5 Success Mantras from a Creative Career

5 Success Mantras
Design Thinking can contribute to great professional wins - from Teamwork to Feedback & Learning, here are the 5 Success Mantras that help Careers.
Design Thinking can contribute to great professional wins - from Teamwork to Feedback & Learning, here are the 5 Success Mantras that help Careers.
Design Thinking can contribute to great professional wins - from Teamwork to Feedback & Learning, here are the 5 Success Mantras that help Careers.
Design Thinking can contribute to great professional wins - from Teamwork to Feedback & Learning, here are the 5 Success Mantras that help Careers.

An entrepreneur and design thinker shares her tips for career success!

I have been a creative for as long back as I can remember. My career path has traversed various roles – entrepreneur, merchandiser, graphic artist, Textile trend consultant, business owner and mother. But through every journey of mine, I have been fortunate to have Design Thinking as the common element.

Another takeaway – irrespective of what I did yesterday, where I am today and where I will be tomorrow, there are certain career lessons that I have accumulated, that will stand the test of time or even transcend it.

Despite popular myths, creatives can be very logical. This blend of logic and visual capability makes us analyze daily interactions and create something more out of them.

Here are my takeaways – 5  Success mantras from a creative career in design

Purposeful Passion 

Much like any other endeavor that we undertake, a design process is better, faster, even richer when the end objective is clear.

When I design a logo, I work with my client to identify the message and target audience rather than start from a name. This ensures that the end result is not only a unique, attractive and compelling visual, but also a relevant one.

If my brief is to compile a trend board on happening wall colors – I still pause to question the why? Is it for Millennials, Baby Boomers, or just because you want to sell blue furniture?

 

Having your final purpose in mind makes it easy to work backwards. It helps you narrow down your focus and efforts to what’s pertinent.

A focussed action is what maintains momentum and drives results in career and business.

Also Watch Expert Tips and Hacks on Design for an Everyday User

Think Results – Attractive, Relevant, Tangible (ART)

Creativity has no limit and designers are notorious for getting carried away.  

Working up close with marketing and sales professionals has given me a crash course in the all-round aspects of mixing design with business.

Can you step away from your work and ask – Is it viable? Is it useful ? Where is this taking the business and me, personally?

As professionals working across industries, time is of essence. You cannot churn out one masterpiece where 5 were expected and an entire team is let down. This gets me to efficiency in delivering.

Oftentimes, done is better than perfect.

Also Read 5 Point Cheat Sheet for non-Designers

Teamwork makes the Dream Work

5 Success MantrasDesign outcome is rarely a solo journey.

At a firm that I work with, I am responsible for trend forecasting. It’s an exercise we do almost a year in advance with all the research, resources and tools available to us, and then cross our fingers and hope for the best (much like stockbrokers). There is no crystal ball.

But I seldom work in isolation. There’s a team of merchandisers who analyse customer sell-through and sales professionals out on the field, who constantly receive and transmit customer feedback.

And for all the pieces to work effectively towards a common goal, you need to be a relationship builder. An effective team player shows respect for others views, talent and contributions.

Also Read Building a Positive network- The Lessons I Learnt

Feedback amidst/despite Vanity

Designers are vain. You fall in love so easily with your own work that it’s not easy to submit your work to be picked apart. If we can swallow it once, can we do it again?

But there’s a bigger life lesson here. 

The ability to receive feedback signifies that you prioritize learning before validation.
 Whatever your chosen field , feedback is a gift and one must actively seek it out from discerning eyes. Constructive feedback helps us climb out of our bubble and iterate for a better outcome.

A Learner’s Mindset

 I might be in the business of design, but I cannot just be a designer.

Sales person, Communicator, Accountant, Manager, Scheduler – I instinctively switch between varied roles in the course of a day, as the situation demands.Do I do equal justice to each one? Definitely not.

But what I need to know, to further my career, I constantly aim to learn. Technology has enabled learning at our fingertips and given us manifold avenues to actively learn  and collaborate.

Also Read 11 Podcasts with the Power to lift Your Professional Mindset

Continuous Learning provides an unparalleled competitive edge in your career. Irrespective of your career stream, avail the wide range of learning opportunities on offer for free  or through professional networking.

 

Design is better simple and much like life, every woman’s career journey imparts some basic common learnings. Share yours.

Contributor-Aditi Tandon
Aditi Tandon

You can’t use up creativity. The more you create, the more you have.

A Designer and Entrepreneur, Aditi graduated from a top design school and subsequently started her own design and merchandising business. Co-founder at Maroon Oak, she has over 17 years of business experience with Two Dotts, her design consulting company and an Etsy store which serves as an outlet for her gifts and patented product designs.

A mother to a teen and a tween, she enjoys running, dancing and raising her newest baby, a Bichon named Miltie.

Maroon Oak on LinkedIn

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47 Comments
  1. Alex Morrison 6 years ago

    I love this! Done is better than perfect – I need to remember that one.

  2. Jess 6 years ago

    Such insightful advice! Love these mantras! Thank you for sharing 🙂

  3. Sophie 6 years ago

    This is such great advice, especially the learner’s mindset. Thanks!

  4. sarah 6 years ago

    Hello,Such great advice, and I definitely am feeling the “learner’s mindset” now as I dive deep into doing a custom jewelry piece where I’m having to learn new skills and collaborate with stone setters, engravers, and the like.
    Thanks

  5. Fashionably Kate 7 years ago

    I think we all need to stop and repeat a little mantra to ourselves every once and while. Keeps me sane! Great post.

  6. anne wright 7 years ago

    very interesting read! Thank you for sharing! I totally agree that every career will mold you for who you are and who you will be!

    • Pooja Krishna Author
      Pooja Krishna 7 years ago

      Agree, as long as we are open to accepting those lessons!

  7. Jennifer L 7 years ago

    Really amazing mantras to live by for sure. I definitely agree that a great team makes a big difference and the same applies to me and my own team.

  8. Jennifer 7 years ago

    Really amazing mantras to live by for sure. I definitely agree that a great team makes a big difference and the same applies to me and my own team.

  9. Amanda Love 7 years ago

    Learning never stops especially when you own a company or a business. Continuous learning is one of the secrets to success.

  10. Carol Cassara 7 years ago

    These are all very important when you want to have a successful career. I just launched my new business and I should really take these to heart.

  11. Elizabeth O. 7 years ago

    You can’t survive in a business without having a team to work with. You can’t simply do everything alone. These are all definitely good qualities to have.

  12. dory 7 years ago

    Setting and objectives is of truly help to be successful

  13. angela milnes 7 years ago

    What a good tips and I really love reading about this, I will keep this in my mind and this is really helpful for me.

  14. Meghna Dixit 7 years ago

    Great tips. It’s wonderful how you are proud of your career and how nicely you explained the working behind. All the best. Your passion is obvious!

    • Pooja Krishna Author
      Pooja Krishna 7 years ago

      Thanks! Yes, I do love what I do. Appreciate your words!

  15. Shirley 7 years ago

    These tips are really helpful. I love the learners mindset, and learning is a continuous process.

  16. David Elliott 7 years ago

    i really get what you mean when you say that done is sometimes better than perfection. I know of too many times watching people never finish something because they wanted it to be perfect. That makes it so nothing gets done sometimes.

  17. Ashlea 7 years ago

    I need to have my logo redone as it does not match my current blog revamp. I will keep these tips in mind when I do so.

  18. Megan 7 years ago

    This is really helpful! I loved the visual representation of the big goal- smaller goals- and tasks.

  19. Missy 7 years ago

    Great tips, especially for new entrepreneurs! I got the “teamwork makes the Dream work” quote in a fortune cookie the other day!

  20. Great encouragement. I love the phrase “teamwork makes the dreamwork” it works well in seriousness and for a giggle when used sarcastically during times when the team is having a bad day.

  21. Amber 7 years ago

    I agree, it’s always important to keep learning. This is what I do and it helps me become a stronger person.

  22. Ashvin 7 years ago

    These are all awesome tips. I can definitely use these tips in blogging too when it comes to creative posts and picture taking. I love the learners mindset, and learning more about photography would definitely help me!

  23. robin rue 7 years ago

    I have been blogging for 7 1/2 years and I am still in the learner’s mindset. I learn new things all the time.

  24. stacey 7 years ago

    Having a clear objective is definitely a mantra for goal seekers. Especially for creatives who think a little differently than ideologues.

  25. I am new to blogging and found this really useful. After a long career in corporate finance, I am tuning into my more creative side and loving it!

  26. Stacey 7 years ago

    Such great advice, and I definitely am feeling the “learner’s mindset” now as I dive deep into doing a custom jewelry piece where I’m having to learn new skills and collaborate with stone setters, engravers, and the like. It’s the learner’s mindset that also got me to where I am now – not having gone to school for jewelry, I had to learn as much as possible from as many sources and people as possible along the way. Thanks for the blog!

  27. Tonya 7 years ago

    I will have to start including some of these mantras into my weekly planning.

  28. Julia 7 years ago

    I love the phrase purposeful passion! And this is such a helpful list! 🙂

  29. Elizabeth K. 7 years ago

    These apply to non-creative fields as well! The “Teamwork Makes the Dream Work” and “Learner’s Mindset” are definitely important for all careers.

  30. Shannon Burlingame 7 years ago

    These are some great aspects to keep in mind! I am new to blogging but would eventually like to turn my blog to a business. It’s definitely important to keep in mind that in this field you need to be constantly learning new things and ask for help when its needed.

    • Pooja Krishna Author
      Pooja Krishna 7 years ago

      Yes. feedback positive or negative is important for a better outcome!

  31. Steph 7 years ago

    Great post! I like the ART acronym, as sometimes I lose sight of what I’d like the outcome of my efforts to be.

  32. Zoë 7 years ago

    Such a wonderful post and I love that it is so applicable to all walks in life, especially career as you have so rightly said. I love the second and fourth points in particular, I absolutely agree with both. This post is definitely bookmarked for the days I need to focus! ?

  33. Kezia 7 years ago

    This is all interesting !! Needed to read this at this current time !! x

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