What the Best Creators Know About Tools
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There is a quote that is often attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt that says: “Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.” I’ve noticed something similar when it comes to creators and tools. Small-minded creators talk about new tools as all-or-nothing. I’m old enough to have seen this play out several different times in my life. Whether it’s Photoshop, the internet, social media, 3D printing, or any other tool, the pattern is the same: Small-minded creators have an all-or-nothing mentality. “Photoshop is going to ruin graphic design!” or “The internet is going to make brick and mortar obsolete!” Average creators ignore the tools until they can’t help but acknowledge them. But great creators? They keep their eyes on the work. They don’t think a new tool is going to make all of their problems go away, but they also don’t think it’s going to be the end of the world. They just ask “How could this make the work better?” I’m seeing this play out right now with AI. Some people are acting like AI is the best thing that's ever been invented (I promise, it’s not). But the creators I admire most aren’t taking either extreme. They’re staying focused on their work. They’re not handing their entire creative process over to a computer, but they’re also not pretending it doesn’t exist (or that it doesn’t have merits). Instead, they’re getting practical. But most importantly, they’re asking “Where do I still need to be at the helm?” That last one is the kicker. Personally, I’ve found that AI is great for rapid prototyping. It’s great for taking a half-baked idea and giving you a birds-eye view of what it might look like if you brought it to life. But it takes a real human to actually bring that idea into the world in a way that impacts real people. It requires a flesh-and-blood person with lived experience, with taste and distaste, to say “This part is good, but this other part is slop.” The people who hand their entire creative process over to AI realize pretty quickly that it’s not the all-powerful end-all they were promised, and they end up scrambling when it inevitably comes up short. But the people who succeed are the ones who say “This tool has strengths, but it also has weaknesses. How can I integrate it in a way that makes the most of its strengths, while minimizing its weaknesses?” That takes taste. It takes time. It takes the ability to recognize when a human touch is needed, and the willingness to jump in and make adjustments. But most of all, it takes a commitment to the work. It takes a human being at the helm saying “This is what I’m trying to do. This is who it’s for.” And most importantly, “This is how I’ll know if I’ve succeeded.” Great creators have a target they’re trying to hit. Maybe they’re trying to express a particular feeling. Maybe they’re trying to drive signups to their email list or sell copies of their book. Maybe they’re just trying to make people laugh. It doesn’t matter what their goal is. It just matters that they have one. Because when you have a clear goal with a clear win condition, you’re able to point every tool in your arsenal (physical, digital, emotional, and otherwise) at that singular goal. And that’s what makes for compelling ideas that change the world. Tools help you make things. But they don’t tell you what things are worth making. They don’t tell you when something resonates or when it doesn’t. That’s your job. Happy Friday, friends. Make it a good one. Kyle Scheele |
Kyle Scheele
One useful idea about creative leadership, once a week
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