Written by Julie Babb
As we prepare for our upcoming quarterly offsite, which we call our “together,” we thought it would be fitting to take a moment to reflect on our theme from last quarter: Craft. What is it? Why is it so important?
To guide our exploration, we reflected on two works by experts in the field: A book called the “The Craftsman” by sociologist Richard Sennett and Ira Glass’s famous interview on expertise, titled “The Gap.”
Both explore the meaning and process behind developing a craft, the former from a societal view (how craft developed and why it’s important on a macro scale) and the latter focused on the individual journey (what it takes to master your craft.)
Until the Middle Ages, most people existed solely in self-sustaining ways. Humans focused on food and safety above all else. But the agricultural revolution and the technological advances that followed created opportunity for individuals to specialize. Horses could pull plows better than people, but they needed shoes and harnesses—things that took years to learn how to make well. Thus, the Middle Ages brought us craftspeople (and plagues).
As technology has progressed, craft has evolved beyond analog practices like blacksmithing and sewing. Sennett defines craft as anything you dedicate yourself to over a period of time, whether it’s medicine, programming, or parenting.
According to Sennett, we humans have an innate desire to improve our skills. Limiting that desire cuts off our ability to learn, grow, and create. Creativity may drive innovation—it’s the aha! moment that sparks new ideas—but it’s rooted in deep knowledge and understanding, which are acquired by practicing craft.
(Left to Right: “Portrait of Olga” Picasso - 1923, “Woman in a Hat (Olga)” Picasso - 1935)
The painting on the right appears to have less craftsmanship behind it. But Picasso and many art historians would argue otherwise. Picasso needed to learn how to create the painting on the left before he could conceive the one on the right.
These days, you can hop on the internet and learn how to do just about anything (shout out to YouTube). Havings unlimited opportunities to develop new crafts is a blessing and a curse. In order to develop your craft, you have to focus on the particular expertise it requires.
Ira Glass argues that expertise is achieved when your skill level meets your taste level. Spoiler, getting there is not easy. Malcolm Gladwell famously claimed it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert. Those hours are your craft.
What does it take to become a craftsperson today? The same thing it always has: time, effort, focus and the continuous act of practice. Craft is the process of turning curiosity into expertise through doing. It’s not an outcome but a methodology for exploring anything you love to do.
Armed with this new understanding of the word, we set out to develop a framework for improving any craft.
Approaching your work with curiosity opens up a world of depth and complexity you can’t reach by going through the motions. If you consider every task a learning opportunity, you allow continuous improvement and innovation—even if you’ve done something 100 times.