UNIVERSAL CRAFTSMANSHIP

by, Montel Hardy

Craftsmanship is an older term that we may think of as being exclusive to professionals who work with their hands. However, nearly any human job should have several people who have the accolade of "Craftsman". By comparing the role of a football coach, a musician, and a barber, I can prove that the principles of craftsmanship can be applied to many professions.

A Craftsman can be described as any person who pushes their trade to new heights. This person doesn't have "reinvent the wheel" but they can take current technology and innovate by showing people more things that it can accomplish. Craftsmanship starts with passion and taking pride in your work, building things that they are happy to own or show off at any time. Finally, craftsmen do the job to the best of their ability whether they are: working for free, working for moderate pay, or working for higher than normal pay. Craftsmen enjoy the experience of working on their craft.

Meticulus detail goes into the planning and execution of the game of football. Both offensive and defensive coordinators build schemes or strategies to put their players in positions to succeed. Building a scheme, building plays, or designing a practice to teach this to athletes requires craftsmanship principles. For example, football coaches spend hours studying opponents, studying their own players, and building ways to exploit the weaknesses of the opposition. This requires precision as every offense and defense is built to have as few deficiencies as possible and to make their deficiencies very tough to find. Therefore coaches must build plays that require blockers to create just enough space for position players, and players must align themselves in such a specific way and execute a play precisely as drawn to achieve success. Successful football coaches have to love what they do to be able to spend the amount of time and energy to be creative with utilizing their strengths and weaknesses. Craftsmanship has led to innovation in football such as: the flex defense, the spread offense, or even the triple option.

A musician is also a craftsman in many ways. Given that many musicians aren't typically doing so for a salary, passion is what drives many of them to perform. Most musicians develop their own style or derive it from a memorable craftsperson in their space. This is often seen in how they hold their instrument, the melody, or the lyrics of the song. When musiscians write or perform, their music has the aim of connecting them to their audience. The practice of using your craft and your passion for it to connect with the end user is a craftsmanship principle and can be a key contributor to their fame and fortune. Also, music is a great example of how a good craftsman can make product that can impact future generations. In the 2020's their rock and R&B music that is still played heavily and has been sampled in some songs that are on the Billboard charts.

Barbers in their own way are artists. They take people in need of a haircut or style and transform them into someone who is ready to: excel in a job interview, go to a wedding, or enjoy a fun night out. They take requests from their client and because of their proximity have virtually no choice other than to have the end user in mind. Barbers in this generation post the styles they created on social media, they show their own version of popular styles and some create new styles. Most barbers haven't invented a hair coloring formula, or their own brand of clippers, but they've shown a host of things tha can be accomplished using hair coloring or clippers. This is a great example of a craftsmanship principle, they are innovating with the tools in their space.

After comparing three different modern careers, it appears possible to prove that craftsmanship can be seen in nearly any human profession. At the root of craftsmanship is passion, any career that has passionate people working in it is likely to at least a few craftsmen. These people drive the trade forward by innovating, popularizing, and inspiring people within their trade.

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