Why You Should Never Settle…the Art of Shokunin
In the wonderful documentary, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, revered sushi chef Jiro Ono does something completely uncommon and unnecessary.
Despite being 85 years old and widely considered the world’s greatest sushi chef, he never settles.
We can sum his constant push toward perfection in the Japanese word shokunin, meaning “craftsman” or “artisan.” But even beyond technical ability, shokunin implies an attitude of holistic personal improvement and social consciousness. It means, simply, never settle.
So what about you? What parts of your job have settled into a routine?
Which relationships have settled into being just “fine” or “tolerable”?
What insecurities have you settled with, as a way to avoid or pretend?
What flaws have you settled for as just being part of who you are?
Where have you settled in quality or customer experience?
Going Above And Beyond
A colleague approached me recently, concerned about one of his clients. “She’s having a good experience,” he said, “but I think it could be even better. She could realize even more value from our work.”
Despite my colleague’s experience and credibility, he asked me for coaching. He asked me to challenge him to think about what else he could say, do, or ask that would help his client get even more out of our training.
Did my colleague have to do that, to open himself up to coaching and go above and beyond expectations?
No. He’s busy. And he does good work. It would have been understandable and easy to settle.
Instead, he applied the advice of Bob Iger, CEO and Chairman of Disney and one of the greatest business leaders of our time, who said:
“Often people settle for something that they may feel is good, when with more work, more time, more resources…you can make it great. So why aren’t we in the business of always trying to make something great?”
Applying the Art of Shokunin
To do this, you have to make the decision to take the difficult path. It’s a commitment to shokunin — relentless perfection.
Look around and inside you. Demand improvement. Not out of a neurotic striving or selfish ambition, but rather out of an attitude of continuous improvement and social consciousness.
Ask yourself: How can I make my work, workplace, work product, work relationships, work culture…more beautiful, more impactful, more perfect?
Notice what’s wasteful, distracting, or misaligned around you.
Pay attention to what’s not working as well as it could.
Be aware of where you could strengthen your attitude, where you could build more trust, or improve how you communicate.
Above all, do it not for self-aggrandizement. Do it for others. Do it for the world.
That’s shokunin.
Last month our team had t-shirts made that say, “Be Great. Focus on Others.”
It probably could have just said, “Shokunin.”
If I ever get a chance to go to Jiro’s sushi restaurant, humbly located in a Japanese subway station, I’ll thank him for his example. And give him one of our t-shirts.
Where can you turn settling into shokunin?
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