Are you creative? It’s a question that provokes different answers depending on who it is posed to. For some they would definitely have an answer to it, but for others they may wonder why it was asked of them in the first place. I have asked this of myself, someone who’s got his head down into a laptop computer most of his days doing whatever it takes to get through working in software technology. Then I will pull my head out of that laptop and look around me and remind myself that I am indeed creative.

Creativity comes in many forms, not just in output but in the process, or act. This is the theme of The Creative Act: A Way Of Being by Rick Rubin. Rubin is the legendary music producer who co-founded the Def Jam Recordings label and has worked with everyone from the Beastie Boys to Aerosmith to Johnny Cash and many, many others. Known for his eccentricity, last year he published this book of his thoughts on the creative process.

As I read through this unique book, I imagined how it possible came together: Rubin walking around his studio, barefoot, dictating his thoughts to someone following him around. Whether that was the case or not, his thoughts are presented in a unique way – there are dozens of “chapters” with some ranging from a couple of pages to more, but none too long. As I read through the book I was certainly inspired and had over a dozen significant takeaways, however I decided to refine the list to the following.

We all are artists – A pervasive theme throughout the book is that we are all artists. Often we think of artists as painters, photographers, writers, musicians... people who create things that are considered under the relatively rigid category of “art.” Often I sit back and look at a business or technical solution I have worked on for whatever time and even impress myself, finding a creative way to get from where I and my team are to where we want to be. Where nobody would be clamoring to have my work products from it framed and hung in a gallery, they have been deemed creative by others, so I would consider them art. I also consider myself creative with my time in improv and the writings here at this humble blog as ample examples.

Agile as art? – When I say “agile” I am referring to the philosophy/methods/approach/mindset of incrementally developing software and other products, often identified by frameworks such as Scrum and Kanban. With a goal in mind, a team of people are creating something, not necessarily knowing exactly what that finished product will look like. Where those on the team may not consider themselves artists or creative (nor others outside of a team looking at a bunch of business and tech types) this is not to say there is creativity and artistry in their work and process.

Ideas come from the outside, not the inside – This is an ethereal concept, where Rubin professes that ideas are out there, in the wild, and we recognize them and work with them. I’m not sure I completely agree with it, but he makes compelling points towards it. Perhaps the inspirations I would get when I walked along Lake Michigan in Chicago actually were in the air... along with the gnats buzzing around the shoreline?

Crafting – Rubin talks of how Andy Warhol did a lot of crafting, where he created an idea and had other artists execute on it. This triggered a pleasant flashback to 2006 when the Cloud Gate sculpture in Chicago’s Millennium Park was formally dedicated which I attended. During his speech the artist who created/crafted the artwork affectionately known as The Bean, Anish Kapoor, was repeatedly thanking the company Performance Structures, Inc. who took his idea and plans and actually built it. I just so happened to be in the crowd standing next to the president of the company, who was simultaneously blushing and beaming at the attention from Kapoor as he was pointing in our direction.

What is success to you? – Where many quotes from the book stirred something in me, this was especially did:

The quote reads as follows:

“How shall we measure success?

It isn't popularity, money, or critical esteem. Success occurs in the privacy of the soul. It comes in the moment you decide to release the work, before exposure to a single opinion. When you've done all you can to bring out the work's greatest potential. When you're pleased and ready to let go.

Success has nothing to do with variables outside yourself.”

When I have true success, I have felt this way. Do you agree?

“Comparison is the thief of joy” – This is a quote from the 26th US President Theodore Roosevelt, which is fitting from an individual there was really no comparison to in his lifetime.

I first learned of The Creative Act when I saw this video of Rick Rubin being interviewed by Anderson Cooper for 60 Minutes which is embedded below.

From my days in college radio I remember seeing Rubin’s name as the producer of many albums that came into the radio station. So last summer when on vacation and stopped into a locally-owned bookstore in northern Wisconsin and I saw the book in their collection, I had to buy it. I enjoyed it thoroughly, both in its format and collection of wisdom from a true modern guru. This is a book I recommend to everyone, whether you think you are creative or not (and if not, it may sway you). The destination for the giveaway of this book is a colleague and mentor who I feel is very creative in how he consults and educates... and I am pretty sure he concurs with my opinion.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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A.I.-generated image by DALL-E of a mentor mentee discussion

Last fall I took a non-credit certificate course through the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay on mentoring. Why did I do this? Long time readers of this humble blog may vaguely recall me writing in the past pessimistically on the lack of mentorship in the technology field and the fact that I did not have a formal mentor at that time.

Where I’ve had many informal mentors that have been valuable to me throughout my life and career, I have never been in a formal mentor/mentee relationship. That being said, I’ve been told by many people specifically that I have been a mentor to them. In those cases it was not in a formal mentor/mentee relationship nor was I necessarily seeking that with them. Through all of this I knew there was more to mentoring and this was the catalyst for me taking the certificate course.

My greatest takeaway from the course was learning the optimal structure of a mentoring relationship between the mentor and the mentee. From the goals of both the mentee and mentor (yes, the mentor should gain much from this too!) to a formal mentoring agreement to the cadence and format of meetings the course gave me a true 360 degree understanding of mentoring. The course was organized into 3, 2-hour virtual sessions, with some attendees being local to northeast Wisconsin and others from around the US. There were guest speakers in each session sharing their experience on topics from process to ethics. Each session had pre-work including articles and exercises which lent to a great overall learning experience. I left with the tools to properly initiate and sustain a mentoring relationship. There was no exam at the end, however upon completion I was awarded a certificate suitable for framing and the following verifiable digital badge – click the badge below to see for yourself.

Now What?

So what do I do this? Of course I’ve added the digital badge to my LinkedIn profile, the About page here at The Hot Iron and my resume. My employer has no formal mentorship program so it is nothing I will be officially applying there but will continue to informally mentor staff and colleagues. There are mentor programs out there – for example, UW-Green Bay has one and is seeking volunteer mentors – however with my current schedule I decided not to pursue it, yet. Where I haven’t looked into mentoring programs a little closer to home (I prefer to meet people face-to-face whenever possible) that will be the path I will likely take to get into formal mentoring.

I decided to pay for this course myself, and at around $300 it was good value for the return. More information on the course is available on the UW-Green Bay Web site. As of writing this there is not a date listed for a future offering, however I’d recommend contacting them as I did to be in the know when another is scheduled. And feel free to tell them that I sent you.

Deconstructing Mentoring Education

Anything worth doing is worth doing well. As I felt this way about mentoring, I took this certificate course to get the tools and right mindset should the opportunity present itself, either as a mentor or a mentee. It was an enjoyable experience that has inspired me, at the right time, to pursue an activity I feel I will be good at.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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(AI-generated image of a man thinking at an atomic level by DALL-E)

When I told friends I was moving to Chicago from Boston almost 2 decades ago, one said to me he was surprised; he saw me as a “Boston guy” and thought I would never leave. We talked about this over adult beverages, and I told him that it was a decision my wife and I made, and it came rather naturally and where we knew there would be a lot of logistics, we were eager to welcome this change in our lives.

That’s the funny thing about change – sometimes it’s easy, and many times it’s hard. Even when you know you have to make a change, that in itself may not be enough for some people. This thought process and changes in habits is what the book Atomic Habits by James Clear is all about.

Atomic Habits centers around 4 “laws” – evidence-based approaches in how to not just overcome but make lasting change, with reinforcements and stories to support them. I won’t go into detail on what those laws are, rather I will simply share my greatest takeaways from the book. If you are interested in detailed synopsis of the book, you can read it here on James Clear’s own Web site.

And those takeaways are...

Goals vs. Systems that lead you to said goals – The concept of goals in themselves have been getting a lot of scrutiny in both books and podcasts I have consumed, and I believe it’s with good reason. Many times goals are unrealistic or are structured to not account for change or outside influences. If you have a goal without the “system” that’s needed to meet it, there’s a likelihood it may never happen. Elements of said system are outlined in the books, and can range from the space or support needed to achieve it.

Add friction – When I read this, the first thing I thought of was how I don’t have the LinkedIn mobile app on my phone. Why? As it’s my last bastion of legacy social media, I don’t want to go to it constantly when I have a few minutes or need a diversion and get into an endless scroll. I can access it with a mobile Web browser, but the user experience is so horrible that when I do it, I don’t spend a lot of time on it. That friction is enough to help to stop wasting my time.

... With a little help from my friends – This reminded me of efforts in the past where I was involved in networking groups that helped keep progress to setting and making goals. Networking over the years like Circle of Progress and Business Forward were helpful. I also recalled when I was doing these and a colleague coined a phrase “accountabilibuddy” – though tongue-in-cheek, having someone who helps keeps someone else accountable can be the difference maker.

Orosensation – I always strive to find new words (to me) in books, and orosensation was one here, which means how something feels in your mouth.

Stronger Together – I read this book with another work colleague as part of a book club. I had put the idea out there to my team and though he was the only to respond, it was the others on my team who were at a loss as they missed an opportunity to collaborate on this book. It was a worthwhile experience, and gained a lot of insight on parts of the book that as seen through others. Thanks Kenny!

Since it came out in 2018, Atomic Habits has been a personal and business best-seller that I have heard many people talk about and have often seen it in prominent displays at bookstores and airports. After reading it, I know why. It is easy to read and relate to, and I recommend it anyone who is looking to make some change in their lives and it just isn’t sticking with them. The giveaway of this book is (I hope) serendipitous, as I left it in the seatback pocket on a recent plane ride. I hope someone came across it before the plane was cleaned (do they even clean planes that detailed these days?) and perhaps it can help make a difference in their life.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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The expression “I’ve got your back” is one of great support. I first learned this early in my work career when I worked in consulting. It was never a good practice make a colleague look bad in front of the client, and fellow consultants would have someone’s back – they would try to smooth the situation, and deal with it later on out of the client’s purview. Over the years it evolved to where co-workers or managers would purely support you. I have always been aware of who these people have been and have greatly appreciated their support.

This expression also came up several years ago when I was active in improv comedy. The idea behind improv is not to make jokes rather to “build and heighten” a story, to “yes, and” your fellow performers on stage and support them. It is through this that the funny comes out and the humor comes to life. Just before I and my fellow improvisors – whether the entire troupe we called Blue Shampoo or just a few of us – hit the stage, we would always give each other a hug and tell each other, “I’ve got your back.” It was a reminder to them, and most importantly to ourselves, of what we were about to do.

One shining moment when someone truly had my back was a short scene between myself and another improvisor I remember to this day like it was yesterday. As many say improv is “throw-away” comedy, for the reasons I will retell here this moment was so memorable.

See What I Saw

One night myself and a couple of members of my troupe, Linsey and Christopher, decided to sign-up for “barprov.” As you might guess by the name, it was improv at a bar – we would perform on stage at the back of a bar in Chicago on a week night when there normally wasn’t a band playing. We would perform for free in exchange to practice our craft. The audience was mostly other improvisors, and the bar made out from our consumption of libations over the course of the night.

When it was our turn, we did a number of short scenes – sometimes it would be all 3 of us, sometimes 2 of us. When we got as far as we could with a scene, one of us would shout “scene” to end it and we would mix it up. Occasionally if a scene was going nowhere one of us who was off-stage could also shout it to keep the night moving.

On one change of scene it was myself and Linsey on the stage. He turned sideways and looked at me, and I turned and looked back at him. Linsey then swung around one of his legs and put it back down, at which he gave me a look with a raised eyebrow and a slight nod. I took this as a cue to do the same, which I did. Many times in improv we would let someone take the lead, not necessarily knowing where they were going. After I swung my leg, Linsey then squatted down, giving me the same gesture as before. So I squatted down, and as I did, Linsey stood up. Getting that same nod again, I stood up and he squatted down again.

Then it hit me... we were on a see-saw!

What I don’t remember from this scene was the dialog, but I recall it had nothing to do with being kids nor an acknowledgement of the see-saw. We continued the scene until one of us called it and we continued along with our time on stage. Afterwards however, we were ecstatic at how the scene turned out and all of us were hugging and laughing. We were on a see-saw – it was brilliant! As we often would critique our performance and highlight the positive, we couldn’t stop talking about the see-saw. And it wasn’t just that night – the see-saw would come up time and time again. For me it was a pivotal moment – it was a great and funny scene, but it was also the epitome of Linsey having my back, yet pushing me forward as an improvisor. It was a highlight of the time I was active in improv.

I have been thinking about the see-saw scene again recently as I got word that Linsey Falls died late last year. It was a complete shock to me and others very close to him, especially Christopher Donaldson, the other improvisor whom we were performing with that night for barprov. The 2 of them became great friends from improv and for years performed together including as The Gentleman’s Follies, where they played time-traveling vaudevillians. Yes, it was as funny and enjoyable as it sounds.

Sadly I hadn’t been in touch much with Linsey in recent years, occasionally connecting over social media. He was a member of the company at Playmakers Laboratory, which was called Barrel of Monkeys when I was in Chicago, and it was through knowing him that I was asked to serve on their board of directors which I proudly did for 2 years. Though it was infrequent, whenever we did connect it would be like old times, and I look forward to that reconnection someday in that better place where he is now.

There was an outpouring of love and thoughts about Linsey on social media, and a tribute to Linsey was written in the Chicago Reader. Christopher is quoted in the story along with a photo of the 2 of them. As a result of this sad news I reconnected with Christopher, a brilliant actor, writer, improvisor and human being in his own right. Our exchanges were about a man who had a lasting impression not only on ourselves but on the Chicago theater community as a whole.

I recall one night at a Chicago bar after a practice or show and the topic of fame came up in the conversation among our troupe. For myself, improv was a creative hobby but for the rest it was their calling, especially as many like Linsey had moved to Chicago to do improv. I remember Linsey saying that he didn’t want to be famous, rather he wanted to be known in the improv and theater community. To this he was more than successful, and Linsey Falls will be dearly missed.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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Of all the books I read in 2023 I actually read them – they were all physical, paper books and none were audiobooks (with no disrespect to those who are in the audiobook business, but I digress). As much as I’m driving the kids to the various activities one might think I’d be into audiobooks. I’m not, as I’m listening to podcast and music while driving. Books are an enjoyable getaway from the mundane and I enjoy the tactile experience.

One book I was planning to read was the Holy Bible. Despite being the good Catholic boy I (think that I) am, I have never actually sat down and read the Bible. I’ve read passages from it when directed to it in my religious education but as a Roman Catholic, we are fed a digested version in our weekly readings and gospels at mass. Shortly into January of last year I learned about The Bible in a Year Podcast. Where I didn’t have a whole lot of information on it I figured I’d give it a try and started with the first episode. I was immediately hooked and I made it through each and every episode.

The Bible in a Year Podcast is hosted by Fr. Mike Schmitz, a priest who serves at the University of Minnesota – Duluth. In each episode he reads from The Great Adventure Catholic Bible, a version of the bible available from Ascension Press, the publisher of the podcast. Each episode includes readings, psalms and verses followed by discussion and interpretation of what Fr. Mike just read. In addition to Fr. Mike, an occasional guest is Jeff Cavins, a lay Bible scholar who is the editor of the Great Adventure Catholic Bible, who provided additional commentary and insight throughout the year.

So can one have takeaways from experiencing the Bible as a podcast?

Heard the source – As I mentioned before, in a Catholic Mass we have readings and a gospel each week and they are taken from the Bible. Going through The Bible in a Year Podcast I actually heard the “raw” Bible, or at least how it has been translated. For example, the Prayer of Aaron, which I learned from my pastor in Boston, comes from the Book of Numbers, Chapter 6.

That’s in the Bible? – It was interesting to hear some of the passages in the Bible. There were a lot of stories and tales that I wouldn’t at face value consider prayers or relevant stories. Then there’s the rather intricate description of the Arc of the Covenant which went into details on its size and materials used to build it, or the Book of Numbers which was just that, full of numbers. The podcast also had a mature audience warning because there are some themes in it that are probably not appropriate for young kids.

Need more priests like Fr. Mike – To say Fr. Mike is enthusiastic and energetic is an understatement. I’ve only met a few priest in my lifetime to have that kind of energy and are not preaching down to you. Many priests are all “fire and brimstone” and leave you with a guilty feeling. Sure Fr. Mike is a younger priest, but I wouldn’t say that’s necessarily the reason as my former priest in Boston, Fr, Joe, was an older priest and was simply amazing. We need more priest like this, and of course I say this realizing there’s a shortage of priests throughout the world because people just don’t take up the vocation.

In the new year, I decided to further my religious study journey by listening to The Catechism in a Year podcast also from Fr. Mike. It’s still early so check back in a year and see if I make it all the way through and my takeaways from it. I may also pick up my own copy of The Great Adventure Catholic Bible and follow The Bible in a Year podcast again in 2025, but this year first.

If you are Catholic or Christian or just curious, I recommend The Bible in a Year Podcast. As it’s still early in 2024 you can go back and start from the beginning and catch up on each episode which vary from about 20 minutes to a half an hour each day. As this is something that I can’t physically pass along to others, I pass this along to you in words and spirits.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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