Goodby Silverstein and Partners assembled an all-star panel at the Driskill Hotel Sunday night in Austin, “So When the Hell Do You Sleep,” but the real meat of this packed session was how a group of uber-achievers create, invest, manage and generally take the world by storm.
Hosted by Jeff Goodby, Co-founder and Co- chairman of GSP, the panel included: Paul Bennett, CCO of Ideo; Damian Kulash, lead singer of OK Go; Ivan Askwith, Sr. Director of Digital Media for Lucas Films; Aileen Lee, partner, KPCB; Bing Gordon, partner, KPCB; and Livia Tortella, Co-President and COO of Warner Brothers.
The panel’s beautifully designed set
So how does one become massively successful? Practice the 4Cs:
Collaboration: All agreed collaboration is the key to creating great work and great organizations. Said Bennett, “the number one skill we seek in talent is collaboration. If someone says we before I, that’s what we look for.” Lee pointed out that smart people sharing ideas in conversations can be even more valuable than degrees, “it’s about being in these Petri dishes.”
Confidence: Over-achievers do in fact experience pangs of self-doubt – Askwith dubbed it “healthy neurosis–” but part of their success comes from comfort with failure. Goodby summed it up: “Creativity is about being confident and fearful at the same time.”
Conviction: Trust your gut. OK Go, a band credited with helping to reinvent traditional music industry business models — not to mention music video aesthetics –releases video content they like, even if it garners less-than-favorable feedback from executives and internet commenters. Lee cited regret over not listening to her own gut when she had the opportunity to invest in white-hot mobile payment app Square but passed because she was counseled against it.
Cool: “The reason SXSW works is because you don’t go to work for a week, you hang out with people, drink with them and just chill,” Kulash said. Sometimes you have to take the pressure off and relax– ever notice how your best ideas come in the shower? Last night’s session ended with an 8-minute acoustic set from Kulash and his band OK Go. A small, intimate show in a historic Austin hotel — what’s cooler than that?
Damian Kulash and OK Go treating Goodby Silverstein and Partners’ panel guests to some music
