manifesto craft

One issue with corporate comms is there’s too much “how to build a boat” and not enough “why you should should yearn for the vast and endless sea”

Gravitas: “I care, and it’s important.” Sermons, manifestos.

Self-deprecation: “I care, but it’s not important.” Hobbies, fandoms, being nerdsniped, “merely” personal wishes.

Irreverence: “It’s important, but I don’t care.” Edgy jokes, shitposts, grifts, procrastination.

Disdain: “It’s not important and I don’t care.” Actual indifference/silence; hips... See more

a company is an egregore (the shared mind between the humans who make it). A country is an egregore. A small town is an egregore. A friend group is an egregore.

You can do experiments on your friend group, find patterns, then see if they hold across other scales

No change, however evil, is introduced without its being presented as an unimpeachable good.

“My words will either attract a strong mind or offend a weak one.”

- Anne Sexton

Remember that to always be rebelling against a thing is still to be controlled by it.

The startup is a song, not a fixed story. New movements arise, old ones fade, new harmonies join. A manifesto is great way to coalesce the current movement but it must be a living document.