Starting Over
No, this is not one of those inevitable ‘New Year, New You!’ Posts. I’m not going to waffle on about Veganuary, or exercise, or self-care or making yourself the star of your own movie or any of that stuff.
I literally have started this missive again. And John Lennon didn’t record a song called ‘Starting Again’, so I have adopted this americanism. (There was a song by Barry Manilow with that title but a) it wasn’t a single and b) I have standards!)
I started writing about the question “What is a company for?” and it was so dull I was sending myself to sleep. It’s not a dull question, I think it’s a really valid one, but …well, my response was not bringing me joy. Apart from putting the boot into Milton Friedman, I enjoyed that bit. But writing about dead Economists is probably a line I shouldn’t cross too often.
It’s the second time I’ve done that recently, scrapped a morning’s work on one of these. I think it’s a sign of fatigue, my mind is stuck in the same gear - a slow one.
So I really need this break to freshen things up, to get away from these topics for a bit and let some new thinking emerge.
And because someone had a pop at me about my last Not-Newsletter, saying I was just spouting this stuff to get attention to sell “My Thing ™”.
Yes, that’s right, the one about ‘Things that should not be things’, like Agile and Lean and stuff.
Yes, now you mention it, he does have something to do with Lean. Let me see …
He calls himself “The Funniest Lean Guy”.
Yes that is quiet a claim, isn’t it.
Anyway, I don’t write this to ‘sell “My Thing ™”. I write this to bring myself joy.
It really started out as a form of therapy, to stop all the things crashing around my head like a bunch of deranged teenagers who’ve been locked in a brewery doing any damage, by writing them down. A way to work out loud, to figure out what I think and to connect with others see the world in a similarly sideways and outraged fashion.
But it’s developed and now I do it because I really enjoy the writing. Apart from today, or course, which has been torture. (Although all writers will tell you they hate that, we actually kind of like that bit too.)
It is how I do my art, in my own humble way. Thank you for listening.
(Oh yeah, I did ask him what it was I was selling, because I though that would be really good to know! And he said ‘coaching services’. But you knew that, right? Because I’m always pushing “My Thing ™” at you.)
Art For Art’s Sake
Are you an artist?
You’re probably going to say ‘No’ because some sociopathic Art Teacher told you you couldn’t draw and had the artistic ability of an inebriated slug.
No? Only me?
Well, me and the rest of my schoolmates.
Anyway, I’m not talking about that sort of Art. Or any ‘sort’ of art. I’m talking about the temperament and outlook of an artist.
It’s something Seth Godin has been banging on about for years, frequently exhorting us to do ‘Do Your Art!’. Doing the things that only you can do and putting them out into the world as gifts.
I loved the idea but I didn’t really see how it put it into practice. I knew it was something to do with creativity, with expressing yourself and doing so without attachment to the outcome, but I didn’t get the ‘how’.
This week, I was sent a post of an interview with the producer Rick Rubin, in which he explains the difference between Art and Commerce.
To paraphrase, he says that Art is doing something for yourself, because you care. Commerce is about doing something that you think is going to appeal to someone else. Examples of the latter are the big blockbuster movies that are not that good, despite all the money spent on them. The former are the art house movies made for the love of it that take the world by storm.
And now I see how we can all be artists, by doing something just for us, to scratch our creative itch. By doing a really good job because that satisfies a need within you, not because you are trying to meet some external expectations.
Reflect on that and I think you’ll see artists all around you in your workplace. Most people will be there doing Commerce, trying to please the boss or to create an impression. They’ll be the ones LARPing their way through corporate life, or even ‘Quiet Quitting’.
But in amongst them you will see people who do excellent work because they really care and they don’t want to let themselves down by doing anything less. They probably don’t care too much about ‘getting on’ in the hierarchy, they just want to know they’ve done something good and worthwhile. Maybe their art will be appreciated, maybe not, but they’re just going to do it anyway because that’s what matters to them.
Work with the artists, they’re the best.
Better still, become one. Be an Artist.
Do Anything You Wanna Do
I feel I can call myself an artist because I do a lot of content creation. I’ve been posting on a roughly weekly basis on Linked in for four years now, I’ve been writing this for three, and I’ve been doing the Work Punks podcast for nearly a year.
But I think I was an artist in my corporate career too. The work I did was primarily to satisfy myself. I had standards I wanted to meet and uphold, I wanted to be pleased with what I produced. I knew if I did that then it would probably go down well elsewhere and if it didn’t I could look myself in the mirror and say that I did my best.
That motivation was helpful in two ways. Firstly, it gave me direction and purpose when, frankly, I wasn’t getting it from my management. And secondly, it made me feel good about what I did regardless of whether it was recognised. It often wasn’t but I was able to keep at it anyway.
I think it was also the reason for the success that I had. My work came from a true and honest place, it was authentic in the real meaning of the word. People bought into that, it connected with them, they wanted to be part of it.
I’ve often said that I felt compelled to do what I did in my corporate career. When I talk about the type of people that I want to help, I describe them as ‘those that feel compelled to bring change about’ and ‘those who are unable just to turn up and go through the motions because the give a damn, they care’.
That’s what being an artist is. I suspect quite a few of you may feel you are in that camp.
It’s one thing to do your art (and I really mean anything here, from filing to facilitation) and quite another to share it with the world, but that part if absolutely necessary if you are going to have impact. That desire for impact often comes from another compulsion, which is to serve. That’s why you ‘want to make a difference’, that’s why it’s important to you.
You notice that none of this is about your ego. You’re not doing it to look good, or to build a reputation, or to achieve a position of power (although they can all be outcomes). You’re doing it for you.
Is that selfish? Not according to Rick Rubin. He says,”It turns out that when you make something truly for yourself, you’re doing the best thing you possible can for the audience.”
I guess it’s a bit like ‘being your best version of yourself’. If you’re doing it for the judgement of others, it doesn’t work. Only you know if you are truly being your best self. Others know because it shines out from within you.
So ignore what the sociopath told you all those years ago. You can do art, you probably have already. You can be an artist. You probably are.
Go do your Art!
Selfish Love
You’re probably wishing I’d stuck with the Friedman stuff, right? Well, this was way more fun for me and I’M THE CUSTOMER HERE, OK!
Hmm, maybe I should tone that down a bit.
How about, I’m doing this for me, not to try and please you. It’s the best way I can serve you. From my heart and the soul.
Toxic
Talking of which, there’s a new episode of the Work Punks pod out (Oh god, Colin, not more relentless plugging of your stuff!! What is it with you? It’s all pushy, pushy, give me your money!! ….. What? It’s free you say. Oh.)
In this episode, we’re talking about The Toxic Boss and how a third of employees in the US are having therapy to cope with them. Obviously, we don’t stop there! To find out where the conversation goes, download the episode from www.workpunks.co.uk, find ‘Work Punks’ your favourite podcast platform Work Punks, or watch us in all our glory on the Work Punks YouTube channel.
If that’s not art, I don’t know what is!
I don’t have to star in my own movie ? Thank Christ. My movie only has twists, no plot line, a depressing landscape, seriously damaged characters and it ends badly.
Listen, you have my endorsement as more than deserving of a decent break.
Yours faithfully,
Jonesoftheinternet 😁