Mr. Inamori* talks about Amoeba Management under the title of “Doing our best for the team” Above all, he talks about this policy as to how to reward the achievements of the amoeba (group) who contributed to the business result.
The most beautiful and precious act of human beings is doing our best for others. People usually tend to think of themselves first, but in reality, everyone should feel most fulfilled when he finds himself to be useful to others and please others. In the past, in a plane accident in the United States in the middle of winter, a man disappeared beneath the water as he saved and helped a woman who seemed to be exhausted next to him. Human nature is such a beautiful treasure. We (Kyocera) were able to build a wonderful team-work spirit because we (Kyocera) had found ourselves in a comrade-like strong bond to do our best for our friends and spent all of our efforts for others in our company.
It is a beautiful heart to do for the world, for the people, and for the companions. By doing so, the person’s heart becomes even more beautiful and pure. In other words, it is a very important act to improve your personality. This corresponds to the Buddhist “Altruism disciplines”. In Buddhism, the altruistic act of doing something for others is very important. Buddha explains that accumulating altruism is the way to be enlightened.
Inamori also explained the Amoeba system which he invented.
“ I thought creating the system where not only the top management, but each one of a small team thinks about management, should conduct the business practice with the same mindset, way of thinking, and spirit as does the management, would allow us to be a much stronger company. By dividing the organization into small groups and operating them independently like one company, it becomes possible to grasp whether each person is making a profit or wasting resources. This is a management system called Amoeba.”
In addition, this part describes the pros and cons of giving bonuses to people in the profitable departments, paying high salaries, and distributing profits according to the results.
“At Kyocera, even if an amoeba contributes to business performance, becomes a driving force for the entire company, and contributes to colleagues, they have never been rewarded financially such as salaries and bonuses. Only praise and compliments have been given to the group. Since the foundation of Kyocera, I have always said that it is most important for human beings to do their best for their peers without asking for compensation, so Kyocera employees say that even if their business division makes a profit, no one desires an extra bonus or salary increase. I implemented this system taking into account the psychological interactions. Those who successfully achieved the target easily become arrogant and egoistic while the business divisions that could not improve their performance tend to unnecessarily get depressed. Even if the business performance is good, when the results start declining due to the economy, they would eventually get depressed, despite the past good track records. That would put the whole company in a conflict and bad mood. In other words, just as a company’s business performance goes up and down, people’s minds and emotional status are never stable.”
“In Kyocera people praise the colleagues who did their best, and the staff around them thank those heroes, “Because you did your best, the company performed well and we eventually got a bonus.” As such, I have brought the system by which we can give only honor as a way to reward for the good performance. That’s because we all equally worked hard and we all wanted to achieve both physical and mental fulfillment. For that reason, I have strongly emphasized the importance of “doing our best for others”, since Kyocera was founded.”
Above is a motto, which we find easy to tell but hard to conduct. Thus, I thought about how each staff member could do his best for his colleagues. I think the following actions will allow our staff to do their best for others.
1 The company supports in removing mental blocks of staffs
2 Leave staffs their choices
3 Encourage staffs to consider their ultimate fulfillment
1 The company supports in removing mental blocks of staffs
At the root of human beings, there is a desire seeking rewards with money or materials. This is because they believe that they have never been respected by others.
From a psychological point of view, those who think they are not respected have a notable psychological feature. This means that he is actually the one who looks down more upon himself than does anyone else. In other words, the lack of self-confidence causes a lot of issues and troubles in interaction with others.
Most situations will improve as he becomes aware of his own mindset.
If he can admit himself, he will be able to admit others.
He will also be able to use his energy for others and the world. If he believes that he is not recognized and his doubt is strong, he will unconsciously behave in a way that he is ignored.
But if he subconsciously admits and values himself, he won’t either attack others or downgrade himself.
As a result, his ultimate individual performance will improve.
I think that it would be more effective for each staff member to face his/her own hidden mental traumas with company’s support. If the company is willing to provide counseling support to its staff, they would be able to cure themselves by facing each other.
2 Leave staffs their choices
People can pursue high bonuses, job titles, money, and other financial rewards as well as materials. On the other hand, some companies, like Kyocera, place great importance on the praise and compliments that the staff obtain from others. I think it would be better to have such a system where employees can ultimately select which prize they should seek.
“People who pursue monetary rewards may not fit our corporate culture, so I’m sorry, but please deliver your capability in another company, where you can get the monetary rewards you desire” ,the company can also tell this to the staff who seek materialistic values.
When people realize that they have at least two options, I think employees can spontaneously l enjoy their work and complete their responsibilities.
Working actively with such a mindset is one of approaches to mentally fulfill your staff.
3 Encourage staffs to consider their ultimate fulfillment
Occasionally, I think it’s good to arrange philosophy reading sessions or sessions of film watching or reading books. In this way, we can provide an atmosphere to share ideas with our staff. This kind of approach also works to encourage staff to realize their true well-being, and mental fulfillment. This will change the aura and atmosphere of the entire company.
People are spontaneously encouraged to look in the direction where people can find the way to ultimate fulfillment of our souls and spirits.
By creating a workplace atmosphere like this, I think that people can realize the fulfillment that each of us human beings have at the bottom of our minds.
Each person carefully thinks about what makes them happy,
You can carry out and realize that happiness.
This company is the place where you can improve your mental status as much as possible.
When people start thinking above, I think we can understand the true meaning of “working for others -altruism -” that Mr. Inamori said.
In summary, “I will do my best for my friends”, in order for the staff to have this feeling,
I think it is important to take care of the mental health of each staff member, to give them choices, and to create an environment where they can always get aware of “fulfillment”.
Further queries or doubts, please email to ytomizuka@abrilsjp.com
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