This time, Inamori* spoke about the above motto in Kyocera philosophy.
What Inamori said is quoted with “”.
“ In this historical background, when the Kyocera Philosophy demanded a stoic, serious and strict way of living, some young employees complained, ‘How come the company forced us into a lifestyle? Does Kyocera have the right to control people’s thoughts or mindsets? Can we choose our lifestyle or mindset whatever we like?’
In one sense, they were right. As they said, we were supposed to maintain our own mottos and principles. However, Kyocera encouraged our staff to follow Kyocera philosophy, and therefore, some staff were against our policies. The more intelligent the employees are, those who had graduated from university, the stronger resistance they had. “
In the current Reiwa era, people pay attention to power harassment and a lot of taboos on personal beliefs. Mr. Inamori gave the following reasons for how to think when you receive the kind of backlash mentioned above:
1. It is based on lifelong commitment and morality (how to create our lifestyle)
2. Approaches differ depending on the ultimate objectives of our life
3. Achievements prove how philosophy works
Let me explain them one by one.
1. It is based on lifelong commitment and morality (how to create our lifestyle)
” In prewar education, there were classes on morality and ethics, which taught people the correct way of thinking: what are the right things to do as human beings. However, after the war, all of this education was banned. This is because the prewar Japanese government used morality and ethics to promote militaristic ideological education. However, I believe that ‘ways of thinking’ are actually very important. “
→ Looking at the global phenomena over the past 10 years, I think it can be summed up in one word: “How do we think about morality and ethics?” Under nature, people cannot survive and live alone. Human beings are made to form groups and families. Therefore, destroying families or groups somehow looks like being against the natural and universal rules. I think it is important to discuss with staff what are the right things to do as human beings.
2. Approaches differ depending on the ultimate objectives of our life
“ ’You are so different from Inamori, I don’t think you can be even Inamori’s competitor or rival. If you were running a company of the same scale as Kyocera with your own philosophy, you could be one of the competitors. But you’re the second generation, and you’re running a business that you inherited from your parents, and the scale and profitability of the business is far less than Kyocera. So please understand that you are not in a position to criticize Kyocera’s business philosophy. ‘ I realized later that this is what Tsukamoto (the founder of Wacoal) wanted to say. ”
→ Our company aims to be the most trusted real estate advisor in the world. We think about what it means to be “the most trusted company in the world” every day. We actively take on difficult jobs, even jobs that other advisors turn down. Furthermore, no matter how difficult the negotiation looks, we are willing to challenge ourselves, bow our heads many times and keep seriously considering how to make the hurdle lower.
We shall patiently keep challenges and take different approaches. If we get used to this work style and deliver the ideal outcomes to our clients, I think people will naturally want to ask us for help again. For that reason, I think it is very important to “decide which mountain to climb,” as Inamori says.
3. Achievements prove how philosophy works
“ After about 20 years or so after Kyocera was founded, even people who graduated from top universities stopped complaining about philosophy implementations. I think this is because they could no longer argue against it, because we had a track record: We came together with this Kyocera philosophy to run the company, and as a result, we have become such a great company. ”
→ Backed by a track record, people can be convinced with numbers and figures. Even so, I think that cynical people think that Kyocera just happened to go with the ceramic boom. However, people who practice philosophy become the mainstream in the company, and they lead the team and get the difficult assignments done. If a team that is united by the philosophy achieves good results, those who have been watching from the sidelines will have no choice but to acknowledge the facts. I think Inamori is saying that it is important to show such track records.
So, to sum up, forcing a philosophy on people may seem like a mind control at first glance, but if you take the way you are as a human being, set high goals in life, and demonstrate the actual track records, I think that employees will understand the significance of implementing a philosophy in a company.
* 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
News Letter subscription is here
