How can I be better?
I watched Jiro Dreams of Sushi. After almost ten years since the last time I watched this movie, I still found it to be a deeply moving piece.
Jiro, now the 95-year-old owner and sushi chef of one of the finest sushi restaurants in the world, is endlessly devoted to his craft. The fish his restaurant uses, the rice they prepare, the vendors he selects, the tools and techniques he utilizes - these are always on his mind. It’s also what he attributes as the secret of success in his life - mastery of his chosen occupation.
I grinned a few times while watching this. I don’t have the number of years that Jiro has toward mastery of my own skill, but I recognize some of his habits and traits in me.
I think about my work all the time. I think about my clients, their goals, and the companies and industries they strive to be a part of. I constantly journal thoughts, ideas, and new job search methods worth exploring. I ask myself, how can I be better? How can I tip the scales in my clients’ favor? Where else could I be digging for answers?
—
I have a feeling that one of the punchlines to Origins of the Modern Career is that careers both emerge and evolve alongside social and cultural change.
Increased education/specialization of the laborer, combined with the formal establishment of key professions in the 19th century (nursing, engineering, pharmacy, social work, etc.), allowed some of the first formal career structures to exist.
It created protection for the worker, protection for the actual profession, and, ultimately, protection for society.
In addition, being in a profession and following a career path gave the worker his own status, power, and prestige. The increased access to education and technology created a positive feedback loop - the easier it became to join a profession, the more that people wanted to be part of professions. Over time, certain patterns and expected experiences within the profession became “known” career structures.
What’s fun is that our understanding of careers during the 1800s and our understanding of careers today can either be wildly different or exactly the same depending on whom you’re talking to. But I’ll save this topic for another email. ;)
My notes on Origins are public, updated in real-time, and they can be found here. Check the left-hand bar for the book title.
—
Follow #GabbyTurmelle on LinkedIn
