Lessons from Japan
Takeuchi shared four key observations from his home country in what would also qualify as lessons for industry players and policymakers. Among the other examples of major economic powerhouses, Japan stands out as it has rebuilt itself to be a leader in technology and quality from a stage of “almost no resources” due to the destruction caused by World War II.
Four key approaches that worked for Japan, and which may be adopted by others too, as shared by Takeuchi are,
– Japanese companies channelised human emotions towards progress. Employees were treated as partners. On the shop floor, no work was considered small or big. Respect was earned by doing one’s job with passion. Instead of celebrating individual heroism, Japan created harmony by celebrating collective effort.
– Continuous investment in R&D: More importantly, Japan invested time in deeply understanding customer needs before developing products, to naturally attract strong customer demand. This will help avoid spending heavily on marketing to push a product.
– A strong belief in and practice of continuous improvement, or Kaizen in Japanese. Every day, every process, every product was made slightly better. This enabled organisations to refresh themselves constantly and never fall behind.
– Japan built highly efficient business practices with deep respect for resources. From product design to manufacturing, and from usage to end-of-life, the principle was to minimise resource use and environmental impact.
Takeuchi also highlighted that Japanese organisations embraced efficiency not only as an economic choice but as a responsibility towards society and Mother Earth. “In Japan’s own experience, the government played an important role in creating an enabling ecosystem for manufacturing,” he says.
