Blog - Ben Guttmann

43 "simple" quotes about creativity and communication

Each Tuesday, I send out my “3 Simple Things” email that includes one thing from me, one link to something interesting, and one idea to think about. As list season continues, I wanted to share some of my favorite quotes about creativity and communication that have been featured as the third "simple thing" in my newsletter this year.

December 5, 2023

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Seven good things for free

It’s the holidays, which means list season continues. After a weekend designed to separate us from our money, I wanted to go in the other direction and share seven of my favorite things that cost zero dollars and zero cents.

November 28, 2023

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2023’s little bits of tech that I’m thankful for

Once again, we’re entering the season of lists, starting with the season of thanks. For me, this year’s tech gratitude installment reflects a year of change: less social media and more media creation on one front and new devices, new places, and new people on another.

November 20, 2023

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Out of ideas? Try something weird.

When we’re writing, designing, or building, we can unlock new territory by trying something weird. What if your next article had to rhyme? What if your next design could only use Comic Sans? What if your product needed to be made out of paper? Constraints breed creativity.

November 13, 2023

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Time is what we make of it

There are only two units of time that really are set in stone. It takes us 365.25 days to orbit the sun, and it takes us 24 hours to spin around our planet’s own axis (barring a leap second here and there). To varying degrees, everything else is pretty much made up. Let's make up more.

November 6, 2023

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The anchoring effect breaking our brains

A few days ago, I was plopping my credit card down for some new piece of software, and I was met once again by a familiar sight: the three-columned pricing page. We’ve all seen this a thousand times. One of these options seems outrageously expensive. One of them looks like a complete rip-off. But then, right there in the middle – the best deal of all time!

October 30, 2023

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Four professional force multipliers

A force multiplier is a tool that empowers people to do things that they couldn’t do without. It’s a factor that is said to increase ability by multiple. An impenetrable fortress is a force multiplier, allowing a small defensive force to repel armies of attackers. Force multipliers make you stronger than the sum of your parts – in a military context and in our work.

October 23, 2023

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A week of "Simply Put"

Well, the past week has sure been busy. If you’re here, you know that on October 10, my first book, Simply Put, was released. Since then, it’s been a ride. Dozens of friends and colleagues have shared photos with their new copies. I hosted my first launch event last Thursday at P&T Knitwear, an awesome new bookshop downtown. Here's some more.

October 18, 2023

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You don’t need to be everywhere

There are lots of social media platforms. But you don't have to be on most of them. We only have so much time, and only so many resources, to devote to anything we’re doing – and maintaining an active presence on twelve different channels can eat up a lot of both. Instead of doing all of them half-assed, it’s far better to either commit or punt.

October 16, 2023

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When curse words stop working

In a sea of traditionally blasé titles, like Think and Grow Rich, The Power of Positive Thinking, and The Four Agreements, the bluntness of something like Unfu*k Yourself shines as a beacon of contrast. You can easily convince yourself: This book is different… so maybe this book is better. This is the power of salience.

October 9, 2023

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Thoughts.