Explore the motivations and challenges of ‘purist’ organizations that prioritize authenticity over market-driven metrics. Discover how these unique entities, such as the Roncal cheese artisans and Trappist monks, navigate the complexities of a world increasingly driven by compromise. Learn about the insights from researcher Sarah Wittman, who sheds light on how purism can shape organizational structure, strategy, and success. Dive into the delicate balance between preserving identity and appealing to a broader audience. Roncal Valley, Trappist Monks
The Roncal Cheese Dilemma
It recently turned 25 years old, although the Roncal Valley cheese in the Navarrese Pyrenees is not a newcomer: it was already from Spain where cheese with PDI (Protected Designation of Origin) comes from. The same family has been making this artisanal treat since 1848 and the milk used to make the cheese comes from the latex sheep, a local breed of sheep with strong links to traditional 17th-century cheesemaking in this part of Spain. However, the potential of better milk production from the Israeli Assaf breed was too tempting for some local farmers.
Soon after, the Roncal Regulatory Council was twisted into existence by cheese processors sought to change the PDO in their favor by appealing for support at the European Union level to have assaf milk added; this led to a protest and a dismissal of the Council-dominated by the cheesemakers, with traditional Roncal farmers coming into control at the next elections. The association then appealed to the EU to withdraw Assaf milk from the list, ensuring that their stave-turned-cheese-making tradition remains true accessing back at least a thousand years. The balance of the purity vs profit-driven compromise confronts many ‘purist’ organizations daily, but is it always as clear cut as it seems?
Trappist Monks: A Search For Intentionality
The Trappist monks, who brew their celebrated beers inside monasteries spread across Belgium and the Netherlands represent yet another ‘purist’ group. As researcher Sarah Wittman puts it, “They aren’t doing it because they are down the market. ‘Because that’s what makes them monks. Their beers are a reflection of their religious calling, and the monks take great care to ensure that they brew only to the best of their ability.
This approach to work, ‘I brew beer as a religious object, and I will give everything because this is my path,’ is the opposite of commercial organizations. Others diverge from the herd, such as the Trappist monks, who engage in activities that confirm their beliefs about themselves rather than create an image to sell to consumers.
A Paradox: Keeping Holiness in A Corrupt World
The purist is a KEEPERS OF FLAME organization, the opposite of the conventional producer that Wittman often sees. These purists have motives largely irrelevant to market success, or profit at all for that matter, they are motivated out of more necessity through the preservation of their own identity and integrity.
The researchers suggest there may be a within larger organizations compartmentalized structure that could accommodate both pure and mixed motives in different units/data tables. This was evident in the cocooning of the most inventive of 3M’s R&D units, insulating it from market factors. Business purists, as a rule, have the benefit (or not) of having wildly different incentives beyond their industry to invent things in ways that would shatter their current business category.
Every purist who takes to market must find a public able to appreciate their scruples, and not confuse them with snobbery if they are to succeed. Powerful trend-makers in their respective fields have an important role to play in enhancing a purist, shaping the viewpoints of consumers, shareholders, and the like. After all, purists can simply rest on their laurels and have the quality of their product do the talking, much like the long list of Trappist monks who sell premium-priced beers that are as highly prized as they are limited.
