Shapers. Jonas Altman

Shapers - Jonas Altman


Скачать книгу
AND LUXURY

      One of the most pervasive facets of Japanese work culture is the distinct pride they take in their work. The Japanese call this shokunin; a term once reserved for the domain of craftspeople, today it's seeping into many aspects of Japanese working life with the implicit duty to perform at one's best. Japanese sculptor Toshio Odate explains:

      The Japanese word shokunin is defined by both Japanese and Japanese‐English dictionaries as ‘craftsman’ or ‘artisan,’ but such a literal description does not fully express the deeper meaning. The Japanese apprentice is taught that shokunin means not only having technical skills, but also implies an attitude and social consciousness …. The shokunin has a social obligation to work his or her best for the general welfare of the people. This obligation is both spiritual and material, in that no matter what, the shokunin's responsibility is to fulfil the requirement.

      The second reason has to do with family. The drive for this kind of conscientious behaviour in Japanese workers stems from deep‐seated family bonds. It's precisely why out of all the businesses worldwide that have been around for over 100 years, 90% are Japanese. And they all keep it tight with fewer than 300 employees. Instead of striving to grow faster, they endure because they endeavour to grow better.

      Whether in or outside of work, what spurs us to integrate is evolution itself. More folks could take a cue from the Japanese where good work, good business, and good citizenry for that matter, envelop a deep personal commitment to making your best contribution.

      By knowing what you value and how you are valued, you can blend yourself into your work. That feeling that you're making a real difference is unmistakable. And when you're a part of something larger than yourself, meaning is bound to come.

      We glorify love and work and indeed the two are forever enmeshed in an intricate dance. ‘They are also locked in mortal combat,’ claims philosopher Alain de Botton. Like love, work is a practice–a daily operation that, over time, shapes the fabric of our lives.

      We have to take time for ourselves to quieten the inner critic, manage our anxiety, and minimise our stress. I'm exhausted just thinking about it, let alone writing about it. This approach all adds up to a thick layer of emotional labour that's rarely talked about or valued, much less quantified or even seen.

      Meaning, if and when it shows up, can be beautifully random and randomly beautiful. And work, whether or not we like it, is a popular laboratory for making meaning. Like love, we throw ourselves into it. We encounter it. We fall into it. Sometimes we do so as a diversion from other facets of our lives. Other times we do so to move just that bit closer to our dreams. And in some instances, we do both.

      These times where things don't quite go as well as expected, can, if we're open to it, lead to the most interesting of new horizons. We have an opportunity to nurture our talent, fuel our interest, and make an even bigger impact in the world. The only question is whether we're ready to do so.

      Throughout history, work was mostly miserable with little if any room for self‐expression. As punishment for the Original sin, drudgery was a potential stairway to heaven. Modern management commands productivity and progress while our attitudes towards work becomes bound to time on the clock. With the advent of the Internet, we are untethered from our desk and provided with endless opportunities to express ourselves. We're now set on giving life to the multitude of selves within us.

      Platonic idealism (alongside the ancient Greek philosophies) was instrumental in giving rise to democracy and laying the bedrock of modern Western civilisation. ‘There will be no end to the troubles of states, or of humanity itself, till philosophers become kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers,’ is one of his finer lines.

      In Plato's Republic, the ideal state is divided into three distinct classes: the Producers, who provide material and functional needs; the Auxiliaries, who defend the state; and the Guardians, who govern it. Justice is maintained when every person within a respective class performs his or her proper function in society.

      For a long time, I was hung up on a philosopher who lived some 2400 years ago proclaiming the best way for everyone to live, and in particular how I should live. Oh, the gall to speak of the desires of my soul and then exclude them from expression! Admittedly those were different times and I've grossly oversimplified things.

      Or better yet, if we could travel back in time to Piraeus circa 380 BC and demonstrate our progress as a civilisation. As writer Tom Streithorst hints, ‘With an AK‐47, a home brewing kit, or a battery‐powered vibrator, startled [onlookers] would worship at our feet.’ Imagine still yet, if we were to explain that we've designed machines


Скачать книгу