We live in an era where it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the pace of new technology. As designers, creatives, and technologists, we have a wealth of tools at our disposal that people in our roles only a decade ago could only have dreamed of. Yet it can be daunting to know where to focus our efforts: what new skills and workflows should we be learning to stay relevant?
Scott Belsky, co-founder of Behance and Chief Strategy Officer at Adobe, calls the rapid spread of generative AI tools a “Cambrian Explosion,” referring to an evolutionary event 500 million years ago when many new animal species appeared in a relatively short time. We talk to Scott about how we might navigate this explosion, and why it might make sense to move toward a more “boundaryless” workflow. We also talk with Scott about his book The Messy Middle, and how to manage emotional turbulence during challenging parts of our career.
Bio
Scott Belsky is a builder, author, and investor with an unyielding passion for making the creative world more productive, connected, and adaptive to emerging technologies. Currently, he serves as Adobe’s Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President of Design & Emerging Products, following a successful tenure as Chief Product Officer of Creative Cloud. Scott co-founded Behance in 2006—a platform now used by over 50 million creatives worldwide—and led the company until its acquisition by Adobe in 2012. Post-acquisition, he played a pivotal role in launching Creative Cloud’s services and mobile product strategy, later broadening his expertise as an investor and advisor before returning to Adobe in 2018.
Beyond his executive leadership, Scott actively invests in and advises companies that intersect technology and design, with early contributions to innovative ventures like Pinterest, Uber, and Airtable, among others. He has also spearheaded initiatives aimed at empowering creatives, including 99U—the annual conference and think tank dedicated to creative execution—and the Action Method line of organizational tools. A celebrated thought leader, Scott authors the widely read Implications newsletter and has penned international bestsellers such as Making Ideas Happen and The Messy Middle. His work has earned him accolades like Fast Company’s "100 Most Creative People in Business," and he continues to shape the creative landscape through board roles at institutions including the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and MoMA, alongside advisory positions at Cornell University and Harvard Business School.
Books & links mentioned
The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
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