Buried in Their Beanies: Protecting Individuality in a Corporate Career
Woollen caps worn by Dutch Whalers 17thh century, found near Spitsbergen. Photo © D. Cummings-Palmer
'It is important to foster individuality, for only the individual can produce new ideas.’
Albert Einstein
On a recent visit to the splendid Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, I came across a display of six hats that had been owned by seventeenth century Dutch whalers.
In 1980 archaeologists investigating the graves of 185 whalers in Spitsbergen, northern Norway, found that many of the skeletons were wearing knitted woollen beanies. Some of the hats were plain, some had distinctive edging and others were striped. All were different from each other. Wrapped up against the Arctic’s biting cold, caked in snow and ice, the whalers could only be recognised by the colours and patterns of their caps. And so their headgear became highly personal.
It was quite natural that they should be buried in their beanies.
In their dedicated glass cabinet, the antique woollen hats looked surprisingly vivid, stylish and modern. They prompted me to reflect on individuality in the workplace.
'To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.'
Ralph Waldo Emerson
As you set out on your career, your employers tend to impose standard processes and practices. They train you to behave in certain ways, to adhere to certain values. They shape you to be a good company representative.
Nonetheless, in a creative business your true worth resides in your individuality: your distinctive way of thinking, your particular perspective, your unique take on the world. Because your difference helps build difference for clients and brands.
Close-up: Woollen caps worn by Dutch Whalers 17thh century, found near Spitsbergen. Photo © D. Cummings-Palmer
Sometimes it seems that companies are asking too much when they request authenticity in their staff, and demand that you ‘bring your whole self to work.’ Really what they’re seeking is your individuality.
Because the most valuable employees are at once true to the corporate brand and true to themselves.
So, hold onto your identity, retain your rough edges, and try taking the advice of Frank Sinatra: 'Cock your hat - angles are attitudes.'
'There are many, many crazy things
That will keep me loving you,
And with your permission
May I list a few?
The way you wear your hat,
The way you sip your tea,
The memory of all that,
No, no, they can't take that away from me.
The way your smile just beams,
The way you sing off-key,
The way you haunt my dreams,
No, no, they can't take that away from me.
We may never, never meet again,
On that bumpy road to love.
Still, I'll always, always keep the memory of
The way you hold your knife,
The way we danced 'til three,
The way you changed my life,
No, no, they can't take that away from me.
No, they can't take that away from me.’
Frank Sinatra 'They Can't Take That Away From Me’ (I Gershwin, G Gershwin)
No. 526