Excellence & creating value are always at the core of a successful business. A leader with an artisan attitude has a holistic view of his work – he not only works on the practicalities of his job but also on the softer side of his output. He pays complete attention to detail and pushes himself and his work towards excellence.
An artisan knows how to Balance Practical and Aesthetic Quality Standards. He has a passion for his work and passion, cannot be taught. Its either there or its not. You just can not have passion and still be disciplined and dedicated towards your work. That is the reason why the 20% off time in Google works to the company's and to the employees advantage. Google encourages its employees to use 20% of their weekly time (i.e. one day per week) to work on a project they feel passionate about. Not surprisingly, most of the innovations and most of the successful projects come from this 20%. This is because, the employees use this time to do something they feel passionate about.
'Balancing practical and aesthetic quality standards' is not a unidimensional skill. To be a successful leader in a multidimensional skill, one needs to develop himself as a 'T-shaped individual' as popularized by McKinsey & Co. The vertical axis is the area of expertise for the individual. This is the area he needs to have deep knowledge to make any valuable (traditional/ practical) contributions to the organization. The horizontal axis is where the person develops his soft skills – for example, his aesthetic sense. The business skills I get from my MBA program is going to be the vertical axis of my T. Developing other skills is going to be the real challenge.
An artisan knows how to Balance Practical and Aesthetic Quality Standards. He has a passion for his work and passion, cannot be taught. Its either there or its not. You just can not have passion and still be disciplined and dedicated towards your work. That is the reason why the 20% off time in Google works to the company's and to the employees advantage. Google encourages its employees to use 20% of their weekly time (i.e. one day per week) to work on a project they feel passionate about. Not surprisingly, most of the innovations and most of the successful projects come from this 20%. This is because, the employees use this time to do something they feel passionate about.
'Balancing practical and aesthetic quality standards' is not a unidimensional skill. To be a successful leader in a multidimensional skill, one needs to develop himself as a 'T-shaped individual' as popularized by McKinsey & Co. The vertical axis is the area of expertise for the individual. This is the area he needs to have deep knowledge to make any valuable (traditional/ practical) contributions to the organization. The horizontal axis is where the person develops his soft skills – for example, his aesthetic sense. The business skills I get from my MBA program is going to be the vertical axis of my T. Developing other skills is going to be the real challenge.
Another thing to look at would be how the industry is changing today. Many of the older business models from yesteryears are being rendered meaningless. Today's companies are built around the notion of 'innovation'. All the mundane tasks are usually outsourced to save money. Hence, companies require people from varied backgrounds – Engineers with marketing expertise or architects with finance education. Such individuals are at the edge of innovation. This is a T-shaped individual who can balance practical and aesthetic standards. Today's successful companies do not just make MP3 players, they make iPods. They make things that
not only serve the purpose but things that also add a emotional value. Today, a well established company like Nestle` is using an in-house design methodology to tap into consumer emotions through packaging. The methodology is based on a Japanese technique called Kansei. The technique, mainly popular in the automobile industry focuses on the consumer emotions and feelings as a primary source of design inspiration and translates them into products. Why does a company do that when it already is selling it products really well? Because, the industry is changing. The consumers are changing. Its not just about the products anymore. Its about the added soft value. This can only be understood and achieved by such employees who can balance practical and aesthetic quality standards.
No education or studies of any sort ever goes waste. They might not come in handy right away, but they will help some day.
