Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Tools.

I was down at The South Street Seaport Museum on Sunday and it was a trip worth taking. From faded brick with the outlines of missing staircases, with decades of wall-paper or paint peelings, they have constructed an evocative history of a New York that is no more. Also, and I think this is good, it's a small museum, with only a few exhibits. You can take the whole thing in in 45 minutes, walk to Chinatown for some dumplings and ruminate about all those who came before.


Maybe my favorite part of the museum is the display I've pasted above. These are the tools left behind over the years of the men who built the wooden ships that ruled the waves until they were replaced by steel-hulled constructions.

What strikes me is how many types of tools were used years ago.

What strikes me is how few tools we expect people in our business to possess.

We have people who do digital. People who do site work. People who are story-tellers. We have people who are car guys. People who do beauty. People who do humor. People who do tech. People who do flash.

We have tiny tool kits today.

I'm not sure why.

If I were to advise someone seeking to break into our business or someone seeking to stay employed, I would show them the picture above.

It would be up to them to see the point.

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