Business Is Art
[ THREAD ]
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Most people think business is the OPPOSITE of art.
Business is about profit, cold hard cash, and efficiency.
Art is about soulful exploration, beauty, and creativity.
But...
Art can be defined differently.
What separates the Artist from the Craftsman?
The Craftsman knows what he is creating when he starts.
The Artist is not sure what he is creating until the project is finished.
The best business people today are closer to artists than they are to craftsmen.
Great business people *hire* craftsmen to execute.
But, like artists, masters of business realize they don't know exactly what the business will be.
Now, you might say: Come on, great business people have a *direction* in mind.
This is true.
But, unlike craftsmen, they are not executing on a precise blueprint. Far from it...
Great business people have a *vision* and use a set of *principles* to navigate a messy, chaotic world...
In just the same way that artists respond to real-time feedback from the canvas.
Let's look at two examples.
1: Google
Look at Google's homepage in 1998.
There was NOTHING to indicate that it would be a $1 trillion dollar company then.
Yes, there was a vision. But...
The path to $1 trillion extended well beyond search and required constant innovation:
—Gmail
—Android
—Google Cloud
The path was more art than craft.
2: Amazon
Look at Bezos's office. Nothing here indicates a sure bet.
The vision has stayed consistent. But Amazon became one of the world's most valuable companies through artistic embrace of the unknown.
Bezos says it best in a recent shareholder letter:
"Staying in Day 1 requires you to experiment patiently, accept failures, plant seeds, protect saplings, and double down when you see delight."
This is plunging into the unknown — this is art.
Conclusion:
- Most think business is the opposite of art
- Craftsman know what they will create when they start
- Artists don't know until they're finished
- The best business people are artists
- They have vision but embrace the unknown
That's all friends!
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