Strands of Genius: Perfect Sentences by Ingrid Burrington, What’s The Worst That Can Happen?, The Art of the Interview

Guest curated by Inga Rundquist, Social Media Manager & Shareholder at MindFire Communications

Nov 14, 2024

:: A BIT MORE ABOUT GUEST CURATOR, INGA RUNDQUIST ::

LOCATION: Lino Lakes, MN

Greetings from Minnesota! I’ve been a longtime reader of Genius Steals and have come to admire Rosie and Faris’ deep love for creativity and community building – which shines through so evidently in all issues of this newsletter. When it came time to plan MindFire’s annual team retreat, they were at the top of my list for keynote speakers. We met IRL in Charlotte this summer and it was just as I expected – they brought the heat, and our entire team fell deeply in love with them.

Editor’s Note (Genius Steals): It was such a pleasure to meet and play with Inga and Mindfire in Charlotte. They had a packed weekend of creative inspiration, from shows to tasting menus to art tours, and we wrapped them all in a framework for creative thinking and a workshop putting it into practice. You are far from an imposter Inga! Thanks so much for this thought provoking edition!

:: THE LINKS ::

PERFECT SENTENCES BY INGRID BURRINGTON

This concept for this newsletter by Ingrid Burrington is deceivingly simple: once a week Ingrid sends out a summary of “perfect sentences” that she’s collected or have been submitted to her. They range from funny, to thought provoking to deeply profound. For a word nerd like me, this has become one of my favorite reads and serves as reminder that the art of writing is alive and well – in some parts of the internet! (ButtonDown; Perfect Sentences )

WHAT’S THE WORST THAT CAN HAPPEN?

How far is too far? When you work in social, you’re always grappling with this fine line. So, when I read Tim Brunelle’s approach to creative briefs it resonated:

“One of my favorite steps in a creative process is to ask, “What are five reasons why this might be the dumbest idea ever and could blow up in our face?” I mean, it’s not always fun but it is really illuminating if you’re candid. And, if you work through that question in depth, you can: A) better protect an idea as it moves through various layers of approval, B) learn a lot about why the idea is “right,” and works well. It’s a form of due diligence that gives ideas strength, or helps address weaknesses before they become liabilities.”

It’s not always fun to poo-poo ideas, but in some cases it’s necessary to ensure your brand doesn’t appear to be tone deaf in the social landscape. (Substack; Tim Brunelle)

THE ART OF THE INTERVIEW

As a former journalist I’ve thought a lot about the interview process and how to ask questions in a way that truly gives us the opportunity to get to know someone. Talking on a superficial level – that’s easy. But genuine conversation where you really get to know someone – there is an art form. Rachel Martin of NPR’s Wild Card podcast is a true master of the interview. You can get insight into her style with the promo carousels NPR posts on their Instagram page.

Check out these zingers:
Are you comfortable with being forgotten?
Were you ever obsessed with a particular cosmic question as a kid?
Does time feel like a positive or negative force in your life?
How comfortable are you with silence?
Was there a bedrock truth in your life that you found out was not true?

(Instagram; NPR)

Looking for more from Inga? Coming Friday, look for an interview from her in your inbox!

:: AND NOW… SOME FAST FAVORITES ::

:: Game :: Codenames

:: City :: Chicago

:: Book :: Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon – choosing a favorite book is so hard! This is an oldie but a goodie that my grandfather and I share a deep love and affection for.

:: Podcast :: Creative Processing with Joseph Gordon-Levitt

:: City :: The Avett Brothers - No Hard Feelings

:: MEET INGA ::

Phew – I made it through the links! Not going to lie – had a serious case of imposter syndrome pulling this submission together.

Thanks for reading!

You can find me on LinkedIn and learn more about MindFire here!

Strands of Genius is currently read by more than 15,000 subscribers. Support us by sponsoring an issue, encouraging friends or colleagues to subscribe.

It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.

Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based out of Washington, our company is registered in Tennessee, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.

Hit reply and let’s talk about how we might be able to work together :)

Strands of Genius