It might be safe to assume that most don’t know what wabi-sabi is. This term, in the Western world, is generally used in design and art. Many might not see the connection between wabi-sabi and Online Enterprises either.  But I promise, there is a connection.  A beautiful connection that could possibly save a bit of sanity if approached appreciatively.

What are Wabi-Sabi and Online Enterprises?

Wabi-sabi is a Japanese “world view” or “aesthetic” that focuses on the acceptance of transience, or finding the beauty in the “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.”  There are a few basic aesthetic characteristics that pertain to wabi-sabi, also.  Some of them are:

• asymmetry
• roughness/irregularity
• simplicity
• modesty
• austerity
• intimacy
• appreciate of the ingenuous integrity of natural objects and processes

Wabi-sabi is seen in Japanese Zen gardens and bonsai gardens, in the written form with haikus, some pottery forms, and so much more. It’s even used in the Western world but just not as frequently until recent years and the search for tranquility and Zen hit hard. But we honor wabi-sabi when we write haikus in English, and even Wiki implemented wabi-sabi aspects when they started all of the wonders of Wiki.

Online Enterprises are simply companies. However, Online Enterprises have a different personification about them. They ooze a level of sophistication and expertise within an industry or field. But please don’t think the term is egotistical.  It’s a way most people separate themselves from being “just a company” to “a company with goals and ambitions.”

Wabi-Sabi and Online Enterprises

When it comes to Online Enterprises, one might think that “imperfect” or “incomplete” could be a bad thing. But it isn’t really. Imperfect and incomplete are two aspects of life which cannot be escaped. But let’s take a narrowed view of it.  If you build a website, you of course want it to be perfect and complete, and obviously permanent (because success of some sort is what we are all achieving). However, realistically, this never happens. A website is prone to many faults and complications. If one part of your software updates and another part is no longer compatible, what can you do? Yes, you try to fix it, but it is never set in stone that the website will be perfect all the time. If you’re selling a product or service, you’re site will always be incomplete. The constant change of products or services, whether no longer offered or more are added, it’s never complete. As your business grows, so do your ideals and goals, too. This is the impermanent.

Implementing Wabi-Sabi into Online Enterprises

I bet many of us (I know I have) stress severely when our websites or other aspects of our Online Enterprises aren’t ‘perfect’ or ‘complete.’ This is where wabi-sabi should be implemented. Accept that nothing is ever perfect or complete and I bet things will go smoothly.

How many times have you hoped something would go one way in your company and went the opposite, or maybe just to the left when you wanted it to go right? Stepping back and accepting it is all part of wabi-sabi.  Now I’m just saying a website or other aspect of your company be incomplete to where it hinders you, but don’t let minor imperfects keep you back either.  There are so many things about our businesses and what influences that we cannot control.  We must just learn to roll with it, accept the imperfectness about it, and continue on toward success.

Now, who said art forms can’t be helpful to Online Enterprises?