sushi apprenticeship

A famous (or perhaps infamous depending on who you talk to) requirement of those who apprentice under the world-renown sushi chef Jiro Ono, is that they must prepare rice for two or three years before moving on to the next stage of their training.

To many, this might seem like overkill.

Three years is a lot of time, surely this could be streamlined.

But then again, most of us don’t run three-Michelin-star restaurants like Jiro. Which, on some level, makes his opinion on training requirements a bit credible.

The urge to shortcut the process of learning or building something, while understandable and perhaps well-intentioned, seems to often result in mediocre outcomes.

In a hypothetical scenario where all of Jiro’s apprentices train for half the time, one can’t help but wonder if the sushi would be nearly as good as it is in real life.

The same consideration should apply to anything you’re trying to learn or build.

Shortcuts are not necessarily the enemy, but it’s important to understand the tradeoffs of doing something faster.

Will the outcome last? Will it still satisfy what you’re trying to accomplish? Or will it end up being propped on stilts that are prone to snapping?

The pursuit of efficiency can result in the exact opposite of the intended outcome if you end up undercutting too many important things along the way.

In more straightforward terms: your sushi will suck.