Unthinkable with Jay Acunzo

Latest Episodes:

The Bias to Act [Re-aired] May 29, 2018

Show notes

As I work on Season 4 of Unthinkable, I wanted to share with you one of the most popular episodes from the backlogs: The Bias to Act. Two incredible stories and some inspiring-yet-weird-yet-warm commentary (yanno ... like every episode). Hope you enjoy!

In the meantime, be sure to subscribe to the Maker Channel wherever you get your podcasts. TMC is where we release experimental episodes for shows still in development, plus go behind the scenes making great podcasts.

Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-maker-channel/id1372336578

Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Ie67mcy53xhoawnu5fo6wmo4igu

Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/unthinkable-with-jay-acunzo/the-maker-channel

Don't Start with Data [Re-aired] May 15, 2018

Show notes

I'm hard at work making Unthinkable Season 4 AND writing my first book, Break the Wheel, due out this fall (2018). The book is inspired by and pulls from the first three seasons of Unthinkable!

For now, here's an oldie but a goodie -- a sneaky-good episode from the archives. Enjoy!

Subscribe to get one new story or idea every Monday morning about being better than best practices: http://bit.ly/joinunthinkable

Anthony Shaves the World [Re-aired] May 01, 2018

Show notes

As I work on Unthinkable Season 4 and the book relating to this show, called Break the Wheel (Fall 2018), I wanted to dip into the archives and resurface a sneaky-good episode. Enjoy!

Subscribe to get one new story or idea for being better than best practices every Monday morning: http://bit.ly/joinunthinkable

Holiday Special: Twas the Night Before Launching Dec 21, 2017

Show notes

A final treat and sign-off until next season. Thank you SO. FREAKING. MUCH. for supporting for my work, from speaking to podcasting and beyond! So much in store for 2018, and I'm grateful to you for your time, feedback, and love.

If you haven't yet, be sure to subscribe to get my regular Monday emails: bit.ly/joinunthinkable

Break The Wheel [Season 3 Finale] Dec 18, 2017

Show notes

In the Season 3 finale of Unthinkable, it's time for a story and a battle -- a story about a runaway creative success that flies in the face of conventional thinking and a battle that all of us face whenever we aspire to be better than average in our careers.

Finally, at long last, we blame one dastardly demon for our nasty habit of always taking the easy way out, the accepted route forward. Finally, we enter the battle within, and things get hairy. Luckily, Tim Urban from Wait But Why is here to help. Well. Kinda.

It's Unthinkable.

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LINKS TO KNOW:

Wait But Why

Tim Urban on Twitter

Tim's TED Talk

The original post, Why Procrastinators Procrastinate

Gravy [Season 3] Dec 11, 2017

Show notes

How does your intent for your work change your results? If your goal is to build something big, does that increase the odds? Why, then, do so many stories about huge successes start out the same way: with a shrug, and a quick, "I just wanted to brew some beer." ? Today, we explore the story of The Alchemist, makers of the industry sensation, Heady Topper.

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LINKS TO KNOW

The Alchemist brewery

A Monumental Shift [Season 3] Dec 03, 2017

Show notes

Most brand-created podcasts are -- how shall I put this? -- IMPRESSIVELY terrible. So, naturally, Steve Pratt finds total creative fulfillment in that industry. Obviously. See, to invent the future of an entire industry and collaborate with some of the world's top brands, Steve gets to crash through one barrier after another. And as he excitedly does so, his weapon of choice isn't massive budget, a bestselling book, or a big "personal brand." No, instead, Steve calmly walks to the board and draws a simple graph for his clients to see.

From the outside looking in, his work is just so unlikely that you MIGHT call it ... Unthinkable.

LINKS TO KNOW:

Steve Pratt on Twitter

Pacific Content

Slack's podcast, Work In Progress

SUBSCRIBE to Unthinkable via email at unthinkable.fm

Something Smelly This Way Comes [Season 3] Nov 27, 2017

Show notes

Suzy Batiz had sworn off starting companies. NEVER AGAIN, she thought. But one sniff and one conversation later, she was obsessed. Her curiosity took over, and a decade later, she's built a 300-million-dollar empire. And all of it started by trying to solve a problem none of us care to even think about, let alone build a career around.

It's Unthinkable.

LINKS TO KNOW:

Viral video link

Company website

The Pike And The Minnow [Season 3] Nov 19, 2017

Show notes

Nobody actually takes risks, especially in business, so what if the key to doing better work is making unconventional paths seem SAFER than the best practice? That's exactly what Clair Byrd, Clark Valberg, and the team behind Design Disruptors did. They took a massive project in scope and found a way to make each step seem safer than the last. They built a refreshing, eye-opening project without ever changing their team's goals. They did everything we aspire to do in our work in a way that seems, well, anything BUT Unthinkable.

LINKS TO KNOW:

Design Disruptors site

Clair Byrd on Twitter

Clark Valberg on Twitter

The original Design Disruptors movie trailer

Dumb Ways To Die [Season 3] Nov 13, 2017

Show notes

Looking for the video link? Scroll down! For now, a blurb on the episode:

Unsurprisingly, one of the catchiest songs ever created topped the iTunes charts. It beat epic songs by Rhianna and Drake, and narrowly missed topping Adele and even Gangnam Style. Away from the charts, this song sparked a global movement -- merchandise and microsites, mobile games and parodies galore. One song and one video, going crazy viral, and snowballing into something much larger than itself. And while none of that seems all that surprising in our digital world today, when you learn about who created this song -- and the insanity that ensued -- it'll seem like pure insanity.

You might even call it ... Unthinkable.

LINKS TO KNOW:

The original DWTD video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJNR2EpS0jw

The DWTD website: http://www.dumbwaystodie.com/

DWTD on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7lZ_iOz3NhA6krGfILerQA