creativity Tag

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Guy Who Likes Being Heard, Not Herded; photo by davide ragusa on Unsplash… Investors, entrepreneurs, and execs all love talking about “disruption,” so much so that they’ve worn out the word. But few companies can deliver that level of innovative thinking. The reason?Read More

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango; an earlier version of this story appeared on Jawbone.TV… For author Dan Roam, it began with a living nightmare.Read More

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder Of Atomic Tango + Fincher Fan… Note: buying anything through the links on this page may benefit the Atomic Tango martini fund. The first DVD I ever bought was Fight Club, and not just because it was based on the inventive and incendiary novel by Chuck Palahniuk. (One of my favorite books.) Throw in Fincher’s directorial prowess and the compelling lead performances, and Fight Club warranted watching again and again and again. (Plus, the film blows up Century City, where I used to live andRead More

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Amateur Mixologist… Let’s drink a toast to creative people in official positions. More specifically, let’s drink a toast to Cleve Colbert “Red” Ketcham, the late great U.S. Forest Service Regional Engineer who gave us, for perpetuity, the Cocktail Construction Chart. Immortalized in the U.S. National Archives Catalog as item #7035823 (download your copy of the Cocktail Construction Chart here), the chart was created shortly after Nixon resigned in 1974 — a very good reason to celebrate. Given the names of theRead More

by Judy Bernstein, Guest Blogger and VP of Insights & Innovation at CBA; Writer’s Block I photo by Drew Coffman… Seinfeld fans fondly remember the Festivus episode: Frank Costanza, played by the legendary Jerry Stiller, creates a holiday in response to the misanthropy he encountered and inflicted at Christmas. From his desperate, wistful conviction that there had to be a better way, Festivus, a holiday “for the rest of us,” was born, featuring an airing of grievances and feats of strength. I think of Creative Problem Solving (CPS) as aRead More

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Guy Who Loves Kids As Long As They Belong To Other People… I’m not a mom (at least not the last time I checked). I don’t have a horde of kids running around the house (unless you count my cats). And I don’t scrap book (scrap box, yes — because what better place for photos and other mementos than a cardboard box?). But I love this vid for startup Chatbooks. I’ve enjoyed repeat viewings. In fact, I want a sequel —Read More

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Critical Thinking Enthusiast… Please tell me the image above is just another annoying puzzle — one of those banal math problems or word games that clueless people play on LinkedIn to prove they’re “geniuses.” This particular LinkedIn challenge obviously shows the value of proofreading, and it’s so easy a Fox News host could solve it. The column headers are clearly reversed, so just swap ’em and the table makes perfect sense. In fact, anyone who’s ever worked for a blowhard HollywoodRead More

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + LinkedIn Purist… The neighborhood is slowly deteriorating. Not my physical one in L.A., which is gentrifying so fast even the pigeons have to take out loans to eat.Read More

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Guy Who Loves Strong Brands… I couldn’t resist the bait. A direct marketing guy on LinkedIn posed the following question: “Why don’t most advertising agencies pay as much attention to results as they do to their creative and the awards that they can achieve?… Don’t get me wrong, I believe that branding is important to a company, but feel like you can do both at once and achieve much more. … Respectfully, please help me in understanding why clever creative, especiallyRead More

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Guy Who Has Worked With Clients Of All Types In Agencies Of All Sizes… Finding the right client is like dating: You have to escape your comfort zone and make small talk with lots of strangers. Most prospective clients simply aren’t a match or a catch: some are all talk no action (or no money), some expect too much, and some will make you want to give it all up and take a vow of business celibacy. Once you get pastRead More