Thank you for sharing this thoughtful opinion piece Ben. It reflects a lot of what’s going on and there seems to be a sense of urgency and and a rush to get somewhere which seems a destination that cannot be bench marked or defined so that you are able to say ‘ I have arrived…’

I facilitated a day-long discussion today on reviewing plans and defining next steps for the future with a group of 30+ people. I suggested that we do not use any technology….no laptops, PowerPoint presentations, data projectors or screens. We talked about the concept of craftsmanship where an artisan takes something that is raw and unformed and crafts it into something utilitarian or beautiful that has personal ownership and pride in skill and capability. That was how we decided to proceed.

We used flip charts, marker pens, post it notes, colored cards and masking tape throughout the day, working collectively or in four small groups and accomplished what we set out to do. By the end of the day all the walls were festooned with chart paper filled with multi-colored and diverse handwriting, diagrams and schematics and clusters of post it notes. We had ‘arrived’.

There was a palpable sense of satisfaction, collective pride and ownership. There was a ‘gallery walk’ where the authors or the representatives from the groups explained their work and answered questions.

The down side is that I will have to type up everything by tomorrow and arrange all the of this into a coherent document. More work, more time, outdated techniques? Yes, but I think it was worth it.

So when you say ‘But that also means we’re entering a world that is constantly threatening to outpace us. We’ll have to sprint simply to stay in place…’ I draw strength from the fact that I have choices…….what if the world outpaces me? Why do I have to stay in place?

I don’t have an answer nor fully understand the consequences of the choices that are unique to every person or situation, but your post made me think.

But one thing that I do know is that I’d rather be an artisan and craftsman and create ‘stock’ rather than ‘flow'…….!

Thank for sharing and posting!