On being in and out of line

Being in line is about the mastery of replication: performing the same acts with the same tools to produce the same things.

Being out of line is about regularly starting from scratch: it’s an iterative and sometimes clunky process that experiments with different tools to produce different things — some more valuable and interesting than others.
For a production line, where the goal is to produce the same thing as quickly as possible, being out of line poses an obvious and measurable threat.

For creative work, being out of line is an asset: it is only when you are out of line, when you are not in the business of making identical widgets, that the creation of something new, valuable and potentially culture-changing is possible.

If the people you aim to serve have an unmet need it’s because what’s currently being produced isn’t working. Meeting the need therefore demands that you produce a new way, to produce a new way requires that you work out of line.
Abraham Kim
Like these terminologies that you are tinkering with. Hope that you continue to develop the underlying ideas of these terms. I was actually thinking very similarly to this post while reading your comment on 
brianball
's most recent post.
2021-01-20 16:20:48
William Liao
abrahamKim
I'm glad the terms are resonating! I do expect through my daily practice of writing to refine these themes. The greater the volume of work, the more it will become apparent that the ideas I write about are variations of a handful of key themes that I rely on to navigate the world.
2021-01-20 17:05:51