Jill Levinsohn and her cookies - Creative Confidence #12
Jill Levinsohn, a part of the IDEO business development team, chose to be more creative one day. She signed up for Pinterest, a social network for visually collecting and sharing online content like fashion ideas, recipes, and DIY projects.
Before a friend’s Cinco de Mayo party, she “pinned” a recipe for piñata cookies. It was made of three layers, with space in the middle one for a hidden cache of mini M&Ms. The colorful cookies captured people’s imaginations.
Within a week, her idea got repinned more than five hundred times. Jill kept at it, and to her surprise, people really liked her curation style. When her followers grew to over 100,000, she caught the attention of Pinterest itself. They featured her on the site, and by late 2012, Jill had attracted a million followers.
Now she sees sites like Pinterest as powerful tools for creative expression. The barrier to entry is awesomely low, giving everyone the chance to exercise their creativity. Today, Jill sees her work with clients to be creative too.
Lesson:
Being creative doesn’t have to mean starting from scratch or being the sole originator. It's about adding what you can, about making a creative contribution. You need to deliberately choose creativity.
[Creative Confidence Newsletter: 12 of 25]
Want book summaries, content tips and occasional hugs in your inbox?