnout and redisc...
•
Episode 130
•
9:16
Ep 129 Keynote: BeMore Festival 2023 - How to build a breakthrough career
In this powerful episode of The Crazy One podcast, Stephen Gates shares his standout keynote from the 2023 BeMore Festival, the ultimate 24-hour global super conference featuring over 100 top voices in Design, AI, Product Development, ...
•
Episode 129
•
56:26
Ep 128 Career: How to start your studio or freelance business
With layoffs and uncertainty affecting creatives everywhere, many are asking: Is it time to go out on my own? In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates breaks down the critical questions to consider before diving into fr...
•
Episode 128
•
47:24
Ep 127 Career: How to navigate and succeed in the era of defensive employment
In today’s career landscape, achieving success means taking on more responsibilities and adopting a proactive mindset—a shift Stephen Gates calls the “new era of defensive employment.” In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen unpacks ...
•
Episode 127
•
45:35
Ep 126 Career: Understanding the 2022 job market, a shift is coming
As the job market shifts from a fierce competition for talent to widespread layoffs and uncertainty, the creative industry faces both unprecedented challenges and new opportunities. In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates break...
•
Episode 126
•
49:39
Ep 125 Value of Design P3: Showing the value and impact of design
In the final episode of this 3-part series, Stephen Gates reveals actionable steps to help your team and organization truly appreciate the value of design. This episode of The Crazy One dives deep into how to conduct impactful design r...
•
Episode 125
•
36:57
Ep 124 Value of Design P2: Creating demand for design
In this powerful second installment of the 3-part series, Stephen Gates dives deep into strategies for elevating design’s role within your team and company. In this episode of The Crazy One, he reveals how to create demand for design b...
•
Episode 124
•
35:18
Ep 123 Value of Design P1: Understanding the power and stigma of the word 'Design'
In the kickoff to this insightful 3-part series, Stephen Gates breaks down essential steps to help your team and company fully appreciate the value of design. In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen explores how to shift perceptions ...
•
Episode 123
•
35:15
Ep 122 Career: How to decide if you should quit your job (or get a promotion)
In this insightful episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates tackles the challenging crossroads of career decisions, whether you’re aiming for a promotion or considering a job change. Both scenarios require clarity, self-reflection, and ...
•
Episode 122
•
40:57
Ep 121 Design Thinking: The U.S. Army can teach you a lot about Design Thinking
In this unique episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates dives into an unexpected source of inspiration for Design Thinking—the US Army’s Design Methodology. After exploring how the Army approaches problem-solving and strategy, Stephen s...
•
Episode 121
•
45:55
Ep 120 Career: Don't apply for your next job (and what to do instead)
In this eye-opening episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates reveals why traditional job applications only have a 5% success rate—and why it’s time for a new approach to landing your next role. Backed by 2022 job market data, Stephen sh...
•
Episode 120
•
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...
•
10:26
Ep 119 Teamwork: How to become a great meeting and workshop facilitator
In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates dives into the art of facilitation—a crucial yet often overlooked skill that transforms meetings and workshops into spaces where everyone can contribute meaningfully. Stephen breaks down ...
•
Episode 119
•
44:55
Ep 118 Teamwork: The best remote team building activities
In this essential episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates tackles the top challenges of remote work—unplugging, loneliness, and collaboration—and shares why building trust, teamwork, and vulnerability is crucial to remote team success....
•
Episode 118
•
45:05
Ep 117 Teamwork: Understanding your team's cognitive and emotional culture
In this insightful episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates uncovers the deeper layers of company culture beyond team-building events and office perks. He explains how culture is truly shaped by the daily behaviors of every employee—fro...
•
Episode 117
•
54:17
Ep 116 Creativity: Understanding the new imposter syndrome triggers from remote work
In this timely episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates dives into how the pandemic has reshaped our experiences with imposter syndrome in a remote work world. He explores three key factors unique to remote work that have intensified im...
•
Episode 116
•
47:17
Ep 115 Leadership: How to write an effective and unbiased job description
In this insightful episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates tackles one of the biggest sources of imposter syndrome: job descriptions. He dives into the common pitfalls of traditional job descriptions, explores how bias sneaks into the ...
•
Episode 115
•
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...
•
Episode 114
•
41:51
Ep 113 Career: Understanding the 2021 job market
In this timely episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates explores the unexpected changes and fresh opportunities shaping the 2021 job market. As companies adapt and creative talent seeks new roles, Stephen dives into the key trends drivi...
•
Episode 113
•
35:48
Ep 112 #ShareTheMicNow: The Power of Youth in Redesigning Systems by Antionette Carroll
In the fifth episode of the #ShareTheMicNow series on The Crazy One, Antionette Carroll leads an inspiring conversation on “The Power of Youth in Redesigning Systems.” Joined by dynamic voices Connie Flores, Nora Lidia, Robert Beckles,...
•
Episode 112
•
53:49
Ep 111 #ShareTheMicNow: Dismantling White Supremacy in Design by Antionette Carroll
In the fourth #ShareTheMicNow episode on The Crazy One, Antionette Carroll leads an impactful conversation with David Clifford, founder of Design School X and Liberatory Design, and Timothy Bardlavens, co-founder of &Design and Pro...
•
Episode 111
•
48:54
Ep 110 Creativity: 'Metallica’s rock ‘n roll insights on creativity and leadership’ from HOW Design Live 2020
In this rare and insightful episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates interviews Marc Reiter, the creative force behind Metallica’s legendary projects for over 25 years. As Metallica’s “Chief Creative Guy” and head of Blackened Recording...
•
Episode 110
•
50:59
Ep 109 Creativity: ’Hope is not a strategy’ keynote from HOW Design Live 2020
In this powerful episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates shares his main stage keynote from HOW Design Live 2020, following up on his acclaimed 2019 talk. Stephen dives deep into the hidden “debt” we all carry—beliefs and barriers that...
•
Episode 109
•
48:17