One of my favorite things about my job is the fact that I learn something new every single day. It's a pretty grand statement - but it's true (and often just a little bit painful).
This week, I learned a lot. And while attending a client meeting in Las Vegas discussing the subject of funeral planning, I was exposed to a new concept with great appeal: Umami. If you look it up, you find a definition like this one: Umami /uːˈmɑːmi/, popularly referred to as savoriness, is one of the five basic tastes together with sweet, sour, bitter, and salty.
But, in the context of my meeting, Umami was presented as the concept of making something bitter into something delicious. Brussel sprouts being the culinary example of something naturally bitter, that can be quite delicious with appropriate attention and bacon.
But in a more esoteric sense, we can make bitter pills sweet with our work. The insightful connection that was made that instead of planning a funeral, we can plan a celebration of life.
I think this is truly inspiring. The notion that with some love and care and a positive spin, the bitter can become delicious. Whether in our work, or in our lives. It's up to us to make it that way.
Sometimes, learning too many new things can make you feel (temporarily) bitter during tough (busy) times. On this 25th anniversary of Hacker Group, Taste the Umami, savoring the sweetness of knowledge and the satisfaction of success are delicious.