The Pursuit of Authenticity is Stunting Your Growth
Letting authenticity go is where true freedom begins.
“Sophia” was one of the strongest creative people I’d worked with, and the best curator my e-commerce company had ever seen. Though she only had a few years' experience, her talent in assembling interior design collections on budget and on brand blew me away. She commanded a rare combination of skills: impeccable taste, a dogged work ethic, and superb organization. Her responsibilities grew quickly. Within four months, we promoted her twice. And in another six, she might have been running the whole merchandising operation.
The problem? She left after only four months — just as she was starting to hit her stride.
Sofia’s ultimate goal was to run her own ceramics brand. I knew we couldn’t keep her forever, so to support that goal, we introduced her to vendors and agencies she might later need — marketers, digital gurus, brand partners. She’d be established in no time, and might even partner with us!
We caught up over coffee a few years later. Sophia told me she’d just been offered a product design position at West Elm. But she passed on it. In fact, she had turned down every opportunity that had come her way to expand her network, learn the supply chain, pitch buyers, and sell. Each opportunity…
