Drinking is mandatory: Philosophy “Build the trust among staff.”

This time, Inamori* spoke about the above motto in Kyocera philosophy.

What Inamori said is quoted with “”.

“Since its founding, Kyocera has valued bonds, trusts and communications among staff regardless of their positions. We have communicated with each other with gratitude and sincerity, and have carried out our works based on trust. Thus, all the company events have been considered as important opportunities for everyone to open their hearts and strengthen ties.

Even in a relationship between a section leader and a subordinate, with trust, both parties can clearly express what they think. Through those communications, we can identify issues and work together to solve them, and a work process ultimately runs smoothly. To build trust, it is necessary for everyone to make efforts on a daily basis to build a bond between everyone’s hearts.”

In order to build the trust between staff members, Mr. Inamori particularly emphasizes the following:

Let me explain one by one.

1 Participate in all the company events.

“ Kyocera started organizing a two day corporate trip to a hot spring to build family-like relationships. At that time, most of our employees were young, just graduated from junior high or high school, but some of them were as far apart in age as their parents. When I announced that I was going to go on a trip, an older employee thought it would be no fun to go there and drink with kids who looked like his children. Or other guys tried to entertain themselves by not participating in the event and asked to get them paid. At the time, I was furious with such employees.

I stressed that going on a trip together doesn’t mean having fun together. The purpose is to deepen the bond among employees and further strengthen the trust, to build a trust as comrades rather than superiors and subordinates. The reason that Japanese companies have had a culture of corporate trips for a long time is not as a reward for employees, but was originally intended to deepen the bonds between employees. ”

→ During the pre-Lehman bubble era, a foreign company took all of its employees to Hawaii. There must have been a sense of reward and the intention to reduce the corporate taxes. Of course, it was voluntary participation, and some people got paid instead of the actual participation or went to Hawaii at a different time. This company was eventually acquired by another company after the Lehman clash.

There is also a drama called “It is unacceptably inappropriate.” This is a comedy drama that contrasts the gap between the Showa and Reiwa eras. Nowadays, if you get angry with staff who want to skip the corporate trip, it may quickly become a problem. Still, I think every one of us needs to be aware of why we are holding this event. Building a trust is necessary to pursue the ultimate fulfillment of us. It is also crucial to operate the amoeba management based on philosophy. Explaining the reasons and making the staff fully understood is necessary.

2 Make efforts to know each other

” The trust cannot be built by promises or agreements. Those never work. For instance ‘I talked to that guy.’ or ‘ I had a drink with that person before’. Those interactions may allow us to say: ‘That person knows me.’ ‘I know that person too.‘ Simple acquaintance like that is the basis for building trust.

Of course, there are noble relationships such as mutual respect, but in a company, trust is fundamentally built by getting to know each other. It’s the everything of building trust and all you need. The best way to do that is to spend some time by sitting and having drinks together. ”

→ When I worked for a foreign company, I was often invited to the company’s headquarters in Germany. My boss asked me to stay at his home instead of a hotel, and I spent many weekends at his home. “By spending time at your boss’s house and having meals together, you can learn about each other’s views, thoughts and values. Having such an experience makes your life easier especially in working places” says the boss.

You can’t just spend your time at your boss’s house, have a nice meal, and then come back. Now that you’ve learned more about the other person, what’s important is how you can use that knowledge and experiences to build trust. I believe that knowing the other person is the key to business success, not only in Japan but also around the world.

3 Open your subconscious mind (importance of drinking occasions)

“ If you keep drinking like that, you’ll gradually be in a super relaxed mood. You’ll get drunk, the alcohol will spill, your clothes will get dirty, and it looks like a terrible situation. No longer is there hierarchy: the president and his employees, they’re like drinking buddies.” In the midst of this, an employee proudly says, `Our president scolded me to my face and called me an idiot’ Through such interactions, bonds deepen.

We build relationships that go beyond logic. In other words, I want people to deepen their awareness that they are part of the group of people working for Kyocera. I have always placed great importance on the drinking occasions as a ceremony for that purpose. “

→ In psychology, there are states in which the conscious mind and subconscious mind are easily connected. This can happen before you fall asleep, the moment you wake up in the morning, while relaxing in a bath, or even after drinking alcohol. Mr. Inamori also emphasizes the use of the power of the subconscious as a very important tool. The party is a very important moment for the staff to release their subconscious and experience the feeling of being accepted as-is condition by colleagues.

As far as I know, there aren’t many global companies that use these kinds of parties to use the subconscious minds of their staff and increase a sense of unity and camaraderie. It may be said that it is just a party or a drinking occasion , but it has a very important role.

* Mr. Kazuo Inamori, the founder of Kyocera, KDDI (one of the top tele communication companies in Japan) and the top of revitalization project of JAL. As a well-known Japanese entrepreneur, he has been sharing his experiences and management know-how with managements of small to middle companies in Japan.

Further queries or doubts, please email to ytomizuka@abrilsjp.com

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