Artists and Technicians

By Jared Smith

During a particularly grueling Karate class in the fall of 1993, our head Sensei Eden Hampson decided to take a few moments to teach our class a lesson in focus.  “With focus, amazing things can be accomplished,” he told us.  He used an interesting, and somewhat excruciating technique to prove his point.   He instructed the class to go into “shiko” stance.  Shiko is an extremely low, unnatural seated position that uses muscles located in places I had no idea even existed.  Beginners typically look at a person in Shiko and say, “wait a second, there must be some kind of illusion here, that can’t be human…” Class discipline stipulates that while in Shiko one must hold the stance perfectly still, and if one person so much as shifts their big toe, the entire class must perform 100 knuckle push-ups for their mistake.   So there we were, 30 straining, slightly shaking bodies with sweat dripping off our noses desperately trying to hold our stance while Sensei Eden proceeded to tell us an entertaining lesson about focus.

He said, “There are two kinds of people in this world.  Artists and technicians.  Which one are you?”

“Technicians are people who seem to have not quite mastered several hobbies, sports and professions.  They tend to be diverse people who know a bit about a lot.  A technician is a traveller who has seen the world, and can say, “I’ll have a beer” in 9 different languages.  A technician is a painter that has experience working with a multitude of paints, oils, canvases, and clays.  A technician is an athlete who can run fairly fast, jump fairly high, and play golf – relatively well.”

“And then there are artists.  True artists are masters at only a few things.  An artist is a traveller who speaks one language fluently, and has an in-depth knowledge of one country’s history and culture.  An artist is a painter who has mastered the use of one paint and one style or is a golfer who effortlessly swings their driver and soars that white ball high into the air.  Artists flow like a stream flows over a riverbed, and when they perform their art, tears flow, and mountains shift.”

"Which one are you?”

Ironically, we were all so focused on Sensei’s story we forgot about Shiko.  Our pain had disappeared as our mind focused on his story.

In examining extremely successful businesses and people, I’ve come to the realization that movers and shakers typically display tremendous focus.  They focus on a distinctive ability, on a specific service, and on a highly targeted market.

What kind of company are you building?

Contact Incite Solutions to discuss how their Marketing Manager Program helps companies perform like artists.