I love my old 911. It doesn’t go that fast, but for a 48-year-old car, it sure is fun. I thought I had it in reverse a few months ago and popped forward into my daughter’s car. Argh… So, I got creative and found a master to bang it out. I didn’t want to repaint it, so I just cleared coat it. It’s sort of like Kintsugi pottery that treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object rather than something to disguise. This incident got me thinking about how organizations can apply the Kintsugi philosophy when facing disruptions. Here’s how:
Embrace the Breakage
Just as Kintsugi doesn’t hide the cracks but highlights them with gold, companies should not shy away from their moments of failure or disruption. Instead, these moments should be embraced as integral parts of the company’s history. When a product fails or a market strategy doesn’t pan out, view it as an opportunity for visible improvement and innovation.
Repair with Value
In Kintsugi, broken pottery is repaired with lacquer mixed with powdered gold, making the piece more valuable. Similarly, when disruptions occur, organizations should aim to ‘repair’ with value-added strategies. This could mean investing in R&D, retraining employees, or pivoting business models to make the organization more robust and resilient.
Celebrate Imperfections
The beauty of Kintsugi lies in its celebration of imperfections. Businesses can learn from this by fostering a culture that doesn’t penalize failure but sees it as a step toward innovation. Celebrate the lessons learned from disruptions. This approach encourages risk-taking and can lead to breakthroughs that perfect, unbroken processes might never yield.
Transparency as Strength
Just as the golden seams of Kintsugi pottery tell a story, transparency in business about how you’ve handled disruptions can strengthen customer and employee trust. Communicate openly about what went wrong, what was learned, and how you move forward. This humanizes the brand and sets a realistic expectation that perfection is not the goal, but resilience and adaptability are.
A New Aesthetic for Growth
Kintsugi gives old pottery a new aesthetic appeal, suggesting that what breaks us can also beautifully redefine us. Apply this by looking at disruptions as a chance to redefine your business. Maybe a supply chain disruption leads to a new, local sourcing strategy, or a failed product launch leads to a new market discovery. Each disruption is a chance to add a ‘golden’ layer to your corporate narrative.
In the corporate world, disruptions are as inevitable as accidents in a garage. But like my 911, which now sports its history with pride, companies can treat their disruptions not as blemishes to be hidden but as golden opportunities for growth, learning, and showcasing resilience. By adopting the Kintsugi philosophy, businesses repair and enhance their structure, ensuring that each crack leads to a more beautiful and valuable rebirth. This approach doesn’t just fix; it transforms.