Seth's Blog : The thing about bananas
The thing about bananas
About half of all the bananas consumed worldwide come from the same tree.
Not the same type of tree. The very same tree. The Cavendish, which has no seeds, is propagated by grafting or cloning. Which means that they're all identical. If you're a mass marketer, pushing everyone to expect and like the very same thing, a thing with no variation and little surprise, this is good news indeed.
Until, of course, a fungus comes along and wipes out the entire monoculture.
It's tempting to want all your bananas to be the same. To have all your employees be clones of one another, your products to be indistinguishable commodities, each conforming to the dominant narrative of the day.
And if you're a freelancer, you're under huge pressure to be just like everyone else. It's easier to talk about what you do, easier to fit in, easier to be ignored.
But variation brings resilience and innovation and the chance to make a difference.
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