Stop Renting Your Creative Process

Todd Henry [00:00:00]:

We are in the middle of a revolution. I mean, it's pretty obvious and we've been seeing it coming for a while, but it is absolutely transforming the way that we see our responsibility as leaders and as creative professionals. We all have access to these powerful tools. They can write, they can design, they can code, they can strategize. And look, I think it's fantastic. I am certainly not anti AI. I'm using AI now every day to offload parts of my work. I use these tools pretty consistently.

Todd Henry [00:00:30]:

But here's what I'm seeing. The temptation that a lot of creative pros are starting to experience is that they want to or they don't want to, but they do offload. Not just the grunt work, not just the infrastructure, not just the supporting work, but the thinking itself. We are outsourcing the very thing that makes our work ours. We're abdicating ownership of our creative process. Now, before you think that I'm about to go into some Luddite rant, hear me out. I am not a Luddite. I'm a technology enthusiast.

Todd Henry [00:01:06]:

I always have been. This isn't about whether this technology is good or bad. It's not. It's actually neutral. I think it's about something much more fundamental to our creative life, to our drive, to our ability to perform and to grow and to experience all of the ups and downs, the rhythms of what it means to do creative work for a living. It's about who's making the decisions. It's about who owns the emotional logic behind the work that we do. Now, let me tell you what I mean by emotional logic.

Todd Henry [00:01:40]:

When we're creating something, whether it's a campaign, a presentation, a product, a piece of writing, whatever it is, we're making hundreds of tiny decisions. Some of them are subconscious. Why this word? Not that word? Why does this layout feel right and that one feels wrong? Why does this angle resonate while another one falls flat? And most of these decisions aren't rational. We can't necessarily even explain why we're making them in the moment. They're not based on data or formulas. They're based on our accumulated experience, our intuition, our sense of what fits. They're based on something that we feel, even if we can't always articulate it. That's our emotional logic.

Todd Henry [00:02:22]:

It's the through line that makes our work ours. It's what makes our work uniquely an expression of our perception, of our identity, of our sense of who we are.

Todd Henry [00:02:32]:

In the world and what we want.

Todd Henry [00:02:33]:

To see in the world. It's what people recognize as your voice, as your perspective, as your unique contribution, which I wrote about in my book Louder Than Words. But here's the problem. When you hand off too much of the creative process to machines, you're not just saving time, you're silencing that emotional logic. You're letting the algorithm make those hundreds of tiny decisions for you. And over time, you begin to lose touch with why you make the choices you make. You become a curator of machine output instead of a creator with a distinct voice. And this is, this is, I think, the.

Todd Henry [00:03:07]:

The part of this that we're not really talking about the ownership piece when we are merely curating outputs, but we're not really making those decisions when we're not staying attuned to our emot logic. Over time, we begin to lose a sense of what we deem to be good, what we deem to be bad. That emotional logic is something that has to be practiced. I had a conversation a few weeks ago with a designer who told me she hadn't opened a blank canvas in months. She starts with AI generated mockups. It's just more efficient. And I get it, I do. But when I asked how she felt about the work she was producing, there was a long pause and she said, you know, kind of, honestly, it doesn't feel same.

Todd Henry [00:03:53]:

And I think that's the trap, right? It doesn't feel the same. You see, the promise of these tools is that they're going to free us up to do more of the important work. And that's great. And they can for sure, but only if we're intentional about what we're offloading. If we offload the drudgery, the repetitive tasks, the grunt work, the summarization, all of the stuff that doesn't really require our unique perspective. It's really just kind of like grunt work that we have to do. The infrastructure of our work, that's one thing that's totally great, that's, I think, very admirable. I think it's gonna be very useful.

Todd Henry [00:04:27]:

But if we offload the decision making, if we offload the sense making, the parts of our process where judgment and intuition live, we're not freeing ourselves up, we're hollowing ourselves out. And that's a concept that I wrote about in my book Die Empty. I talked about the three modes of work. Mapping, making, and meshing. Mapping is the strategic work. It's figuring out what you're gonna do. Meshing is the collaborative work. It's working with others, it's doing all the work in between.

Todd Henry [00:04:55]:

And then making is the execution, actually creating the thing. And AI can be incredible at making. It can execute fast, it can produce variations, handle technical complexity. All of these things that would take humans infinitely longer to do. But here's what it can't do. It can't know what you uniquely believe. It can't draw on your lived experience. It can't make decisions based on your values and vision.

Todd Henry [00:05:20]:

And here's the thing. It can't synthesize. It can't abstract from those kind of ineffable qualities, those characteristics that you carry with you. And it. It can't enter into the process and help you feel attachment to the work that you're doing. That's really meshing territory. That's where emotional logic lives. And if you abdicate that, you might be productive, but you won't necessarily be brilliant.

Todd Henry [00:05:47]:

You'll be putting out work, but that work won't really be reflective of what you are capable of. You won't be doing work that matters in the way that you want it to matter. So here's the question I want you to sit with. Where are you still in your process, and where have you checked out? Where are you abdicating your emotional logic instead of leveraging that skill that you've developed over time, the intuition that you've developed over time, to produce work that you are uniquely capable of? Listen, AI is fantastic at exploring the edges. It's fantastic at pushing us into places we wouldn't have otherwise gone. But when we supplant our emotional logic, that's when I think we're in a danger zone as creative pros. So are you making the hard creative decisions? Or are you just selecting from the options that a machine has generated for you? Are you still connected to the why behind your choices? Or are you optimizing for speed and convenience? Because what you optimize for is what really, at the end of the day, is what speaks loudly about your priorities. Here's what I know from more than two decades of working with creative pros.

Todd Henry [00:06:52]:

The struggle is the work. Creative work that costs nothing, means nothing. It doesn't matter. The moments when you're stuck, when you don't know what to do next, when you're wrestling with a problem that's not wasted time. That's where insights come from. That's where you discover what you actually think. And that friction that we're trying so hard to remove is what makes the work valuable. That's where your voice develops.

Todd Henry [00:07:19]:

If you never give yourself the space to wrestle you Never discover what you're capable of. You never build the judgment that makes you valuable. You become really good at prompting machines. Right? And again, I want to be clear. That's fine. That's fine. But I'm saying we have to be ruthlessly intentional about ensuring that we're not abdicating our emotional logic, that we're not replacing ourselves with. With something that could never replicate ourselves.

Todd Henry [00:07:45]:

Don't let efficiency become an excuse for abdication. Don't release ownership of your intuition, because here's the thing, they'll make you faster, these tools, but they can't make you. You. They can produce outputs, but they can't produce meaning. They can mimic your style, but they can't replace your substance, your emotional logic, your lived experience, your values, your perspective, your accumulated wisdom. That's irreplaceable. That's the thing that makes your work resonate. And it's the one thing that creates connection with other human beings.

Todd Henry [00:08:16]:

And frankly, it's the one thing that creates connection with your work. It's the thing that keeps you rooted in why what you do matters. So that's what we're going to talk about today. We're going to talk about what it means to own our work, whether that's our leadership, whether that means our relationships with others in the organization, or whether that means the work that's really right in front of us. We're going to talk about what it means to have ownership over our process, over the output, over our relationships, over our leadership, and ultimately over the body of work that we're putting into the world. This is Daily Creative. Since 2005, we've served up weekly tips to help you be brave, focused, and brilliant every day. My name is Todd Henry.

Todd Henry [00:09:06]:

Welcome to the show.

Greg Hawks [00:09:12]:

Well, with. Particularly in the creative field, you know, my shorthand for it is owners bring their hard head and hands, renters bring their hands. Vandals bring division and strife and destruction and all of that.

Todd Henry [00:09:23]:

That's Greg Hawkes, author of a new book called act like an Owner.

Greg Hawks [00:09:27]:

And so, you know, most people, most being half of the workforce, whether in the creative industries or in any, they just show up with their hands. They have a skill, they have an ability, they do a good job in the media. And even in. In work conversations, they kind of get a bad rap like, ooh, the disengaged. We need to get them engaged. But they're literally every other person in the workforce and they show up on time, they do a good job. But what they have found, these renters, is it's just not worth owning. It's not worth bringing their minds and bringing their hearts.

Greg Hawks [00:09:55]:

And that's where creativity thrives, right? Like, you can't show up, and if you've lost passion for what you're doing, or you're. You've stopped using your creative imagination or your critical thinking and. Or you've just stopped caring, you're just like, I have a job to do. I'm going to show up and do it. And so from a leadership perspective, you know, we all want people bringing hard head and hands, but I have found that the perversity of organizations is they say, we want people to buy in. We want people to own their role. And yet when they start doing that, like, when new people show up and they're, like, willing to contribute and have all this energy and zest, and they're like, I got ideas. I've been listening to podcasts and I've been, you know, reading some books, and I got all these, and they're just like, dude, calm down, you know, like, settle down.

Greg Hawks [00:10:40]:

We're going to crush your spirit to, like, we're just trying to get through a meeting. And so this weird. We want you to buy in, but then when people show up with that ownership mindset, they crush it out of them and turn them into renters. And so I'm pretty passionate about helping leaders say it's not just about an individual, but it's about this environment we're creating where people can own it and find great fulfillment in it.

Todd Henry [00:11:03]:

So I want to talk about one.

Todd Henry [00:11:06]:

Group first or one mindset, and then I want to move into talking about renters and owners because I really feel like that's where the value is for most of the people listening is, you know, how do we, a, personally go from a renter mindset to an owner mindset, or B, how do we lead people from becoming a renter, you know, to. To becoming more of an owner? But I want to talk about the vandals because, you know, I. I think this is a.

Todd Henry [00:11:28]:

Nobody thinks they're a vandal, but yeah.

Todd Henry [00:11:30]:

We might be vandalizing. So what are some signs or what are some behaviors of people who might be organizational vandals?

Greg Hawks [00:11:37]:

Well, let. Can I just step back and I'm not gonna be political. I don't want to, like, answer. Answer your question. But, you know, the first question I always get is, why would any company let a vandal even live in their home? Right? Why do we even let vandals exist? Because statistically, they're like, one out of five. And I have found that there's four reasons vandals even exist. I'll just give you those quick. First and foremost, the revenue generators.

Greg Hawks [00:12:01]:

They're people who produce because you think, why would you let somebody in here who's toxic and isn't a team player and other people are, are other people become renters because of what they get away with? Number one reason is their revenue generators. And you work with companies and you know, from a leadership perspective, it's not as easy to go, oh, I want to just get rid of toxic people because they could be paying for whole departments, the whole departments that aren't happy with that person. They're also generating the revenue that is paying for all them. So it's not a simple like, hey, just get rid of all the bad people. It's like, well, they're producing but they're just not. And they may know it. They're just not team players or creating a culture that they're just, you know, self centered, right? Or they just care about themselves. And so, so revenue generators, they've been there a long time.

Greg Hawks [00:12:46]:

Here's what I found. People have been in a place a really long time. Leadership can be like, well, we're just gonna hold out and wait for them to, they only got one or two more years. Let's just hope they don't say or do something that gets us a lawsuit or you know, scares too many people away. So they've been there a long time and have. And the issues haven't been addressed. So you're like, hey, we don't talk like that anymore. We don't say those things anymore.

Greg Hawks [00:13:06]:

We, you know, like those things aren't acceptable. And yet. And so they create a lot of division amongst younger leaders, next gen leaders. The third is the fantastic benefit of nepotism. Listen, I like family and I think family, there's some benefit to families. There's that. But also there can be, you know, a shield, like they're an ambassador from another country. They're like, nothing can happen to me because.

Greg Hawks [00:13:28]:

And so sometimes that is. Now none of these are definitely just because they are. Those make them vandals. I'm just saying, typically vandals, that's where they come from. And then last, ironically, they're the owner of the company. They've been around so long, they're like, listen, I built it. I would, I did this before you were here, I'll do this after. And you've probably experienced this especially with small businesses or family businesses or generational businesses.

Greg Hawks [00:13:50]:

That they just will say and do things and not really recognize how powerful the words can impact those they're leading. And so a lot of the behaviors center around really self centeredness. Like I just think of me, I don't think of the team, I don't think of the impact I'm having on the team. I just really care mostly about what I'm doing. So that's a, you know, that's one of the things that sets vandals off the most. Second they, they silently sabotage. I call them silence saboteurs. Where like when.

Greg Hawks [00:14:23]:

And you've worked with folks that are like, here's what we're going to do and we're getting up, you know, here's what we're doing next year. And they'll say, that's not ever going to happen. I've been here. That's not going to happen. And so instead of them like actively protesting, they just pull back and they just go, nah, that's not going to happen. So I'm not going to do it. They're the kinds of people who six months after something doesn't work because not everything does, especially in creative. They're the ones who say, I knew that wasn't going to happen.

Greg Hawks [00:14:47]:

I knew we'd never pull that off. And you just want to be like. Because it just means they haven't contributed to trying to go there because they've already self selected out. And then once they start trickling down some of that attitude and that belief into others, they're so divisive and so harmful to organizations because of that kind of attitude, behavior. Of course they gossip those kind of things, the things that create division amongst people and, and so I'll just stop there. I can get talking Todd. So I'll try to.

Todd Henry [00:15:16]:

I think that's really helpful because I.

Todd Henry [00:15:17]:

Think people like most vandals don't think they're vandals. They're not going into it thinking, oh, I want to destroy this place, right? Often they think, oh well, they just, there's an assumptiveness or a kind of a self centeredness like you. Like you said, there's a, you know, in the world that I come from, you know, in the creative space, you know, we call, you know, they're divas, these, these sort of like genius with a thousand hands who kind of sit at the center and it's like, well, because I'm the creative talent, I can get away with anything. And so I just basically abuse people and treat them poorly and fire people and whatever because you know, I'm the genius and I have a phrase I introduced called norm. Well, it's a phrase I borrowed from research into the space shuttle disasters, ironically. Normalization of deviance, which is when we normalize deviant behavior, we normalize behavior that we know is wrong, but our tacit normalization of it makes it basically organizationally acceptable. So then everybody else thinks, well, if I want to get ahead around here, I have to also be the diva. I have to also, you know, lead with my ego or whatever.

Todd Henry [00:16:24]:

And to your point, you know, I think often these behaviors, because they're tacitly either reinforced or they're just, they're not called out specifically. I think people get the clue that like this is, this is how you.

Todd Henry [00:16:37]:

Get attention around here.

Todd Henry [00:16:38]:

It's how you get ahead or to, you know, they're not, it's the owner or somebody who isn't trying to destroy the business, obviously. Oh yeah, they're just, you know, like being themselves, but they're not giving other people the opportunity to step up and to own as well.

Greg Hawks [00:16:53]:

Well, it's so interesting like so, because you know, in this work, and I'm sure you've read a bunch of Malcolm Gladwell stuff, you know, the Revenge of the Tipping Point came out this past year. I was like, oh, you know that book, I loved it 25, 25 years ago. And, and you know, he's kind of expanded on it. But one of the stories in there is just about how, how significant 1 or 2%. I mean the whole premise of the Tipping Point is, you know, there's a certain point where things go and he's talking about a community and where suicide rates and kids were in this sort of thing and it just tipped over. And what happens with like the vandals is what, you know, when you let, you know, statistically 17 to 20% of those exist, it causes people who really do care, who really do want to contribute, who really do want to bring this ownership to go, what's the point? Like they let, they just tolerate so much to do. And so you have these really great people who just go, I'm just going to kind of phone it in or I'm just going to like, it doesn't matter what I do because they, they do value this kind of toxicity of self centeredness or this, the diva spirit. If like, if that's what it is.

Greg Hawks [00:17:56]:

And I'm really not that I like a team player. I like caring about other people. I like being thoughtful about collaboration, you know, so they just shift into that Renters, you know, so that's what happens is like so many times organizations like, how do we get renters to be owners? And they focus on the renter. And it's like, listen, what you need to do is reduce your vandal numbers if you. And that's a big risk. And it's hard to do because they generally are significant players. But once you start recalling out some of those folks, the whole middle section of your organization of people who are just showing up, doing their job and then going home, man, they start having the opportunity to buy back in because it's worth it. Because you shape this environment where that kind of thing is valued.

Greg Hawks [00:18:40]:

And it's not. It's not easy. Again, you know, from a leadership perspective, it's not easy, but it's one of those things, like, how do we get the disengaged Engage. There's all this focus on disengage. It's like, it's the vandals, man. If you'll just reduce some of your percentage of. You'll be shocked at how many people then will show up and own their role at a significant level that will surpass what the vandals. But it's just that it's kind of an act of faith, you know what I mean? Where you're just like, I gotta believe.

Greg Hawks [00:19:05]:

If I take some of these people out that are big revenue generators but are just creating so much factions within our organization, if I remove them, will people step up? And the answer is yes. Takes a little bit time and definite intentionality for it. And so, you know, that's the. That's the struggle leaders have. When you have. That is like the trade off of the risk I take from removing somebody who may not be a team player, but listen, those divas they're producing, you know, I'll talk about it in terms of like, everybody thinks they're Prince. You know, I'm up here in Minneapolis now, and it's like, we want everybody to be giving guitar lessons. The Prince ain't giving guitar lessons.

Greg Hawks [00:19:43]:

He is demonstrating what it looks like to play the guitar.

Todd Henry [00:19:47]:

And.

Greg Hawks [00:19:47]:

And you. And it's cool if you have that ability. You know what? There's a special place for you. You don't have to give guitar lessons. Yeah, but you think you're Prince, but you're not. And most people are like that. And it's like, we just need you down here working with some people and showing what excellence looks like and progressing that way. And too many people think they are prints when they're not.

Greg Hawks [00:20:08]:

And then they're like, I don't give guitar lessons. I just shred on stage and demonstrate what it looks like. It's like, we need you to give some guitar lessons, man.

Todd Henry [00:20:16]:

Yeah, yeah, that's right. That's exactly right. And I love that line, you are not Prince. I think that's, I'm going to quote you on that because I do, I do think like you're right. I think some of that is insecurity. I think people pretend like they think they're Prince, but really deep down they know. Okay, I'm really not, but I think it's, there's some insecurity involved, which is where some of this vandalism comes from. Right? It's like, oh, well, okay, you're not.

Todd Henry [00:20:39]:

Going to listen to me.

Todd Henry [00:20:39]:

You're not going to value my idea. Great, well then I'm going to go hide in the corner and I'm going to, you know, I'm going to take my marbles and go home. There's to some extent it's sort of a self protection maybe. What about for the renters? Maybe people are listening and they're thinking, you know what? Really, I kind of am, I kind of am a renter right now. I'm not really acting like an owner. I want to be more of an owner in terms of my mindset. What would be some things that people can do to act more like an owner?

Greg Hawks [00:21:06]:

Well, one of the things, you know, I have these five unlocks and we won't unpack the whole book. But the idea, and you'll know this from a creative is there's, there has to be return on the investment. Like the reason I bought investment properties is I, I did it for a long term return. I'm a buy and hold guy. And what I found with people in any line of work, they want a return on their investment. And so if you're in a place where you're renting right now, what you've determined is it's not worth me going the extra, which is heart and mind, because what I get back from it. So first for that person, recognizing what, what do I really want from this place? So I've created like a little E Frog, I call it, because it hops all over the place. But it's emotional, financial, relational opportunities and growth.

Greg Hawks [00:21:52]:

All those are returns people get from kind of going the extra mile. Giving of their heart, giving of their mind. Some people see themselves, Todd, like go to people and so they, they like the idea of like when a situation or a crisis happens you call on them and they're, you know, they're the kinds of people you're like, this whole place is falling apart. Called so and so. It's not their department, it's not their responsibility, but they always find a way to figure things out and make things happen. Like they're the go to person that's an emotional hit that people get. They like seeing themselves that way, like being treated that way. And so for a person to know that about themselves and go, am I having opportunities to get the return I need? Some people will just want growth, some people just want opportunities to be around other people that is like, hey, I want, I want to feel like, you know, I've got, like we talked about, we have, you know, young, our kids are college age, a little bit older and they're young leaders and they are all about just career growth like right now, like Gen Z, you know, they're just like how do I, how do I get to the next phase as quick as possible and be recognized for that kind of thing? So you know, how, how are we? How are organizations leadership teams? And even then that's what I love about Gen Z is at least with my son and you know, his kind of world is looking for those ways to keep making progress that serves kind of their dream and serves the organization that they're in.

Greg Hawks [00:23:14]:

So as a renter it's like first, do I know what really creates return that I'm, that I say it's worth me investing in?

Todd Henry [00:23:20]:

Yeah.

Greg Hawks [00:23:20]:

Second, have articulated that because typically once people get that they're renting and they kind of disengage some sometimes they pull back from sharing their ideas or expressing themselves because maybe it's not a safe environment. Maybe they feel like when they've shared that before they got shot down in a certain way and so they're pretty refrained or you know, they don't trust kind of what, what will come from them articulating this matters to me. I would like to contribute in this way. What opportunities do I have there? Or what could I do? Or that sort of thing. So a little bit of courage, a little bit of bravery, maybe a little bit of team coaching, a support system somewhere that's like, hey, be really thoughtful about what it is you want to do. Because what I find Todd, there are so many people who have opted out of owning their life and they're living victim minded, they're living blame oriented. It's also, and it's a very dissatisfying way to live. You're not fulfilled you don't have a sense of agency and autonomy for, for your own destiny and own purpose.

Greg Hawks [00:24:23]:

And so this idea of like, how can, how can you be really thoughtful about recognizing what it is that is a return that you want from the investment of your life and then going about doing that and not blaming others for not engaging that way and taking some initiative in that direction.

Todd Henry [00:24:42]:

Greg Hawke's new book is called act like an Owner. It's available now wherever books are sold. And of course, if you want to hear the full interview, you you can do so@dailycreativeplus.com it's absolutely free. Just go to dailycreativeplus.com and enter your name and email and we'll send you a private feed where you can listen to all of our interviews absolutely free. Whatever you walk away from this episode with, I hope that somehow it centers in on the importance of taking ownership. Taking ownership of your process, taking ownership of your relationships, taking ownership of your leadership. At the end of the day, your body of work will stand as a testament to what you truly believe. Are you building a body of work that's reflective of what you really care about? Or are you abdicating that body of work to others? Think and act like an owner because you do own your body of work.

Todd Henry [00:25:42]:

Thanks again for listening. My name is Todd Henry. You can find my work, my books, my speaking events, and more at ToddHenry. Until next time, May you be brave, focused and brilliant. We'll see you then.