Here’s how a Japanese pancake restaurant made me rethink everything I know about business.
1/14
1/14
My obsession with Japan started after watching Jiro Dreams of Sushi. It’s a documentary about Jiro Ono, the owner of Sukiyabashi Jiro the first sushi restaurant to earn 3 Michelin Stars.
The restaurant serves a 20 piece pasting menu to 10 customers.
2/14
The restaurant serves a 20 piece pasting menu to 10 customers.
2/14
Jiro has operated Sukiyabashi Jiro for 57 years and still works 15 hours a day. His life’s work is making perfect sushi and despite being a famous sushi chef, he has done to expand his business. Ji
Making perfect sushi is all that matters, everything else is a distraction.
3/14
Making perfect sushi is all that matters, everything else is a distraction.
3/14
“Once you decide on your occupation, you must immerse yourself in your work. You have to fall in love with your work. Never complain about your job. You must dedicate your life to mastering your skill. That’s the secret of success & is the key to being regarded honorably.”
4/14
4/14
Compare this to western culture where the average 18-24 year old changes careers almost six times and the goal of most businesses is to maximize profit.
It was so foreign. I wanted to experience it myself.
5/14
It was so foreign. I wanted to experience it myself.
5/14
So Xina & I visited Tokyo on our honeymoon. We’re both big breakfast people. One of the best pancake restaurants in Japan was near our hotel, but at the time we didn’t know it was a famous spot.
6/14
6/14
To eat pancakes at this 10 person restaurant one must wait outside before 8:30am, tell the hostess how many people are in your party and how many pancakes you’ll be ordering, and then pay a deposit to lock in your spot. The restaurant opens at 10:30am.
7/14
7/14
We showed up around 10:15am and asked to be seated, lol. Luckily there was a last minute cancellation & they’d be able to seat us in 15 minutes, but we could only order one pancake. We said OK and paid our pancake deposit.
8/14
8/14
When we sat down 4 of the 10 seats in the restaurant were vacant. We assumed other people had canceled as well. "Great," we thought, we can order more pancakes.
9/14
9/14
When the waitress came we tried to order two pancakes. We were told that the restaurant was full and our reservation was for one pancake.
10/14
10/14
The four empty seats were not from cancelations, they were by design. The chef had choreographed breakfast down to the pancake. Making an extra pancake could impact the quality of all the pancakes that followed. That was unacceptable.
11/14
11/14
It didn’t matter that 40% of the seats were empty. The owner wanted to make perfect pancakes—even if it pissed off his western customers.
12/14
12/14
This experience made me rethink my own business. It reminded me of the main point from @sivers book Anything You Want:
13/14
13/14
@sivers "You started a business. But why?
Entrepreneurs often lose sight of what matters. Are you helping people? Are they happy? Are you happy? Are you profitable? Isn't that enough?
When you make a company, you make your utopia — your perfect world."
14/14
Entrepreneurs often lose sight of what matters. Are you helping people? Are they happy? Are you happy? Are you profitable? Isn't that enough?
When you make a company, you make your utopia — your perfect world."
14/14
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