I am going to introduce you to a philosophy that is slowly becoming a big part of my life. Since its addition, I have had a perspective shift in the way I approach my tasks and goals. In the past, my strategy was to get things live fast and let the rewards compound.
But the problem with that thinking is that reward compounding only happens if the initial effort was good enough to stand the test of time.
See, the mindset of “getting it out there” corrupts the quality of the work and creates a bad habit of doing the bare minimum just to mark it complete on a calendar or project management tool.
It may work for a little while, but a few weeks or months later it’s crickets, crickets.
And worse, I found myself struggling to elevate my game because my brain had become wired as a completionist and not a perfectionist.
And while perfectionism is the enemy of progress, it is, in the end, the only ally of longevity.
Realizing this, and driven by a desire to improve my output, I stumbled upon the concept of Shokunin.
01What Is Shokunin?
Ponder this: If you wanted to compete in the market today, in any sector, would you look at the lowest performer or the industry benchmark?
Shokunin is a Japanese philosophy that roughly translates to “craftsman spirit.”
The philosophy states that any endeavor worth doing, any skill worth learning, must be done with a perfectionist mindset. This means:
- No “that will do”
- No “let’s make it work”
- No “can I do without it”
Followers of the Shokunin philosophy state that it begins with cultivating a mindset that seeks gradual perfection rather than instantaneous perfection. This means you are constantly looking for ways to improve your craft or skill, whether it is:
- Programming
- Engineering
- Marketing
- Branding
You are bound by the philosophy to seek ways to make your work 1% better every day. Some of the best benchmarks in the world have used the Shokunin philosophy to get to where they are:
- Amazon – the benchmark for customer care and logistics
- Adobe Photoshop – the benchmark for photo editing
- Google Search – the benchmark for search engines
- BUGATTI – the benchmark for performance
- Apple iPad – the benchmark for tablets
02The 5 Pillars of Shokunin
Majime
Maintain a constant level of dedication. Set a baseline for the effort you put into your tasks and goals. Stay at or above it at all times. Falling below this baseline is considered a compromise.
Kojoshin
There is no “top.” There is no “arrived.” Improvement is a relentless march forward, like the progression of time. No matter what happens, find something to improve, even if it’s a very tiny aspect.
Seiketsukan
Staying organized declutters the mind, freeing it to be creative and allowing you to explore things from multiple perspectives.
Ganko
Your vision is your responsibility. Execute it truthfully. Don’t compromise your vision because of external factors or the opinions of others. Do things the way you want to. To be a disruptor, you have to disrupt the norms. No disruptor ever existed because they compromised on their vision or played by the rules.
Jyonetsu
The most important pillar, and the one I personally consider the foundation of the Shokunin philosophy. You have to fall in love with whatever it is you’re doing. If your heart isn’t in it, then you won’t strive for perfection or go the extra mile. The effort and learning must come from the heart, or it just becomes another task to check off a list.
03Implementing Shokunin the Right Way
Implementing the Shokunin philosophy starts with a question:
Am I doing this for money, or am I doing this to set a benchmark?
If you answered the former, then the philosophy is not for you.
Because if money is the goal, then your work will be filled with compromises and shortcuts.
But if your goal is to set a benchmark, then the money will chase you. It will come to you effortlessly.
And there are two big benefits to this, as pointed out earlier: longevity and notoriety.
A good benchmark will stand the test of time. A good benchmark will become a household name on its own.
Because supplanting any benchmark demands a worthwhile replacement. The replacement cannot be just 1% better. It needs to elevate the game.
And that is no easy task.
So if you want to implement this philosophy in your life, cultivate your mindset, shift your perspectives, and accept that whatever you choose to do must be the absolute best.
Remember, in today’s world there are many temporaries:
- Luck is temporary
- Fame is temporary
- Timing is temporary
- Virality is temporary
- Fortune is temporary
- Notoriety is temporary
But perfection is eternal. Strive for nothing less.
