I have been doing this philosophy marathon for about two years. Now I have realized that Mr. Inamori has always precisely found what the root cause is for each one of managerial decisions. Why could he do this? This is simply because he understands well, what kind of value standard each one of us has maintained. In other words, this is the question of “Do I use my compass, or others? “ He immediately has found which compass a guy in front of him has tendered so far. Mr. Inamori has also captured where the compass comes from, which means altruism or egoism?
For instance, if a top management of a restaurant chain decides to close a store, he said, “To secure employment, I decided to do this.” However, Mr. Inamori overlooks the mind of that guy. “No, you are not honest to your mind. You just followed the social mood, and you just simply wanted to protect your reputation as a manager. ”
In Kyocera philosophy, he reiterated many times that he established his own compass as a top management and that compass is always based on “the right things as human being”
The tips to develop your own compass are as follows.
Fair, Find Fear, move Forward and Follow
1 Conduct your ethical standard check: what is right thing as a human being :Fair
2 Develop your own analytical thinking (identify what is the fundamental cause of your anxiety): Find Fear
3 Get used to compare, choose, decide and act: move Forward,
4 Get well-determined to accept all the result come from your decisions: Follow
Let me explain one by one.
1 Conduct your ethical standard check: what is right thing as a human being
This is the story when Mr. Inamori was rehabilitating the bankrupt JAL as the chairman. The issue was an alliance with two American airlines. Until then, JAL’s alliance partner was American Airlines. Delta had been discussed as a candidate for a new partnership since JAL went bankrupt. Since Delta had offered a large amount of financial support, the majority of the company looked favorable to the partnership with Delta as it would be more beneficial for JAL.
“Just when I was appointed as a chairman, it seemed that alliance with Delta was reported in newspapers and it was almost decided. But when I heard the explanation, I told JAL executives, “As you say, judging from only the financial benefit, it may be right to choose Delta Air Lines, but it’s been more than 15 years of partnership, like a marriage. Are you fully convinced with the idea to easily divorce your partner who has been with you for many years, simply due to the money? Are you sure that is the right behavior as a human being, gentlemen? “ The JAL executive board finally decided to go with American. The CEO of American Airline was so impressed with this story, purchased tons of Inamori’s philosophy book and distributed them among the employees of American Air.
2 Develop your own analytical thinking (identify what is the fundamental cause of your anxiety) Find your Fear
Let me tell you the episode of Alex, the third generation of a confectionery manufacturing company. Alex asked Mr. Inamori, “When and how should I execute the generation change?”
Born as the eldest son of three brothers, he joined a shipbuilding company after graduating from a university in Tokyo and worked at a civil engineering site overseas. After being informed that his father had been ill and his mother was hospitalized, Alex decided to leave the company and enter his parents’ company “Because it’s a small company, it was tough decision to me to choose whether to continue or quit, but I think I should, as my parents worked hard to raise children. I felt loyalty to my parents. I have little experience as top management and my father has been demonstrating his leadership. When the time comes, the trusted members may leave at the generation change but I think I should manage with the rest of the members. How could I do that without any managerial experience. I could not tell my father to step aside as he enjoys his responsibility. That’s my concern… “ said Alex.
→ The root of Alex’s anxiety was always looking for other’s compass. He graduated from university and entered a company, but he didn’t get the results that he wished. This is because Alex were always caring about other’s compass. He was always looking for excuses, I made only poor performance because the instruction was bad, the poor quality of management, and the insufficient environment, etc.
Mr, Inamori saw Alex’s mind and said to him,” Observe what your father has been doing and think about why. So you will be able to think by yourself, develop your own compass then the generation change happens spontaneously.
Further queries or doubts, please email to ytomizuka@abrilsjp.com
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