Leading With Art

I recently had the opportunity to attend the Blue Bottle Studio experience. It’s a multi-course coffee tasting menu with all details attended to. It’s probably the closest thing to a 3 Michelin Star experience in coffee. 

As I’ve shared the experience with people I’ve fielded multiple questions in the vain of “Was it worth it?” “Was it the best coffee ever?” and “Do you think it’s actually a sustainable business model?” 

All of these questions, while honest, miss the spirit of experiences like these. I see this experience less in terms of strict coffee quality or a new business model that will become the future of coffee and more in terms of pure art: What would it look like to create a place in time where everything else melts away and you’re fully immersed in what you’re experiencing?

Quality and value live in the eye of the beholder. Is a 1970 BMW 2002 better than a brand-new M3? Is a 3 Star Michelin meal better than the best street tacos you’ve ever had? I don’t think it works like that. 

I think more of this artistic mindset would serve us in our personal and business endeavors. Instead of worrying about being the best and constantly comparing ourselves to others, we can focus on the people we seek to serve and approach that service from our personal point of passion. 

A business will always have elements that live outside the purely artistic space but where we start our process informs how it evolves. A business where numbers are the jump-off point looks a lot different than a business in the same industry that puts artistic expression first.

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