I started a new job as an creative recruiter about five months ago. It’s been a STEEP learning curve but with an awesome team also really enjoyable. I’m focused on the interactive space which means in today’s world, I’m knee-deep in user experience designers, interaction designers, visual web designers, and email producers.

I recently saw this slideshow from the founder of Foodspotting, Alexa Andrzejewski, and thought it combined nicely user experience design and entrepreneurship–two topics very dear to me.

Is art work? Or, is work art?

At times, I think it’s one and at other times, the other.

I came across SEED Media Group’s logo and the description of its creation:

Designed by Stefan Sagmeister, our logo reflects society through the lens of science. The logo takes its inspiration from nature’s phyllotaxis structure, a Fibonacci-derived algorithm present in a multitude of settings, from the face of a sunflower to the alternating leaves on a plant to the architecture of highways. Depending on its context, the logo adapts and changes color to reflect its cultural surroundings. Our logo brings “Science is Culture” to life.

This logo, and the inspiration behind it, represent to me several things (1) art in the form of logo design (2) a corporate identity that is infused with meaning (3) the consideration of work as art by intertwining corporate purpose with artful expression.

May we all consider our work, whether in a business, philanthropic, or political context, as art.

Lewis Pugh shares his experience of swimming Lake Imja at 5,300 meters in the Himalayas, under the watchful gaze of Mt. Everest.

Lewis has a radical mind shift, realizing that to complete this swim, he must change his mind-set. At that altitude, his aggressive approach of swimming as fast as he can across the water does not work. Instead, he must swim with great humility.

A mature man can “shift his mind-set.” I find older men, through life experience, have learned that aggression can cause pain and loss. Approaching with compassion, respect, humility — can create positive outcome, success, loving relationships and engender commitment. Consider the Dalai Lama’s approach.

Try approaching any task moderated with respect and humility — in business, life and love!

Anyone who’s started a business (or even thought about it) goes through a wave of emotions throughout the process. With little sense of stability until solid cash flow from ongoing sales or secured funding, there are times when you can really feel like a surfer with a broken board at Waimea.

Here’s a great post by Cameron Herold via Tim Ferris discussing the entrepreneurial roller coaster from Cameron’s Backpocket COO Series. He suggests certain actions to take given the emotional state of the CEO and the organization’s position within the business cycle.

Harnessing emotion for strategic action is the most efficient methodology for aligning organizational growth with human-centered leadership. Sometimes strategic planning is the most productive action while at other times it’s talking to the media, and at other times taking a few deep breaths and applying Feng Shui principles.

Action with emotion behind it is very powerful.  As human animals, we feel emotions all the time. So, being strategic with the actions we take given the emotions we’re feeling is a very prudent use of time!