Adam Alter, Professor at NYU Stern and NYT Bestselling Author of "Anatomy of A Breakthrough"
In this podcast episode of "Unlocking Your World of Creativity," host Mark Stinson interviews Adam Alter, the author of the book "The Anatomy of a Breakthrough." The episode explores the concept of getting unstuck creatively and provides strategies to overcome creative blockages. Alter's book is well-researched and practical, focusing on four steps to getting unstuck: help, heart, head, and habit.
The first section, "Help," aims to demystify the experience of being stuck and emphasizes that it is a universal phenomenon. The subsequent sections provide strategies for addressing the emotional consequences of feeling stuck (heart), using cognitive strategies to get unstuck (head), and taking action to overcome stuckness (habit).
Alter highlights the experiences of well-known individuals like Harper Lee and George R. Martin, demonstrating that even highly successful and talented people face creative blockages. The discussion emphasizes the importance of understanding that being stuck is a common experience and that there are ways to overcome it.
The podcast also explores the concept of "lifequakes," major life-altering events that can contribute to feeling stuck. Alter references the work of Bruce Feiler, who emphasizes the universality of these changes and the need to navigate them effectively.
The episode further delves into the idea that creativity often involves recombination rather than radical originality. It highlights examples like Bob Dylan, who combined elements from different musical genres to create something new. Additionally, the benefits of crowdsourcing and diverse perspectives in overcoming creative blockages are discussed.
The final section of Alter's book, "Habit," emphasizes the need to break free from old ideas and explore new approaches to getting unstuck. The podcast concludes by highlighting the extensive list of techniques provided in the book, offering listeners numerous ways to overcome creative blockages.
Key Quotes from Adam Alter:
- "A lot of us don't fully understand what it is to be stuck. We seem to be blindsided by stuckness and by change... That first section is designed to demystify what it is to be stuck, to explain it, and to tell people that it's gonna happen, so they should be ready for it."
- "The best ideas, even if they look like they're radically new, are actually a combination of two or three or more things that existed before. The genius is in the new combination."
- "You want people, specialists, from all sorts of different areas so that they all bring their own lens to the problem." - Adam Alter
Adam Alter is a professor of marketing, and the Stansky Teaching Excellence Faculty Fellow at New York University’s Stern School of Business. He also holds an affiliated professorship in social psychology at NYU’s psychology department. In 2020 he was voted professor of the year by the faculty and student body at NYU’s Stern School of Business, and was among the Poets and Quants 40 Best Professors Under 40 in 2017. Alter is the New York Times bestselling author of two books: Drunk Tank Pink and Irresistible.
Copyright 2025 Mark Stinson