In the Jiro assignment, there were two questions. Here are specific points that your writeup should have covered. (if you haven’t heard from me, your writeup is fine and a pass.)

1. Why successful. Clearly, his personal qualities–work ethic, perfectionism, etc.–play a large role in explaining his success. However, that alone is not sufficient. His intense focus and narrow scope (one small restaurant serving only 15-20 pieces of sushi) allow him to concentrate and dedicate everything to this one quest. His embodies the principle of “do less, not more.” Choosing to focus is part of that; the immense dedication to that one focus is the other part.

2. Comparison to Gordon Ramsey. Ramsey is the opposite and he too is successful. Ramsey runs a restaurant empire, with one restaurant having 3 michelin stars. His metrics for success seem to be celebrity and financial, very different from Jiro. But he is not considered the very best at what he does, even though he is extremely good. One can be successful without doing less, but perhaps not the very best.