I love the idea of craftsmanship, the man or woman who has dedicated their life to their craft and continually hones their skills. They are not satisfied with merely completing the job, but outdoing themselves every time.
Yet, in the world of business startups, it is completely different. We live by the concept of MVP or Minimum Viable Product. You don’t know if the product you are building is something people actually want, so you build the minimum that allows you to test and validate your idea, and then iterate as you learn.
This philosophy resonates with my personality. I love bringing new ideas to life; software for work, and projects of any kind for fun, including brewing kombucha, gardening, and building wood furniture.
For example, I was interested in roasting my own coffee. After observing a friend roast a batch, I borrowed his old popcorn pot, bought a bag of green beans and just started. Over the years this evolved into more complex equipment and further research. I was never a roast master, but I could definitely roast a good bean.
Yet I struggle with this. I want to be a craftsman. I want to hone my craft, but struggle with the idea that I don’t have one. For the most part I am a generalist (or dilettante some may say). Even my tech skills are wider than deep. I can design a website or app and build all aspects of it, but I am not pushing the barrier in any one area.
But, in thinking of this, maybe my craft is the MVP? Maybe every time I design and develop a new feature, or work on a new project, I am honing that craft – getting better at bringing that idea to life, learning more skills that allow me to try new things.
Now this isn’t as romantic as the skilled carpenter or winemaker, but it is useful, and it is something I can pursue in work and fun. And maybe it doesn’t actually matter. Perhaps I need to embrace my MVP nature, and be okay not spending 30 or 40 years of my life chasing after better rice, or bread, or wine – enjoying the fruits of those who do, but happy that I don’t have to.