Precision & pride

Happy birthday, dear Shinkansen. Yes, the Japanese Shinkansen train has been around for 50 years. It is the high speed train connection between major Japanese cities. The average delay within the past 50 years has been 50 seconds. It has had zero accidents. Pretty impressive.

The Japanese are well known for precision and discipline. I have a lot of admiration for this country and its people. Influenced by confucianism they uphold collectivist values. The community is more important than the individual.

Three cornerstones of great performance are autonomy, mastery and purpose. The Japanese are free to explore and innovate transportation. That’s a fairly easy one. As for mastery, they take pride in delivering quality work.  The Shinkansen is a masterpiece of technology and quality standards. Punctual, fast and clean. You can experience the staff’s pride in every detail. It seems as if through their product they’re saying „If we’re doing it, we may aswell do it right.“ And they’re doing it, because they see a greater purpose – the value for the greater good. The Japanese love getting – collectively – from Tokyo to Osaka in 2.5 hours. Everyone is proud of the Shinkansen. It’s much more than a train. It’s a symbol for quality and reliability.

So much of what we do depends on how we feel about it. Is it our free choice and do we feel independent in our decisions? Can we be the best at what we do and achieve excellence? And do we have a reason for doing what we’re doing? Do we see the bigger picture and purpose of our actions?

We create this greater purpose simply through what we produce and how it’s connected to a larger entity. The carrot a farmer has grown may be insignificant. But it’s a vegetable that feeds and nurtures people. And if you grow the best damn carrot you can, you’re contributing to not only feeding a person, but a sense of possibility in everyone. Let what you do be an expression of values, beauty and hope. Not every day at work may be the best day, but if you are connected to autonomy, mastery and purpose there’s a greater chance that the next day can be awesome again. The results can be intoxicating. When you know you’ve done your best and the results are inspiring – that’s when you feel the pride and satisfaction. Ride the Shinkansen!

Photographs by Tine Knies.