ISSUE #20

Welcome to the Forward Obsessed Founder, my newsletter with insights, awesome tools, and real-world advice to grow your business and career.

GO FORWARD THOUGHT OF THE WEEK ➡️

How AI Made Rick Rubin Cry💧+ 5 Prompts to Supercharge Your Creativity 🤖 ⚡

In my opinion, pound-for-pound, Rick Rubin, founder of Def Jam Records and prolific music producer, is one of the most creative people on the planet today.

If you've listened to the likes of Jay-Z, The Beastie Boys, Wu-Tang Clan, Slayer, Weezer, Lana del Ray, Johnny Cash, Run-DMC, Adele, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Brandi Carlisle, among countless others, you've experienced the power of Rick Rubin's creative process.

Rubin’s a fan and a proponent of the purest kind of artistry — the kind we all possess. In his book, The Creative Act: A Way of Being, the first chapter is called “Everyone is a creator,” and he says:

It is, and lots of people like to say it’s off-limits to AI. I’d argue that’s a foolish way to look at AI — instead of focusing on the waves of destruction that AI is causing, how about looking at the beauty of it? The creative genius of it?

Because genuinely creative people like Rubin look everywhere for inspiration. In The Creative Act, Rubin tells a story about how AI beat the masters of the 3,000-year-old Chinese strategic board game of Go. This was the AI community’s “holy grail” since there are countless configurations, and the thought was that skilled humans would always be able to outplay machines.

You can probably guess what happened: scientists built an AI called AlphaGo, and it beat a Go grandmaster on the 37th move by making a move that “not a single human player would choose.” The grandmaster’s confidence was so shaken that he ended up losing four out of five matches to the AI and retired immediately afterward. (You can read the full story of AlphaGo here.)

Was the machine more creative? Not exactly. It simply ignored the two apparent choices and opted for a third route no human would play because it went against millennia of cultural norms while still playing within the fixed rules.

When Rubin first heard this story, he teared up as he realized that the emotional response was about “the power of purity in the creative act.” As he explains:

The key phrase is “full spectrum of possibilities.” To defy the status quo and access our purest form of creativity, we must change our perspective of how we view the world.

Like I have said in pretty much every recent edition of this newsletter:

In this case, I’m talking about using AI to help amplify your creativity. Your success depends on your ability to evolve quickly, and the best way to do that, IMHO, is to use these technologies as your muse, sparring partners, and digital paintbrushes.

Novelty is the 🔑 to unlocking continuous innovation

I believe variety is the spice of life. (More on that below in my Obsession of the Week.) The minute you get stuck on “how we have always done it” (as the Go grandmaster did by adhering to cultural norms), the more stuck you are.

So, to innovate consistently over time, you must unlearn as much as you learn.

According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, unlearning happens when you’re in a state of flow. As he explains:

I call this getting into your “Green Zone” — where you’re passionate and competent at the work and off the charts, creatively speaking. This may sound easier said than done, but guess what? AI can be your creative co-conspirator to help you unlock new ideas and have a blast in the process.

Here are five fun prompts you can try with ChatGPT to get on a novel path of unlocking fresh ideas and opportunities:

1. Brainstorming: The quality of our inputs dictates the quality of our outputs
​Prompt: Act as an expert in creativity and problem-solving with design thinking. Provide a list of 10 brainstorming prompts or questions related to [fill in your topic or problem] to stimulate creative thinking and generate a diverse range of ideas. Do not explain yourself; only output the prompts. Output in a markdown formatted list.

2. Tap into the SCAMPER technique to reveal fresh angles
​Prompt: Act as a creativity and design thinking expert. Apply the SCAMPER method [Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, Reverse) to [fill in your product/brand] to generate new and innovative ideas. Output in a formatted table. Please do not explain yourself; just give me the outputs I've requested.

3. Use the “Five Whys” technique for root cause analysis
​Prompt: Act as a creativity and business strategy anthropologist. Apply the Five Whys method to [add in your problem or issue here] to uncover the root cause and identify potential solutions. Output the results in a formatted table with context and detailed root cause analysis.

4. Use "Question Storming" to shift perspectives and unlock new possibilities
​Prompt: Act as an expert in design thinking and facilitating creative ideation. Take the topic or problem of [insert topic or problem here] and generate a list of 25 questions about this topic that can help spark new ideas, angles, and creative solutions. Do not explain yourself; only output the response I requested in a formatted table with context.

5. Generate a map of ideas and territories.
​Prompt: Act as a creative strategist and expert in mind mapping and strategic planning. You are going to create a mind map of ideas and topics in nested markdown format that shows hierarchies and ideas on the topic of [insert your topic or question here]. Base this on the principles of mind mapping as described by Tony Buzan in the book “Mind Mapping.” Output in a code block in nested markdown format. Do not explain yourself; just give me the markdown in a code block.

Note: To view the mind map online, just paste the contents into a mindmap editor. I use Mindnode, but you can use this free online tool Markmap.
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​Did you find these prompts useful? Reply to this email, and let me know how you are using them to get value.

If you’re looking for another way to generate business-building ideas for your business, try out DAIsy, an AI-assisted creative director for your brand or business. (Full disclosure, this app was created with love by my team and me.)

To be an effective leader, you must continuously seek fresh solutions to the novel challenges you're solving. AI is a great tool to help you achieve a tabula rasa (clean slate) where you can easily spot unique opportunities and possibilities. From there, you can take it to the next level.

Now that’s what I call a creative mindset. And, as Rubin says, it’s not just an act. It’s a way of being.

Always here to help 🙌
​Pete Sena​

Podcast 🎙️: The OG AI Interview

In this edition of Forward Obsessed, we’re joined by Steve Schwartz, an award-winning author, angel investor, serial entrepreneur, and pioneer in AI technologies like natural language processing.

Schwartz has been working in this space since the ’80s, and he’s got firsthand insight into why creativity and effective communication are the entrepreneur’s most potent weapons; the value of finding niche markets; and, of course, how to harness AI’s potential — today and in the future.

Listen: The Future of AI Language Models With Steve Schwartz​

CREATIVE CAFFEINE ☕️🍵

The Search Continues

For a long time, search has been declared as dying and possibly dead. Even Google admits its “broad match” Google Ads setting lost momentum 15 years ago. But don’t give up on search just yet; AI is juicing search marketing by better understanding people’s queries, identifying intent, and delivering improved results.

​‘Back to the future’: The old marketing feature that will drive new marketing success (Think With Google)

Indispensable 4-Letter Advice

I pulled this article out of the archives about Raymond Loewy, the iconic industrial designer who revolutionized marketing, because I find myself referencing it constantly. If you want to win in today’s crowded market, you’ve got to rock a MAYA positioning — “Most Advanced Yet Acceptable.” Here’s the crux of Loewy’s theory: to sell something surprising, make it familiar; to sell something familiar, make it surprising. I swear, it works.

​The Four-Letter Code to Selling Just About Anything (The Atlantic)

Optimize With Optimism

Our world is in turmoil, and if you read between the headlines, it seems that pessimism is winning. Don’t give up the fight — as a founder, it’s on you to keep pressing on to a brighter future that solves people’s pain points and challenges. You can find inspiration in the ancient philosopher Augstine’s work and words on the virtue of hope: “You are hoping for the good; be what you hope for.” I certainly hope we can all live better and do better.

​Be What You Hope For (Aeon)

MY OBSESSION OF THE WEEK 🖤

Culinary Expeditions

This might sound wild, but this past week my wife and I flew to Chicago to experience the cuisine of Alinea, featured on Netflix’s Chef’s Table. While the food was incredible, it was Chef Grant Achatz’s story that attracted us. Achatz is a survivor of a rare cancer that, for a period of time, took his sense of smell and taste — a virtual death sentence to a chef, which compounded his experience of mortality and reinforced his understanding of the fragility of life. His story inspired my wife, a recent cancer survivor herself, and me both.

Beyond Achatz’s inspiring story, we also got to travel together and enjoy a delicious, novel experience. Countless studies show our brains crave new things to spark creativity and enliven life. Needless to say, this quick trip worked wonders for both of our mental health.

Bottom line: Variety is the spice of life, so get out of your comfort zone and expand your taste whenever you can.

Thanks so much for reading this edition of The Forward Obsessed Founder — you can also check out this issue on the web [Link].
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