What’s with the name?
Well, I’m glad you asked!
Merriam Webster defines a mosaic as "a surface decoration made by inlaying small pieces of variously colored material to form pictures or patterns.” By extension, MozaYk13 captures the concept of something called mosaic thinking. I became intrigued by this thought when at my 25th college reunion I participated on a panel discussing the benefits of a liberal arts degree. One of my fellow classmates and panelists had majored in theater as an undergraduate, and then went on to get her masters and PhD degrees in physics. She made the comment that in her career, she had benefitted from an advantage she had over many of her colleagues whose background was “science-only”. Unlike her, they were not skilled at mosaic thinking, which can be described as the ability to see patterns among apparently unrelated concepts, circumstances, and situations, and then discern a unique path to a successful outcome. That’s what we’re about. As for the spelling, Mosaic, Mosaic Strategic Partners, and Mosaic Consulting were all taken. Mozayk is also the Wester Frisian (northern Dutch) word for mosaic, and represents an artistic tradition in that part of the world.
unique and purposeful
more than you hoped for
more than You expect
The next thing about the name is the capital Y. In business, a shared understanding of Why we do what we do can really impact our success. This is true at the organizational level, and is true for leaders and individual contributors. When we keep our “Why” at the center, we maintain both our purpose and our focus.
Finally, “13”. I’ve always been intrigued by the number 13, but it tends to get a bad rap in the West. Rather than being unlucky, for me the number 13 represents uniqueness. It’s a prime number. It represents getting more than you pay for: as in a baker’s dozen. It also represents the next phase of something great, that sometimes comes after difficulty. When the disciples replaced Judas with Matthias, he became the 13th disciple and as such shared in the leadership of one of the most enduring movements in history. One other inspiration for the number 13 came from a sermon I heard recently on the 6th chapter of Isaiah. In this passage, sometimes called Isaiah’s Commission, the prophet says famously “Here I am Lord, send me” (Verse 8), and then the Lord calls him to a difficult path. The chapter ends with a metaphor for renewal and growth. Verse 13 expresses the idea that even when cut down, tree stumps “retain the principle of vitality in their roots”* which may once again spring up into a great tree.”* Discovering and retaining the essence of who we are, or what our organizations are about can be a source of vitality, even when faced with difficulty. This philosophy is core to what we we do at MozaYk13.
If this sounds like a fit for your organization please send me a note or set up a time to talk.
* "As the terebinth and oak when cut down retain the principle of vitality in their roots, which will again spring up into a great tree.” (https://biblehub.com/commentaries/isaiah/6-13.htm accessed Feb. 18, 2019)