I recently watched the documentary “Jiro dreams of Sushi”.
It is the story of the famous sushi chef Jiro.
Chef Jiro has a small sushi restaurant of 12 seats, located in a metro station in Tokyo. To eat at his restaurant one needs to make reservations 2 months to a year in advance.
Yamamoto, a famous Japanese food critic, who has known Jiro for the past 40 years, lists the 5 attributes a great chef should have; attributes that one will find in Chef Jiro:
- A chef needs to take his/her work seriously | aspire to reach higher levels | have self discipline.
- A chef needs to always work on his/her skills | aspire to improve his/her skills.
- Cleanliness | if the restaurant does not feel good and clean the food will not feel good and clean either.
- Impatience | great chefs are leaders not collaborators | they are stubborn and persistent and insist on their creation and vision.
- A great chef needs to be passionate.
What a recipe!
Take these 5 attributes and substitute the word “chef” with any other profession. You have the recipe for success.
One must take their work seriously; in the sense that one commits and invests in it. This laser like focus will give you the strength to exercise self discipline.
One needs to educate himself or herself all the time. Everything is evolving in great speed and you need to keep up to date, you need to address the Now and be relevant.
One needs to be clean; not necessarily “hospital” clean. One needs to be clear and “clean” when leading, be specific, to the point.
One needs to persistent. In order to do that, a Leader must have first found his/her own voice, so he/she can let the world hear it. If you do not know who you are, where you are going, self discipline will be very hard to accomplish.
Passionate! The greatest ingredient, in my opinion, a Leader can have. Passion inspires. Passion cuts through the pain and the agony and brings you closer to your goals and pleasure.
Who would have thought that a documentary about a sushi chef in Tokyo would give us a lesson on how to be good Leader and become the best of you.
Be present, in the Now, and you will be able to find the lesson everywhere.
What is your experience? Where did you find the lesson today?
You can leave your comment below, and start a conversation that could inspire many.
Thank you.