Forager

Forager
Illustration of a persons forearm, hand holding a basket full of fruits and vegetables.

My friend Chris and I were accountability buddies in the Ness Labs Collector to Creator course a while back. This course was a really great introduction to collecting information and then doing something with it. Writing in particular, but whatever way you wanted to express yourself. Whatever way you wished to create.

In the course, we were presented with three archetypes of collector/creators. They were:

  • The Gardner - someone who collects seeds and combines them with soil and water to grow new ideas.
  • The Architect - someone who takes information and places it in logical structures to build new ideas.
  • The Librarian - someone who takes information and categorizes it for future reference when looking to build new ideas.

Note: these are from my recollection, not any notes I took, or quotes from the direct source. Which is kinda the whole point of this post.

In the course, they made sure to say these are archetypes and not definitions, and one can move about from one to the other, based on context.

I think of Chris as an Architect, and I think of myself mostly as a Gardener. But Gardener never quite fit correctly. Even with the above caveat.

More recently I texted Chris this:

This is a half baked thought, but I might want to bring a new type into the conversation. I think I’m more of a gardener but… I’m really a “forager”. I walk around, somewhat meandering, pick up something I see that’s interesting and throw into my bag. I meander some more, thinking about all the things in my current bag and if and how they relate. When I come to a pause, I write about what I’ve been thinking. That metaphorically describes my (inefficient?) process better, I think. 

So, if I may be so bold, I’d like to introduce you to a fourth Archetype.

The Forager

I do wander based on my current and long term interests, intuition, and what I think is interesting at the moment. What I’m trying to make sense of.

I throw what I find in a bag. I have many. This goes against the best practice of “have a trusted system”. That typically means one, or a small set of tools. Whatever I’m carrying with me at the time is my trusted system. I switch note-taking apps, blog systems, pens, and notebooks all the time. I’m learning to be OK with that. Search on a digital device gets me most of what I’m trying to recall.

The rest, the stuff I forget? It’s in there somewhere and if it’s important it’ll resurface. Or not. I am not a completionist. Architects and Librarians maybe screaming at their screens right now. Sorry, friends.

Gardening and Foraging for leaders

Recently I had a great conversation with Robert Poynton. We talked about several topics, and leadership came up. Robert said good leaders are gardeners. They ”seed, feed, and weed”. I agreed, but brought up the concept of foraging in this context.

We agreed on that too. Good leaders also follow their interest, intuition, and the outcomes they’re working to achieve to see what is out there, which may be useful for them and their teams.

To conclude

I guess I just like to poke around, talk to people, and see what’s emerging. What is becoming.