Most Kyocera staff have respected Mr. Inamori very much. By looking into comments said by Kyocera management team members, I would like to figure out the fundamental criteria for the leader whom every staff respects very much.
The features of such leaders are as follows.
1 Judge people by personality, not by their background
2 Impress and surprise staffs
3 Don’t be afraid to be hated
4 Maintain the ethical value and conduct the best practice
5 Listen to others by putting yourself in their shoes
1 Judge people by personality, not by their background
Andy, the former Kyocera management team member, recalled the story of Kyocera’s M & A. The management team and department heads of the merged company were called by Kyocera. They had to wait for hours, and the place where they were guided to was like a hall with a lot of tatami mats, where sake bottles were placed on the tables and the party suddenly started. Each department head was called to Inamori’s table, and they talked with Mr. Inamori over glasses of beer. Inamori asked what kind of work they were doing and what kind of troubles they had had. After the group discussions were over, Mr.Inamori declared, “I finally met all of you, guys, the people at XX company are really good guys. Let’s get married!”
Andy, who was an officer of this XX company said. “It was actually the rescue merger, but Inamori described it as marriage. That was very touching. “’ Inamori continued, “Before getting married, everyone was born and raised in different environments, so both of us have strengths and weaknesses. Do not criticize deficits the partner has, let’s do our best together. I feel this is the nature of the marriage.” This impressed very much Andy and XX company’s people.
→ Before getting married, Mr. Inamori was looking at the personality of the people in the merged company. He never paid attention to the academic background, financial status, nor track records. He said, “Let’s get married” instead of ” You have no choice but getting married to me.” This is the story to demonstrate the humanity part of Inamori.
2 Impress and surprise staffs
Andy said, “The Honorary Chairman is undoubtedly the one who is respected by many.
Inamori has done many things that really amaze people. It’s not difficult. If you have a boss, do a job that will surprise the boss. You should deliver the services that surprise customers. You can demonstrate outstanding leadership that will surprise your subordinates. With that in mind, i don’t think it’s difficult. However, it is difficult to conduct all of them as business practices. But for the more challenging practices, the more serious we have to take in practice. If I do this, everyone would be surprised. Isn’t it really motivating you to think that you can deliver a good performance to surprise others? If you want to surprise and please others, everyone including yourself should be touched. I think this is the most important thing to learn from the Honorary Chairman, Inamori.”
3 Don’t be afraid to be hated
Andy recalled. “ Mr. Inamori rigorously pursued numbers.
‘The figure should not be this but like that.’
‘Where did this number come from? If I lower this number, wouldn’t it change like this?’
It means that President Inamori has been looking closely at each expense item breakdown and how they can be minimized further. That attitude of expense analysis has become the organizational culture of the entire company, Kyocera.
Looking back, the chase of President Inamori at the meeting was really harsh. For example, I was standing in front of more than 200 executives at an international management meeting and was scolded by Inamori: “Andy, how come you made such a terrible mistake ?”. Inamori’s eyes at that time were like snake eyes. He was so angry that a blu-ray could come out of his eyes. This episode shows that the power of President Inamori was really amazing. When President Inamori scolded someone, the lesson should be shared with the others. Inamori never intended to criticize only one person. All of the staff there spontaneously have become humbly and sincerely listening to what was the problem and why this practice was scolded. Inamori’s words had such an amazing power. Listening to it is a learning experience for everyone.
One day, Mr. Inamori told Andy like this.
“Andy, won’t you quit Kyocera, will you?” “No, I won’t quit.” Inamori confirmed again. “Are you sure not to leave Kyocera aren’t you?”, “Yes, I’m sure to stay in Kyocera”. After such confirmation, President Inamori started scolding Andy. “ Andy, what you did for this deal was…”
→ Mr. Inamori has never said that he wants to be liked by everyone. “ I don’t mind if you hate me, but let me say this for you to be a better person. Inamori had already committed himself to be a father of all the staff, based on the value “conduct the right things as human beings”. Therefore, Inamori had been respected by everyone.
Further queries or doubts, please email to ytomizuka@abrilsjp.com
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