Clarity

“We bring music to fans and fans to music.”

That sentence came to me on an otherwise routine morning walk with the pup last weekend.

Bear in mind that I have spent the better part of the last year writing about our purpose, product, and plans for the future at Sawtooth, as well as over 25 years thinking about the ideas behind it. I never, ever approached anything as elegant or straightforward as this one sentence.

It says everything in nine words.

And it reminds me of a favourite anecdote about Picasso. I’ve read countless versions of this story with different numbers and locations. The point isn’t the exact scenario, but the insight that follows.

While at a Paris cafe, Picasso doodled on a napkin, attracting the attention of an admirer who asked to buy his drawing.

After finishing the sketch, Picasso requested one million Francs, which surprised her, since it had taken him only a few minutes to create. To her, the value seemed disproportionate to the time spent.

Picasso replied, “My dear, it took me a lifetime to be able to draw this sketch.”

It feels like a lifetime went into writing one sentence, but it was worth all the twists and turns to find such profound clarity.