Why We Need More Omakase Creators

The world would benefit from a proliferation of omakase in every sphere of life.

This is partly why I find Lean Startup Evangelical Fundamentalism a little weird. Just in case you’re not familiar, “lean startup” is the meme-ified idea that entrepreneurs should build “Minimum Viable Products”, expending the least amount of resources to build the things that are most perfectly adapted to the ‘market fit.’

Are we making the things that we truly want to make, or are we making the things that we’re mimetically-driven to make?

Creators with a strong moral compass necessarily have to be anti-mimetic in many ways.

Maybe there is a lesson to be learned here for creators, entrepreneurs, builders, and craftsmen and women—for anyone who takes pride in their work and does it with excellence. If people want to pay you a premium price to put themselves in your hands and let you create what you truly want to create, then you’ve done something truly special.

The word omakase comes from the Japanese word 任せる (makaseru), which means “to entrust.”

I usually don’t know what I want until someone shows me, or until I encounter it in the world for the very first time. That’s why, when I work with a creative professional like an illustrator, I am careful never to lead them too much about what silly ideas I think I have; I want to give them maximum freedom to put their own stamp of creativity on m... See more

The problem with the Lean Startup as a mindset is that it leads to a Minimal Viable Life. And I know many people feel like they’re living one these days. The Lean startup is a mental model that is ultimately not helpful for human flourishing. There are metaphysical, creative, and moral issues with it.