A Change of Plan

I wrote recently that I was going to move the Athanor from Ghost to Substack.

I no longer am. Here’s why:

Substack is becoming a platform, funded by venture capital investment, that, in turn, creates an implicit obligation to pursue growth. If the business model is robust, that growth, based on enabling creators, will be a natural progression. If however, the growth trajectory falls below investor expectations, that is likely to change.

We are already seeing early signs, from a decision to impose Pangram to police AI generation, to entertaining advertising, that suggests that might be the case.

It is a short journey from creative freedom to centralised monitoring. That does not mean it will. I hope it doesn’t, but am reluctant to put all my eggs in one, American VC funded, basket.

The intention with The Athanor is to serve a small audience without compromise. To provide a safe space where those exploring ideas of independence, developing their own capabilities on their own terms, can meet without becoming a “market”. So, the Athanor will stay on Ghost, with a new dedicated domain at www.theathanor.co.uk

New Artisans and Outside the Walls will remain on Substack and will focus on on observation.

The Athanor will do the heavier lifting on orientation and action. We will also add another periodic newsletter on Ghost - The Alembic - around once a month to focus on personal strategy in a rapidly changing world.

New Artisans and Outside the Walls will be free to all, with no paid subscriptions (I have already suspended paid subscriptions with immediate effect).

The Athanor and The Alembic will offer both free and paid content, aimed at a very specific audience who want to turn observation and orientation to experiments, action and movement.

These are challenging times. Large organisations have mass, but not the levels of agility needed to respond to the complex mix of circumstances they are facing. That leaves us as the primary variable when it comes to change, and so it is down to us to find a way to change the base material that is the world of work where we find ourselves into something rather more precious and fulfilling.

Alchemy.

Onwards........