Creative Control

Michael L. Siciliano draws on nearly two years of ethnographic research as a participant-observer in a Los Angeles music studio and a multichannel YouTube network to explore the contradictions of creative work. Creative Control explains why "cool" jobs help us understand how workers can participate in their own exploitation.

"Pure delicious pleasure! This witty romance is full of toe-curling chemistry, slow-burn fun, and gasp-worthy plot twists. The drop-everything read of the year!" New York Times bestselling author Annika Martin Sunshine PA, meet Grumpy Boss... When fanfic writer Aaron Page landed a temp job with the creator of hit TV show, Leeches, it was only meant to last a week. Three years later, Aaron's still there... It could be because he loves the creative challenge. It could be because he's a huge Leeches fanboy. It's definitely not because of Lewis Hunter, his extremely demanding, staggeringly rude...and breathtakingly gorgeous boss. Is it? Lewis Hunter grew up the hard way and fought for everything he's got. His priority is the show, and personal relationships come a distant second. Besides, who needs romance when you have a steady stream of hot men hopping in and out of your bed? His only meaningful relationship is with Aaron, his chief confidante and indispensable assistant. And no matter how appealing he finds Aaron's cute boy-next-door charms, Lewis would never risk their professional partnership just to scratch an itch. But when Lewis finds himself trapped at a hilariously awful corporate retreat, Aaron is his only friend and ally. As the professional lines between them begin to blur, their simmering attraction starts to sizzle ... And they're both about to get burned.

Workers in cultural industries often say that the best part of their job is the opportunity for creativity. At the same time, profit-minded managers at both traditional firms and digital platforms exhort workers to “be creative.” Even as cultural fields hold out the prospect of meaningful employment, they are marked by heightened economic precarity. What does it mean to be creative under contemporary capitalism? And how does the ideology of creativity explain workers’ commitment to precarious jobs? Michael L. Siciliano draws on nearly two years of ethnographic research as a participant-observer in a Los Angeles music studio and a multichannel YouTube network to explore the contradictions of creative work. He details how such workplaces feature engaging, dynamic processes that enlist workers in organizational projects and secure their affective investment in ideas of creativity and innovation. Siciliano argues that performing creative labor entails a profound ambivalence: workers experience excitement and aesthetic engagement alongside precarity and alienation. Through close comparative analysis, he presents a theory of creative labor that accounts for the roles of embodiment, power, alienation, and technology in the contemporary workplace. Combining vivid ethnographic detail and keen sociological insight, Creative Control explains why “cool” jobs help us understand how workers can participate in their own exploitation.

This book explores the role of chaos and control in the creative process as well as the difference between talent and creativity. Part One describes explores some of the common biases and pitfalls in the analysis and therapy of creative people, the role of the accidental in creative work, the nature of creative blocks, passion and its absence, as well as the problem of being able to exercise one's freedom. The author describes the special needs of creative patients, the common problems arising in therapy, its solutions, and, most importantly, the analyst's distinctive role when dealing with such patients. She also probes into the role of narcissism, neurosis, and psychosis on creative work.

Product management solutions are exposed in this complete book on managing an innovative profit center.Creative Control: The Secret To Perfect Innovation by Brian Bickford, provides profit driven solutions grounded in individual re-engagement and organic contribution by all employees.This book is for all innovators required to inspire any collaborations, product development and innovation teams. It is filled with thought provoking and easy to implement processes, as well as contains several case studies from some of the top marketing experts in the industry today.These important product management questions and business concerns are answered in this book: How is revenue tied to innovation? What are the secrets that make an environment innovative? Have you ever wondered why some companies are better at coming up with differentiating innovations than others? What is the best way to get your employees to become high performance ambassadors? The connection between creativity and revenues are innately intertwined with innovation and corporate differentiation. It is within the process of leveraging the talents of all employees within a company that cultivates the environment for creative involvement and contribution leading to new innovation. This is the cultural shift required for a corporate climate to flourish in a very competitive business environment. It is this creative spirit that is embraced by the best leaders and companies, groups and individuals that lead to unlimited human energy, ideas, thoughts and exponential possibilities. The complexity of how best to deliver this creative energy in a focused yet unrestricted way, is the road map for increased profitability and corporate fulfillment known as the 'Creative Control' process.

With more than 250,000 copies sold, this classic exploration of dreams and how to use them has been updated to reflect recent research on dreams and dreaming.

Creative folks often know all too well that the muse doesn’t always strike when you want it to, or when the deadline for your next brilliant project is creeping up on you like an ill-fitting turtleneck. Originality doesn’t follow a time clock, even when you have to. While conventional time management books offer tons of instruction for using time wisely, they are traditionally organized in a linear fashion, which just isn’t helpful for the right-brain mind. In Time Management for the Creative Person, creativity guru Lee Silber offers real advice for using the strengths of artistic folks—like originality and resourcefulness—to adopt innovative time-saving solutions, such as: * Learning to say no when your plate is just too full * How to know when a good job, not a great one, is good enough * Making “to do” lists that include fun stuff, too—that way you won’t feel overwhelmed by work * Time-saving techniques around the house that give you more time to get your work done and more time to spend with your loved ones * The keys to clutter control that will keep your work space and your living space neat With these and lots of other practical tips, Lee Silber will help anyone, from the time-starved caterer rushing to prepare for her next party to the preoccupied painter who forgets when the electric bill is due, make the most of their time and turn the clock and the calendar into friends, not foes.