You hear them being dropped here and there at work, wondering: “what did I just hear?” Unable to repeat, you sit in silence and wait for the workshop or a meeting to end to dive into Google and understand at least one of those words so next time you are not caught by surprise (or Sapuraizu in Japanese).
What is it with Japanese words for non-Japanese people (speaking for myself, if you are Japanese, you are awesome for reading this)? How did the Japanese language and culture manage to get the essence of it all? I’m sure there is not one answer to it. In this series of eight articles, I will attempt to unravel some of my favourite Japanese words and share with you how you and your team can benefit from learning about them.
Ikigai, that must be some type of food, right?
Ikigai is not food you can eat, it is food for your soul. It is a Japanese concept that has been translated in many ways as follows:
- Your reason for being (random google search, most blogs translate it to this).
- The happiness of always being busy (Ikigai The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life, by H. Garcia and F. Miralles).
- Reason to live (Google translate).
However you phrase it, it helps you to find purpose in life. You can be guided to that purpose through a series of questions and a diagram Marc Winn initially visualized for us in his blog post. These questions are straight forward as this:
- Are you doing something that you love?
- That the world needs?
- That you are good at?
- And that you can be paid for?
You can see my version of Marc’s visualization below. This exercise can help you with your purpose and your organization’s or a team’s purpose.
How can you find the Ikigai of your team?
- Time box this activity to max 2 hours
- Grab a stack of sticky notes and pens or Miro/Mural (other online visual board)
- Ask everyone to answer questions in each section on their own before sharing with the team
- Group similarities and discuss
- Boom! You got your team’s purpose mapped out!!
Overall, Ikigai is the answer to get you to live for over 100 years! I’m not kidding. Watch Dan Buettner explaining it in his TED Talk: How to live to be 100+
To continue learning with me Japanese “words” used in Lean, Agile or our everyday lives. Learn how you can apply them to your team and organisation. I hope you will jump to the following article, where you can read my take on Mari Kondo.
