“Think process, not product.”

Why it was said

Austin Kleon makes this line one of the ten ways to share your work in Show Your Work! (2014), his follow-up to Steal Like an Artist. It answers the question the book opens with: if you are not a genius and have nothing finished to show, what is there to share?

What it actually means

Most people hide their work until it is done, then wonder why no one cares when they finally show it. Kleon's point is that the making often interests an audience more than the result: the sketches, the false starts, the tools, the decisions. Sharing the process lets people see the judgment behind the work, which is the part a finished product hides and the part that builds trust. It also changes the maker's own relationship to the work. Instead of one high-stakes reveal there is a running record, and an audience that has been following before there is anything to sell. The risk Kleon accepts is that unfinished work looks unfinished; his bet is that this is exactly what makes it human.

How to use it

1. 1Keep a simple work log this week: one line a day on what you tried, what failed and what you changed.
2. 2When you next finish a piece of work, share one decision you made along the way and why, not only the result.