Find the Courage to Build the Life You Want with Debbie Millman
03/13/24 • 53 min
Design maven Debbie Millman shares her pursuit to courageously build a life filled with endless possibilities. Debbie reminds us to ask ourselves, “if not now, then when?” From mastering new languages, undertaking physical challenges, to navigating tough career choices, she takes us on a journey of self-discovery amid evolving aspirations and capabilities.
Highlights:
10:46 Keep Growing and Challenging Oneself
22:01 Balancing Multiple Pursuits
26:40 Navigating Life's Trapeze: Decisions and Potential
36:52 The Pursuit of Potential and Possibilities
36:58 Desire for More Freedom and Experimentation
44:15 Emerging Rookie Styles: The Reluctant and the Dive-In
47:41 Success and the Pursuit Of Endless Possibilities
About Our Guests:
Debbie Millman is host of the Webby award-winning podcast Design Matters, one of the first and longest running podcasts in the world; Chair of the first-ever Masters in Branding Program at the School of Visual Arts, Co-owner and Editorial Director of PrintMag.com, and the author of seven books on design and branding. She has worked on the design and strategy of over 200 of the world’s largest brands. Debbie is the recipient of a Cooper Hewitt National Design Award and a Lifetime Achievement award from AIGA, the Professional Association for Design.
Reference:
Learn how we use the Acorn to Oak Tree exercise in our human-centered design research on our tools page.
A Remarkable Life Deck: A Ten-Year Plan For Achieving Your Dreams
Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World’s Most Creative People
School of Visual Arts Masters In Branding
Listen to Debbie’s Seven Wonders Playlist on Spotify.
Add Your Voice to Our Final Episode!
We’re curating listener questions to include and answer in our season wrap-up. Leave us a voice memo with the biggest questions and takeaways from this season of Smart Rookie. What questions still linger for you? What do you wish we’d talked about more?
Get in touch: DM us on Instagram, or send us an email, smartrookie[at]thenucleusgroup.com.
Credits:
Chelsea Carlson, Podcast Art Designer
Ashley Bradford, Theme Music Artist
Sam Nash, Audio Engineer
Gabriela Acosta, Executive Producer
Smart Rookie is brought to you by brand and strategy collaborative, The Nucleus Group.
Please note that our show transcript is AI generated and may not be 100% accurate.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit smartrookie.substack.com
Design maven Debbie Millman shares her pursuit to courageously build a life filled with endless possibilities. Debbie reminds us to ask ourselves, “if not now, then when?” From mastering new languages, undertaking physical challenges, to navigating tough career choices, she takes us on a journey of self-discovery amid evolving aspirations and capabilities.
Highlights:
10:46 Keep Growing and Challenging Oneself
22:01 Balancing Multiple Pursuits
26:40 Navigating Life's Trapeze: Decisions and Potential
36:52 The Pursuit of Potential and Possibilities
36:58 Desire for More Freedom and Experimentation
44:15 Emerging Rookie Styles: The Reluctant and the Dive-In
47:41 Success and the Pursuit Of Endless Possibilities
About Our Guests:
Debbie Millman is host of the Webby award-winning podcast Design Matters, one of the first and longest running podcasts in the world; Chair of the first-ever Masters in Branding Program at the School of Visual Arts, Co-owner and Editorial Director of PrintMag.com, and the author of seven books on design and branding. She has worked on the design and strategy of over 200 of the world’s largest brands. Debbie is the recipient of a Cooper Hewitt National Design Award and a Lifetime Achievement award from AIGA, the Professional Association for Design.
Reference:
Learn how we use the Acorn to Oak Tree exercise in our human-centered design research on our tools page.
A Remarkable Life Deck: A Ten-Year Plan For Achieving Your Dreams
Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World’s Most Creative People
School of Visual Arts Masters In Branding
Listen to Debbie’s Seven Wonders Playlist on Spotify.
Add Your Voice to Our Final Episode!
We’re curating listener questions to include and answer in our season wrap-up. Leave us a voice memo with the biggest questions and takeaways from this season of Smart Rookie. What questions still linger for you? What do you wish we’d talked about more?
Get in touch: DM us on Instagram, or send us an email, smartrookie[at]thenucleusgroup.com.
Credits:
Chelsea Carlson, Podcast Art Designer
Ashley Bradford, Theme Music Artist
Sam Nash, Audio Engineer
Gabriela Acosta, Executive Producer
Smart Rookie is brought to you by brand and strategy collaborative, The Nucleus Group.
Please note that our show transcript is AI generated and may not be 100% accurate.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit smartrookie.substack.com
Previous Episode
Run Towards What Fuels Your Soul with Bret Sanford-Chung.
Master brand builder Bret Sanford-Chung shares her career defined by constantly finding and stepping out of her groove, highlighting the critical role of intellectual curiosity and defining her WHY. Spanning various industries and roles, from art school to KPMG, Bret showcases her adaptability and love for the learning curve. She emphasizes the value of embracing challenges, asking questions, and the ethos of being comfortable with uncertainty.
Highlights:
05:10 The Power of Intellectual Curiosity
07:28 Storytelling As A Superpower
21:53 The Importance Of Knowing Your Why
27:10 Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone
31:55 Reflection: Embrace Your Inner Weirdo
41:06: Our Hope for Smart Rookies Everywhere
About Our Guests:
Bret Sanford-Chung is a distinguished brand builder with a versatile marketing background, having served as an Agency Creative Director, Chief Marketing Officer, Global Agency Leader, and Educator. She is currently the Managing Director at KPMG's Marketing Consulting practice, spearheading significant corporate transformations. With previous roles at Forrester Research and as a Founding Partner at CreativePutty, Inc., Bret has a rich history of aiding top-tier clients in various sectors.
Her influential "Values" campaign for HSBC is permanently showcased at MoMA, and her work in rebranding Smith Barney underscores her prowess in modernizing financial services. Bret is not only a prominent speaker worldwide but also an academic, teaching at Columbia University and the School of Visual Arts, while contributing to esteemed business and academic boards. Holding advanced degrees in English Literature and Media Arts, she's also a yoga enthusiast, marathon runner, and a devoted family person.
Reference:
Learn how we use the Acorn to Oak Tree exercise in our human-centered design research on our tools page.
We want to hear from you!
We'd love to hear what you observed in this episode. What did this episode leave you wondering about? What did you observe and what was said or left unsaid? Leave us a voice memo, DM us on Instagram, or send us an email, smartrookie[at]thenucleusgroup.com.
Credits:
Chelsea Carlson, Podcast Art Designer
Ashley Bradford, Theme Music Artist
Sam Nash, Audio Engineer
Gabriela Acosta, Executive Producer
Smart Rookie is brought to you by brand and strategy collaborative, The Nucleus Group.
Please note that our show transcript is AI generated and may not be 100% accurate.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit smartrookie.substack.com
Next Episode
Opening Doors to the Chiefs Kingdom (Lara Krug’s Version)
What happens when pop culture and sports fandoms collide? Following the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory, trailblazing Chief Marketing Officer Lara Krug offers her unique perspective on the cultural zeitgeist that welcomed a swell of Swifties into their first season as football fans. We follow Lara’s career trajectory from beauty to beer to sports and learn why she believes the most successful companies hire smart rookies.
Highlights:
01:36 Navigating New Industries
10:15 Re-envisioning an Established Brand
15:23 Making the Leap from Beauty to Beer to Sports
18:46 The Importance of Soft Skills and Continuous Learning
23:13 Expanding the Fan Base: Swifties and Beyond
34:06 Why Successful Companies Hire Smart Rookies
45:21 The Value of Rookie Experiences and Aligning Aspirations
About Our Guests:
Lara is an experienced and passionate business leader with 15+ years of experience building and growing brands across multiple industries including consumer goods, alcohol, beauty and sports in both global and U.S. roles. In 2021, Lara joined the Kansas City Chiefs as the first Chief Marketing Officer and EVP of Marketing. While overseeing all aspects of marketing in the U.S. including brand strategy, fan development, content & production, events and community impact, she is also responsible for the internationalization of the club in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Mexico.
Prior to joining the Chiefs, she spent more than eight years in multiple marketing roles with Anheuser-Busch InBev, eventually taking over as Vice President of U.S. Marketing for Stella Artois. Before leading the national marketing efforts for Stella Artois, she oversaw AB Inbev’s regional brand portfolio, global experiential and sponsorship business and digital media partnerships. Those roles saw her develop and lead experiential platforms and campaigns around Super Bowl LIV, FIFA World Cup, the World Surfing League, UFC, Wimbledon, Tomorrowland and many more.
Reference:
Chiefs Defeat 49ers, 25-22, to Secure a Second-Straight World Championship
Learn how we use the Acorn to Oak Tree exercise in our human-centered design research on our tools page.
Add Your Voice to Our Final Episode!
We’re curating listener questions to include and answer in our season wrap-up. Leave us a voice memo with the biggest questions and takeaways from this season of Smart Rookie. What questions still linger for you? What do you wish we’d talked about more?
Get in touch: DM us on Instagram, or send us an email, smartrookie[at]thenucleusgroup.com.
Credits:
Chelsea Carlson, Podcast Art Designer
Ashley Bradford, Theme Music Artist
Sam Nash, Audio Engineer
Gabriela Acosta, Executive Producer
Smart Rookie is brought to you by brand and strategy collaborative, The Nucleus Group.
Please note that our show transcript is AI generated and may not be 100% accurate.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit smartrookie.substack.com
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