2024-07-05 22:18:50
Lectures by Inamori, the founder of Kyocera, the most respected businessman in Japan
Management know-how that has overcome all kinds of crises… A philosophy that emphasizes human morality stands out
◇Management, Kazuo Inamori Talks About the Origin/Written by Kazuo Inamori, compiled by Inamori Library, etc., translated by Jun-ho Yang/700 pages/39,800 won/21st Century Books
Capital borrowed from an acquaintance, 3 million yen, 28 employees. This was the beginning of Kyocera, a Japanese electronics company founded by Kazuo Inamori in 1959 at the age of 27. In 1976, 17 years after founding the company, Inamori, then in his 40s, said at a press conference, “At the time, we had no foundation, so I wanted to use the ‘human heart’ as the starting point of management.” “The human heart is fickle and fleeting, but at the same time, nothing can be as great a support in the midst of adversity as that.” In just over 60 years, Kyocera had grown into a major corporation with a market capitalization of 3 trillion yen.
Inamori is one of the most respected businessmen in Japan, along with Konosuke Matsushita, founder of Panasonic, and Soichiro Honda, founder of Honda Motor. Following Kyocera, he founded KDDI in 1984 and grew it into a company with a market capitalization of 9.5 trillion yen. He is also famous for taking the unpaid chairmanship of Japan Airlines (JAL) in 2010, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, and reviving it in just two years and eight months.
The new book is a collection of the main lectures Inamori gave over a period of 40 years from the 1970s to the 2010s. The publication was originally planned to begin in 2015, while Inamori was still alive, but work was put on hold when he passed away in August 2022. The work resumed with the intention of “compiling Inamori’s management philosophy,” and the book was published in Japan at the end of last year. Most of the lectures selected in the book were personally selected by Inamori, and they cover his entire life from his youth to retirement.
It contains the philosophy of a manager who has overcome major phases of modern economic history, from the oil shock of the 1970s, the strong yen recession of the 1980s, the bubble burst of the 1990s, and the global financial crisis of the 2000s. Among these, ‘amoeba management’, which divides an organization into small ‘amoebas’ to enable real-time monitoring of management performance, is mentioned in detail. In a lecture given to entrepreneurs in Guangzhou, China in 2011, he said, “If this management system works, even if the market price falls sharply, the amoebas will be able to take immediate measures.” In addition, it is rich in insights and anecdotes that he has acquired while managing a company for over 60 years, such as improving judgment, expanding business, and motivating employees.
His ethics are worth seeing and pondering, not just for businessmen but for everyone. He used to leave the words “Respect heaven and love people” in the guestbook, and it is said that in moments of life or death, he always thought, “What is right for a human being?” “Ameba management,” which makes small organizations strictly manage their finances, is simply an accounting technique, but at its core, there is a virtue of trust that allows the CEO to step down from his authority and leave everything up to each organization.
The reason he is remembered today is not simply because he had the ‘hand of Midas’, which succeeded in everything he touched. His principle that a high-profit company can be created through just and ethical management resonates more strongly whenever it is applied. In an era of low growth and uncertainty, why not seek wisdom from Inamori to get through the difficult times?
Reporter Sa Ji-won [email protected]
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2024-07-05 22:18:50