The Other Path.
Business should be like a great brief.
It should invite a sense of wonder. A sense of curiosity. A sense of unknowing.
It should not try to create magic, but rather focus on creating the conditions for magic to happen.
The unknowing is the magic.
Alas.
Business is a broken promise.
We have capped imagination and with that possibility.
We are intoxicated with algorithms, predictive outcomes and an insatiable desire to pre-empt every creative thought with “how do you measure it?”
BTW. Data is not the meta thought. It is a tool.
I was once asked by a CFO how to measure the revenue of a brand initiative…I responded by asking him how do we measure love?
Not all things are measurable, nor should they be. We need to invite a sense of serendipity back into our lives.
Art is life and yet artists are generally not driven by ROI, they are inspired by what they feel, what they see and what moves them.
Even our business language is broken. We use words like “acquire, retain, target, retarget, blitzscale” and we talk about “crushing the competition.”
Mother Nature has created the conditions conducive to life for 3.8+ billion years. Her language is one of “mutualism, connection, attuned, optimize, niche, adapt, evolve and resilience.”
I miss courage in business. Those who dare to suck.
I miss the rebels who broke the rules.
I miss the sense of unbridled and inspiring adventure of it all.
And yet here we are…a sea of sameness.
Our foe? The acceptance of the status quo…mediocrity. Just look at the damn stats.
Business needs more art. And it needs more heart.
Quieting our cleverness to see the other path.
Words by Duke Stump.
