Lessons from a Sushi Master

We tend draw inspirations from the unlikeliest of places.

Sushi and non-Sushi fans alike will appreciate the thought provoking documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi". Jiro Ono is heralded as a Japanese national treasure and owns the world's most celebrated sushi restaurant Sukiyabashi Jiro.

For the uninitiated, reservations at the restaurant tend to go up to 3 months in advance and set one back by as much as $375 (plus tax).

Jiro creates and serves the best sushi in the world. His apprentices have to spend 10 - 15 years progressing from washing dishes, preparing eggs, rice, fishes etc. before they are finally given the opportunity to prepare Sushi.

This brings me to lesson #1 which is perseverance, single minded focus and time are required to achieve excellence and perfection. There are no shortcuts in the path to excellence. Basics have to be mastered before cultivating complex skills.

One of the high points of the documentary is when Jiro reveals that he always serves his sushi to his apprentices and staff before he opens the restaurant to customers.

The rationale is that for his staff to serve the best sushi in the world to his customers, they need to experience excellence themselves. Only then can they serve excellence to the customers.

This thought has stayed with me for a long time and brings me to lesson #2, which is that we have to have our teams/ team members exposed to the level of perfection and excellence needed very tangibly, so that they can in turn experience the same and create captivating applications and experiences for our business partners/ customers.

I have found this to be the secret sauce to creating compelling solutions for our partners while grooming and creating a high performing team.