I’d like to share a quote I came across from a recent read of Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life,

“Failure is the price we pay for standards and, because mediocrity has consequences both real and harsh, standards are necessary,” (Peterson, 86).

Of course, most arborists are familiar with some set of standards pertaining to arboriculture, whether it be the ANSI standards or another set common to international professionals at large. So, regarding those standards of arboriculture, I’d like to unpack a bit of that quote and how it applies to the arborist’s perception of standards.

Failure is the price we pay for standards…

This is a powerful statement to absorb. And it is true. Because we have failed in different aspects of arboriculture, whether it be pruning, safety, or root management, these unsuccesses have lead to current standards. Standards, in that sense, are a direct result of a learning process. Because to some degree learning requires failure. The standards we develop are there to guide us like soft beams of light into a dark future. Standards help us in defining the terms and the language we use, to explain the processes of arboriculture, and to keep order in an otherwise potentially dangerous business. They are good for the arborist and the tree owner alike. They are, at the very least, a great starting point for cultural practice and cultural conversation. And maybe cross-cultural conversation. A springboard. A vehicle towards better arboriculture.

Because mediocrity has consequences both real and harsh…

Standards are complicated to understand when viewed through the lens of mediocrity. We constantly stress to clients how we “follow standards”, or we talk about different “industry standards” or “gear testing standards”, and by doing that we hope to establish a better value for ourselves, for our products, and for our colleagues. We are constantly in competition with mediocrity-figuratively within our own minds and literally in our competitive markets. Sure, mediocrity is many times cheaper upfront, but that expediency transforms into real and harsh consequences in the future. It could be unwanted property damage, over-spray, cutting the wrong tree down, dirty language, failed gear, someone getting hurt or worse. This is what mediocrity looks like. Mediocrity doesn’t care. Mediocrity is the lowest price. It just wants to go about it’s business with no particular purpose. Just get by. Mediocrity is the dawn of failure.

Standards are necessary

Standards essentially protect us from sinking down into the mire of so-so, comme si, comme sa. Standards allow us to deliver a better product to our clients. They allow us to monitor our arboriculture and how we do it. Standards ignite our conscience. Standards emerge from a specific process, a process that Peterson describes as “a continual transformation of what you know through encounter with what you don’t know,” (362). This describes beautifully the process of the arborist en route towards enlightenment. Standards create a code of order out of which great arboriculture is produced.

Standards light The Way.