Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcyle Maintenance (ZAMM) chronicles the narrator’s quest to reconcile 2 parts of his personality. Along the way he present his theory for finding balance in life. He does this through a chautauqua. (Think of a chautauqua as a traveling minstrel show, where a presenter entertains and educates through story.)
My take on ZAMM is that the author presents 2 schools of thought, which are often seen as conflicting: Western and Eastern thought. The story impresses upon me the need to find balance in life and the importance of not being dogmatic about one particular philosophy. A person steeped in Western thought is likely to not see as well as a person steeped in a balance of Western and Eastern thought.
By accepting the balance, we reject dogma. That opens our minds to a better form of ‘seeing’ and we can live richer lives.
The narrator uses the act of maintaining his motorcycle as a metaphor. Some riders just want to see the bike as transportation – it is what it is. Others bring a more rational mind to the experience of riding, viewing the bike as a series of parts and enjoy seeing the parts and changing them. Which is the better approach? The hope would be that a rider would be open to both views, using each to make the most of a particular situation.
Baseball provides a similar metaphor for viewing the same philosophy. I don’t know much about motorcycles but I know a bit about baseball so I thought I’d use baseball for my Chautauqua.
Billy Beane and Moneyball have taught us that a Western approach applied to baseball can generate some interesting insights that contrast with the traditional scout-led view of the game. The moneyballers see the parts of the motorcyle. The scouts see the whole player.
Sam Walker went out to test the best approach to winning baseball and described that experience in the spellbinding Fantasyland. His goal was to win a competitive fantasy baseball competition and in doing so he had to decide whose advise to follow. The conclusion supports Pirsig’s view: the best approach recognizes a balance between the stats and the instincts.
On one hand that should come as no surprise. Who wouldn’t want to learn from 2 different fields and use the best of each? We all know that the reality though does not match the fantasy of this ideal. We know far more people that are dogmatic then we know people that have balance. I believe that people who are dogmatic, when looking at the moneyball debate, can see the importance of balance as applied to baseball and then hopefully, will gain some ability to use this as a filter for looking at the rest of their life. This ‘balance filter’ applies to business, interpersonal, and intrapersonal growth.
Take an executive I work with. He is a terrific CEO. He is very data driven. He knows the data and the parts of the motorcycle better then anyone. Everything is a part to him and he can assemble and disassemble with excellence. Does this make him an excellent CEO? The company is doing fabulous. But the team is not satisfied. Seems as if people don’t like to be seen as parts. The CEO is out of balance. He needs to use scouts to help him get in better touch with what the people on his team are feeling.
So here starts a Chautauqua on balance and most importantly, on the pursuit of the excellence in life that comes from finding a balanced view. A view where eyes are open and brains and hearts work together to bring beauty.
I hate to end without something practical. Here is a checklist to consider:
- self assess: do you see the motorcyle, the parts, or both?
- if you are in balance, spread the word
- if you are like most of us, you see the world more in one way then the other. Develop your muscle for seeing the other way. Apply both views to a problem.
- If you see the world as parts, send out scouts to keep you informed of what people are seeing.
- If you see the world as wholes, use statistics and data to understand the parts.
- Everyone benefits from having a coach. Find a person who is in balance, and ask him or her for guidance.