300 year company’s criteria: rag or junk? A case of JP legacy company

Japan has the largest number of long lasting companies in the world.

Mr. Hideyuki Sakai, the president of the “V Recovery Research” based in Nagoya, where Toyota is based, demonstrated the criteria of a company which lasts over 300 years.

Sakai referred words released by Mr. Ushui, the president of Japan Weston Co.,Ltd, who won the most valuable company award in Japan granted by “The Small and Medium Enterprise Agency” in Japan.

Some companies want to go public in 10 years. Some other companies want to last for more than 50 years. Some other companies target to last more than 100 years. Obviously, their strategies are different.

Under “Listing in ten years company “ environment, employees must work very hard to get exhausted and wasted but eventually get rich. In other words, those companies convert employees into money.

On the other hand, a company targeting more than 100 years, or even 300 years lifetime, has long term view like growing a cedar from a seed. The criteria of such legacy company are as follows;

Supreme mission to dedicate all the resources to the world
Sharing the value and philosophy released by the top management
Planting and transmitting leader’s philosophy to all employees
Employees’ spontaneous, innovative and proactive initiatives
Employees’ high potential and their self-confidence
Patience with gradual growth against speculative and speedy growth
Not chasing what is missing but learning to fulfill with what already given

In addition to above, it is important for companies that continue for 300 years to have royal customers. To maintain a long and good relationship with them, we must take and follow a safe, steady, and moderate path, not seek to build immediate but fragile trust.

It’s important to grow at the same speed as your customers.

“I learned a lot from Usui, especially growing at the same pace as our royal customers.” Sakai concluded with those words.

Japan Weston is an industrial rag processing company. Around 15 years ago, they were looking for the department head who could lead their overseas businesses. I was the candidate and had the interview with the president. I was around thirty-five, completed MBA and looked only at global investment banks. A recruiting agent set up that interview but nothing happened. I don’t remember if it was Weston or I who first declined. I eventually joined Bear Sterns and German banks later on. Instead of collecting rags, I collected junk tranches and arranged securitization products. They all disappeared at Lehman brothers’ clash in 2008. If I had learned the business philosophy in my thirties, I would have shared president values and joined them. On their web sites, each employee’s manga portrait illustration appears. I think my portrait may have appeared there on that site as well. I probably would have smiled and looked very much fulfilled.