Now days with the Etsy revolution (humor me for a minute), we hear the term “craftsman” quite a bit. I dare say that we hear it so much that it may be losing it’s meaning. When is that last time you took a step back and considered what craftsmanship really meant?
How does craftsmanship matter on your digital project?
Craftsmanship is the single most important quality you need for a successful project. It’s so important in fact that if you don’t have it, your project will fail miserably.
But let’s take the idea of craftsmanship and make it practical. It’s not enough to just demand or require it on your next RFP. You can’t setup meetings to garner it. You can’t manage more of it. And you certainly can’t pay for it. Yes, that’s right, money does not buy craftsmanship.
To be a true craftsman, you have to care deeply about the product you are creating. You have to eat, sleep, and die on the hills of your convictions. You have to fight for the experience you are creating, whether that’s for yourself or for others. In simple terms craftsmanship deals in the currency of passion.
When you build enough equity in passion you become a craftsman.
Being a craftsman is a byproduct of having an incredible amount of passion for something over a finite period of time. We see craftsmanship in the leather bag that our grandfather handed down to us, even though we never met the maker. We see craftsmanship in the metal heft of a new apple device. And every once in a while we see craftsmanship in a website or app that we experience.
It’s apparent to us by the quality and cohesiveness of the overall vision. It’s something that even though we may not go beyond scratching the surface of the app or site, that a craftsman created it. That passion runs deep in the project.
When you are a digital craftsman, you pour your heart and soul into your project. Not out of selfish ambition, but out a desire to create a digital experience that changes lives. An experience that makes a dent in the universe.
On your next project, don’t settle for anything less than true craftsmanship. You will be glad you did when your project is wildly successful.
