One aspect of Japanese culture I've long admired (and to some degree tried to emulate) is the focus on presentation. I'm not a huge fan of iterating in public. I'd rather incubate an idea in private, iron out the kinks and present with confidence. The Japanese style of presentation takes this to another level.

I asked Patrick and Kazue their thoughts on presentation in Japan. Why is it that even a purchase under a thousand yen (about ten dollars) is given such care and attention? Patrick pushed back saying it's not a Japanese thing, necessarily (he gave Apple as an example but was hard pressed to come up with others). The fact of the matter is, culturally it would be unacceptable here to do a rush job of serving someone. Care and attention-giving is part of the purchase process. You pay for ambience and presentation as much as for the product and service, Kazue agreed.

This morning I had tea at Hara Donuts. It opened this year in February. The facade of the building looks like something out of a wonderful cartoon. 

The decor inside matches the feel of the outside of the building. Sweet, but not overly. Friendly and rustic. A perfect place to spend an overcast day doing quiet work. There's a group of school-aged children having donuts, as well as two older women sharing tea.

The donut has tofu in it and admittedly isn't the most delicious I've ever had. The tea is simply black tea. Yet all of it, for under five hundred yen, is brought out and placed before you with care and attention. The kind of care and attention you usually get when making a luxury item purchase in the States. Quite literally, the care someone would put into handing you the keys to your brand new Aston Martin is the same care with which they delivered that donut today.

I'm convinced that presentation is half the battle of reaching your audience. Maybe more than half. Sloppy presentation isn't intolerable, it just makes us less likely to return. And incredible presentation, even with mediocre product, can cause us to return. If only for the experience. 

How do you present yourself, your product or your service? How can you package what you're doing in a way that compels your audience to return for more? I'm not saying you can or should compromise on what's inside, but do think about how you're presenting it.

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Tomorrow is our fourth annual All-You-Can-Yoga event at the studio. I need to rest up and get ready for that. There will be cups of tea and laughter and a lot of photos taken, so be ready for updates.

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What I'm reading right now:

Ignore Everybody via Knotty Yarn

The Rise of the 'Homepreneur'

An Executive Guide to Social Media

Kind Over Matter via Liz Franco