Postcard from the Edge
Artisans don't Mimic.....
I’m a regular reader of
posts, particularly his thoughts on René Girards’s works on the role of mimicry in our lives. I also liked a recent post by on the same topic, and a summary he offered:
There is something paradoxical about watching organisations and individuals work so hard to differentiate themselves even as they mimic each other. Profiles on LinkedIn that follow “best practice” are increasingly generic; they are the presentational equivalent of turning up in a High St retailer suit, looking like all the other candidates, hoping to get chosen. Even the expensive advertisements that seek to differentiate major brands all begin to look alike as they copy each other, with the brand hoping to be identified not so much on its qualities but rather on a short-term meme.
Artisans and their kindred spirits artists do not mimic. They abandon the middle ground of the distribution curve in order to occupy the edges, determined to occupy original spaces of doing and thinking differently. Their offerings do not tolerate the dilution of scale, but rather rely on having meaning that creates impact where it matters.
In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory
Art of War. Sun Tzu
Artisans rely on the Ch’i indirect energy of timing and originality rather than the direct brute force of Ch’eng. Ch’eng is the stuff of process, procedures, measurement and reporting; Ch’i, on the other hand, is timing, improvisation, and skill. Ch’eng is about planning; Ch’i is bringing what is needed at the moment.
We are clearly in a time of transition, politically, economically and socially, as old structures, assumptions and ways of working give way to something not yet clear.
It is a time for craft and originality as the new takes shape, and that is the work of artisans.
This substack will be integrated with Outside the Walls in April in order to bring together the skills of the new artisan and an exploration of the territory that is emerging. All readers here will be moved over, and I’ll mail directly before that happens to ensure this works for you.