Well done. Yes, please do continue by writing about what you learned about making art, what you learned from the volunteers, and anything else that came out of your experience there.
An interesting read. I particularly liked this idea: “They are able to keep track of their values and be attuned to themselves, and at the same time be cold-headed about how the world works: not shaping themselves to fit the world, but figuring out how to position what they do so that it becomes possible.”
speaking as someone who's also been self employed most of my life, the "why is everyone so bad at their jobs" plagues me to no end. i've had fantasies just like your very life - go into an institution i care about and try to fix their mess so i can enjoy without worrying about their imminent financial ruin. Genuinely an inspirational read - heroic agency does work. Not just in technology and startups but everywhere in every industry. Even those as fuzzy as art galleries.
It's always interesting to read about others' work, so thank you for sharing about yours in such detail. The most insightful bit was the one about figuring out your place in the incentive landscape—its seems like a mysterious matter of chance coupled with constantly trying and form fitting. When you find that spot, though, it can be like striking gold I imagine.
Would love to read about the high-agency 70-year olds and making art, too!
"Most people just seem to come up with an answer in their head and then go with that without checking."
Why do they do this though? For what reason does this occur? It's been my experience as well that when people are asked to solve difficult problems they very frequently just take a wild guess at what the answer ought to be and proceed on that basis - like they're constantly surprised by the fact that you can actually look things up. It seems like you can get bizarrely far in these organisations just by having the most basic understanding of what "research" is.
Also very tired of people deciding that it's somehow morally wrong to do the budget. It seems like the common thread here is decision makers having a strong sense of what "ought" to be true and being endlessly helplessly confused when their intuitions don't correspond with reality.
This was one of the most thoughtful things I’ve read in a long time. So many great lessons and your writing still make it so approachable and fun to read. Thanks for writing, just bought a one year sub!
True - this is hard: "It is not that I’m some grumpy person who thinks that some people are great and others aren’t, in some predetermined way—I think you can to a large extent decide which kind you want to be. But if someone else isn’t measuring up, I have no idea how to convince them to do so. So I look for people who have already decided."
"No, I’m not going to work with anyone who is demanding or confused or slow at answering their email”, feels great to read this as someone who's self employed!
Beautiful. I must hear more about high agency 70 year olds!
I'd love to read more about: the joy of the weight.
Great read Henrik. Wish you success and continued learning on your present and future projects.
Well done. Yes, please do continue by writing about what you learned about making art, what you learned from the volunteers, and anything else that came out of your experience there.
An interesting read. I particularly liked this idea: “They are able to keep track of their values and be attuned to themselves, and at the same time be cold-headed about how the world works: not shaping themselves to fit the world, but figuring out how to position what they do so that it becomes possible.”
speaking as someone who's also been self employed most of my life, the "why is everyone so bad at their jobs" plagues me to no end. i've had fantasies just like your very life - go into an institution i care about and try to fix their mess so i can enjoy without worrying about their imminent financial ruin. Genuinely an inspirational read - heroic agency does work. Not just in technology and startups but everywhere in every industry. Even those as fuzzy as art galleries.
It's always interesting to read about others' work, so thank you for sharing about yours in such detail. The most insightful bit was the one about figuring out your place in the incentive landscape—its seems like a mysterious matter of chance coupled with constantly trying and form fitting. When you find that spot, though, it can be like striking gold I imagine.
Would love to read about the high-agency 70-year olds and making art, too!
It's inspiring to read how you made your job meaningful. I am also trying to find my vectors that align!
Loved this article. Wish you the best of luck with your writing. Keep going!
"Most people just seem to come up with an answer in their head and then go with that without checking."
Why do they do this though? For what reason does this occur? It's been my experience as well that when people are asked to solve difficult problems they very frequently just take a wild guess at what the answer ought to be and proceed on that basis - like they're constantly surprised by the fact that you can actually look things up. It seems like you can get bizarrely far in these organisations just by having the most basic understanding of what "research" is.
Also very tired of people deciding that it's somehow morally wrong to do the budget. It seems like the common thread here is decision makers having a strong sense of what "ought" to be true and being endlessly helplessly confused when their intuitions don't correspond with reality.
Very insightful and inspiring. Thanks so much.
Btw, you have no lesson #5, but just two lessons #6 ;)
What a great article, thank you for this!
This was one of the most thoughtful things I’ve read in a long time. So many great lessons and your writing still make it so approachable and fun to read. Thanks for writing, just bought a one year sub!
Thank you, that means a lot to me!
True - this is hard: "It is not that I’m some grumpy person who thinks that some people are great and others aren’t, in some predetermined way—I think you can to a large extent decide which kind you want to be. But if someone else isn’t measuring up, I have no idea how to convince them to do so. So I look for people who have already decided."
I loved reading this!!! thanks for sharing <3
"No, I’m not going to work with anyone who is demanding or confused or slow at answering their email”, feels great to read this as someone who's self employed!