On August 13, Mr. T, a former senior employee of mine whom I respected very much, passed away.
Because I have fond memories of him, I feel a great sense of loss that I will never see him again.
I feel sad that I will never see his smile again.
We used to play golf together.
He usually liked jokes and puns, and we had a great time playing golf together.
He would say, “Ichigo-kun, there’s a pond! There’s a pond there! Do you understand?”
When I put the ball in the pond, he laughed so happily that even I, who was supposed to be frustrated because I put the ball in the pond, couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
He was usually a pleasant person, but I think he was a man of uncompromising conviction in his work,
I did not have much time to work with him, but I heard a lot about him.
This is an episode from when he had just become a section manager.
The episode featured a friend of mine, Mr. Y, with whom I often play golf now.
Y, who was still in his mid-20s, was in charge of Gifu in the fabric department. He was noted among young salespeople as the best seller of Mrs. Y’s products. However, the section he belonged to was not making money. This was because they were selling Mrs.’s materials at a low price in the face of competition.
Unprofitable sections were either shut down or replaced by new section managers.
The new section manager, Mr. T, came in and planned a new product that was a little younger than the traditional Mrs.’s material, and tried to get everyone to sell it at this price. However, Y, who was in charge of Gifu, had only Gifu’s Mrs. customers, so she complained, saying, “This kind of product will not sell. The new section chief says, “Only you don’t have to sell it!” and becomes somewhat emotional.
The rebellious Y, perhaps frustrated at being told she did not have to sell, desperately searches in Gifu for a client who will buy the new, slightly younger product.
Soon it is Y who sells the most of the new product.
The new manager praised Y and told him the cost of the new product. The profit margin was incomparably higher than before.
The new manager was impressed by the new product and learned the secret of business. He then decided that he wanted to sell his products in Tokyo, and eventually became involved in product planning and began to instruct his seniors in planning and sales, even though he was still a young man. The surprisingly ambitious Y one day becomes executive director, and the new section chief becomes vice president, creating a golden age for the fabrics department.
I believe it was the “spirit and persistence” of these people that led to Company T’s fabrics being said to be the sole winner.
The new section manager, Mr. T, with his “grit and determination” to turn an unprofitable group into a profitable group. Inspired by his determination, he told me, “You don’t have to sell.” Young man Y, with his rebellious spirit and persistence, said, “I’m going to sell it, no matter what it takes.
Looking back on my time at Company T, there were many people with “grit and tenacity. In particular, I think that almost all section managers had spirit and persistence.
Perhaps it would be more correct to say that they were compelled to have them.
The times were different, and most of the executives at that time were high school graduates who had worked their way up, although there were some university graduates as well,
It seems to me that the executives who graduated from high school were more talented.
It might be better to say, “Management is not about academic background, but about grit and persistence.
But why were there so many people with “grit and persistence” at Company T?
I think one of the reasons was the management’s belief that “competition nurtures human resources.
At that time, we had the Nagoya head office and the Osaka branch compete with each other, consciously making them do the same products to compete.
There was a similar section in the Osaka branch office, and we had them compete with the section.
Every month, sales targets and results for all salespeople are distributed to all sections, and
Once a half year, a sales performance chart ranked from No. 1 to No. 200 is distributed to all sections.
Of course, the results of each section were distributed monthly to the entire company, and the results of Nagoya were also distributed monthly, which stimulated me.
If the performance was bad, as a matter of course, we had to explain why it was bad and how we could make it better,
I had to explain why it was bad and how we could make it better.
Management would stimulate the section managers by raising the commonalities between good sections and bad sections.
In any case, there is a climate of competition in the company, whether it is positive or negative,
There was an atmosphere that forced us to be obsessive about numbers.
Some salespeople work hard under this tension and grow, while others drop out.
I think it is true that competition encourages friendly rivalry among employees and fosters human resources with “spirit and persistence.
The other was a divisional independent accounting system.
This system was based on the idea that each division was responsible for completing everything.
Of course, purchases and sales were made by each division, but expenses were allocated to each division, not only the expenses of the division, but also the non-operating expenses.
Location fees are also allocated based on how much space is used by the section, and interest is also allocated.
This was a system of independent accounting by section so that the performance of each section was clearly reflected in the performance of the company.
The section manager’s authority increases, but so does his/her responsibility.
It is the section manager’s responsibility if a section member’s performance is poor, and it is also the section manager’s responsibility if expenses and interest rates increase.
The system was such that it was impossible to say that it was the department head’s fault or the staff member’s fault if things did not go well; it was the staff member’s fault.
Under this system, bonuses were paid according to semiannual performance results.
Some people received a lot of bonuses, while others received zero (0).
Naturally, section managers had to work hard to increase sales, increase profit margins, and reduce expenses.
If the section manager becomes desperate, the section members will also become desperate. A group of “spirit and persistence” will naturally be formed.
I was taught the importance of spirit and perseverance by my late senior Mr. T.
I learned the importance of spirit and persistence from my late senior Mr. T. Thank you very much!
Mr. Ichigori-kun! There is heaven and there is hell! Do you understand?
Yes, I understand, but a little later …..