Scott Belsky believes that the greatest breakthroughs across all industries are a result of creative people and teams that are especially productive. As such, Scott has committed his professional life to help organize creative individuals, teams, and networks.
Scott is the founder of Behance, a company that develops products and services that boost productivity in the Creative Professional Community. Behance oversees the Behance Network, the world’s leading platform for creative professionals; The 99% , Behance’s think tank for execution in creative teams; and Action Method, a popular online/mobile productivity application and line of organizational paper products.
In 2010, Scott was also included in Fast Company’s list of “100 Most Creative People in Business.” Scott is also the author of the national bestselling book Making Ideas Happen (Portfolio, Penguin Books). He attended Cornell University as an undergraduate and received his MBA from Harvard Business School.
What are you working on right now?
The next generation of the Behance Network platform, a sort of “LinkedIn” for the creative world that has the potential to organize the creative world’s work and improve efficiency in the creative industries.
3 Trends that excite you?
1. Community Curation: I love how, with mechanisms like Facebook’s “Like” button and Behance’s “Appreciate” option, the world is curating itself.
2. Transparency: Amidst all the concerns about privacy, I am still pleased to see more people open the door and share their ideas liberally. This is good for humankind.
3. Obsession with Execution: With our 99% Initiative, we’ve been surprised by how much interest there is in productivity and execution, this is a new era for entrepreneurial minded folks. It is good for society.
How do you bring ideas to life?
By sharing them with my team and inner circle, by seeking feedback and refinement, and by working late.
What is one mistake that you made, and what did you learn from it?
I make lots of mistakes, but often times my mistakes involve my lack of patience. Sometimes when something flares up and I get obsessive about it, I look back and realize I should have just waited for it to resolve itself on its own.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Digital goods as a means of awards. When you like an article on the web, why not have the option to purchase a virtual award to recognize is?
What tool do you use on a daily basis to stay productive and manage projects / tasks?
Action Method Online, of course! 😉
But seriously, we developed ActionMethod.com as an online and mobile (and paper-based) methodology to keep creative minds organized. I couldn’t really function without it at this point.
One tip: If you use it online, be sure to download the Adobe AIR version of the application! Much better…
Do you live a balanced life?
I certainly try. Sometimes it is hard. However, I have come to view balance not as a daily thing, but a periodic concept. In my opinion, a determined mind must work obsessively and then rest obsessively. Balance is not achieved at any given point in time, only over time.
Behance’s Products:
Behance Twitters: @behance @the99percent
Scott Belsky on Twitter: @scottbelsky
Scott Belsky’s Personal website:
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.