Comment by chnx
13 years ago
Near the end of the documentary it is said by Jiro that his son (Yoshikazu) was the one making the sushi when it was being graded for the three Michelin stars and that being the head chef is the easy job because all the hard preparation work is done by the people under him. I think this somewhat applies to Apple as well — while Jobs was an excellent curator of sorts, he was supported by excellent people like Sir Jonathan Ive and others. So I wouldn't be surprised if they continue to create highly innovative products.
The thing I particularly liked was how he picked his vendors based on their expertise. He admitted to knowing less about tuna than his tuna guy, less about rice than his rice guy, etc., and his relationships were long-term and mutually beneficial.
Really appreciated this point too. None of his vendors seemed to have a genuine interest in anything outside of the quality of their craft and the honour of their relationships. It was incredibly refreshing, and seems to be part of quite an old set of values for the region that might not pop up as much these days. Or at least, be promoted as widely as more capitalist ethic.
That's Japanese Culture for you. Many see their job as their highest life goal and they seek its perfection in order to honour their family/team mates/company/fellow Japanese or whatever their group association is at the moment. This idea then trickles down to even low wage jobs, where you still get an above par work quality. Trying Starbucks (cleanliness) and McDonalds (look and taste) in Japan is an interesting experience.
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That's the sad part—the products will be every bit as good but the public perception, until the products double the best of Jobs, will be yawn.
I thought Yoshikazu was referring to the time when one of their apprentice visited the shop. Yoshikazu asked him who was the chef, was it Jiro, and the apprentice said "you".