IT THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

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Rewards of Expertise

Rewards of Expertise

I recently heard about a documentary called Jiro Dreams of Sushi. It’s about an 85-year-old sushi guru, Jiro Ono, who has spent his entire life working to become the best sushi master he possibly can. Jiro has been tweaking and refining his craft to make the best sushi possible for over 75 years. Becoming an expert takes time, energy, and patience. In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell writes that it takes 10,000 hours of practicing your skill to become an expert.

Michael Jordan, arguably one of the best athletes to ever play basketball, did not make the varsity team at his high school try outs—and he was not happy about it. His solution was to practice and become the best at his craft. There are stories of his high school coach kicking him out of the gym so they could lock up for the night. That is the dedication it took for Michael Jordan to become Air Jordan.

Do you want to be an expert in your field? What are you willing to do to achieve that level of expertise?

Because of Jiro’s hard work and dedication, he has earned a 3-star rating by Michelin. To be able to eat the food made at the hands of this guru, you must spend a minimum of $300 per person. A seat at his restaurant—which is in a Tokyo subway station and only accommodates 10 guests at a time—requires reservations at least a month in advance. Here is a man who is an expert in his field.

“All great achievements require time.” —Maya Angelou

Have a great weekend.

—Vijay

About Friday Food for Thought (FFfT)

I frequently attend conferences and retreats on entrepreneurship and leadership and while I am away, the J2 team picks up the slack, allowing me to learn to be better at what I do. I wanted to share what I was learning with my team, so I created the weekly FFfT emails in November of 2015 and have been writing them ever since.

Before long, the J2 staff began sharing the FFfT emails with their friends and family and now other leaders have asked to be included, which led to the creation of this newsletter. I hope you enjoy!

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