I have experienced self-doubt several times since becoming president of Obun Printing. It was hard to live with my inner misery at such times, which I could not show openly.

I used to think that I should, by no means, let employees realize how I am feeling. What will happen if banks notice it? I was truly tormented by the fact that I could not show my honest feelings to people around me and every time I was in self-doubt, misery just overwhelmed me.

After experiencing such worries, I began to ask people for advice, because I just wanted to learn from what others could tell me. I felt this from the bottom of my heart, since I realized that my way of treating matters did not bring about desired results.

At that time, I felt even more keenly how important it is to stay open to the opinions of others. Yet, I am not going to say "Don't go your own way, follow what others tell you." If people did so, people would never assert themselves and accept what others tell them without protest. Such a life is too miserable. So, we should try to have some confidence, even when it is difficult.

But there is just one thing to always keep in mind—we can never afford to be complacent. If we forget to seek wiser ideas and better ways, we cannot go further. Moreover, we cannot appreciate the ideas of others. Then, we are nothing but a bother to those around us. So, it is important to stay open to the opinions of others.

Thinking of other people with this view in my mind, I truly feel it is correct. Simply speaking, the more you are capable, the more you stay open to the opinions of others.

You only live once. In this precious life, having both confidence and the capacity to take others' opinions is the way to continue growing while at the same time trusting yourself. I think most people would agree.

Do you sometimes feel that your results fail to correspond to your ability? Then, what you need might be the magic wand that takes away your limit of growth.

Why don't you use it?

Even a horse has its own free will. This is a well-known idiom that means "You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot force it to drink." When I understood the meaning of this saying, I was keenly impressed by its cleverness. However, I recently heard a further and deeper explanation about it, which impressed me even more. This is, "if you make a situation in which the horse wants to drink, all you have to do is lead it to water."

It is true. I guess that you can think of ways to make the horse drink water—for instance, making it gallop full-blast or eat a lot without water before leading it to water.

So, if you create circumstances or conditions that will prompt the horse to drink, it just continues to drink water.

The same logic applies to human beings. I sometimes hear others complaining "my employees don't understand what I say, no matter how much I explain it." But what you need to do is to create situations that will give them an incentive to understand, or conditions in which understanding is beneficial for them, rather than just complaining.

Generally, sayings sharply describe a truth, but they are often like allegories and do not tell things in detail. However, if you examine a saying from different points of view, you will see other aspects hidden behind the words. When I understood this principle and gained a more profound understanding of this saying, I felt as if I gained a lot more things that I could not before. I was simply happy with the fact, feeling I became a bit wiser in some ways.

As I reflect on how I have talked in the past, I realize we tend to use negative terms, especially when we talk frankly. If you are the one who talks, you feel good because you vent your true sentiments. But when you are the one listening, it will be awful.

Negative terms make listeners feel terrible. On the other hand, there is no question that positive expression lifts spirits.

I know someone who is extremely good at speaking positively. When we play golf, the subject will be about shots, the weather, the layout of the golf course, or the appropriate response from caddies. We can't help admiring how he finds so many different subjects to praise. He never stops. And nobody complains about what he says. Therefore, I strongly appreciate people being positive in any way they can.

I will keep reminding myself as well, but I suggest that we use comparative expressions. For example, instead of just saying "No," why don't we say "I think we have a better option."

People will be prompted to reconsider things not by being given a flat rejection, but by receiving a message that the speaker is trying to find a better solution. That kind of message with positive terms will also make listeners feel better. What do you think?

One of the more uncomfortable types of person to be with, for me, is critics. This is because all they do is talk, and never do anything. I actually think that they become critics not because they "don't" do anything, but because they "can't" do anything. This is something I can not accept because I believe my identity lies in the policy of matching my words with my actions.

The most prominent example is political analysts. I have never heard of any political analyst that became a respectable politician. In the literary world, there are some great literati who are also critics. But in other worlds, such as economics, there is scarcely a reputable professor from a school of business who has become the CEO of a major corporation (except a very limited number of examples in the US).

After all, there lies a great gap between knowing something and doing it. Knowing something does not necessarily mean that you can actually do it. Lots of people seem to believe that knowing something is superior to not knowing it. But this is a terrible misunderstanding.

If we compare the statements "I know about it, but I won't do it" with "I don't know about it, but I do it anyway," obviously the latter is the winner. This is, of course, according to my own rules.

There might be some perverse people who say it is humanity's aesthetic ideal not to do it when you know how. But such people are sure to earn a bad reputation.

We give people credit for their ability to get things done even though they are not good at explaining things.

What are we working for? I would like you to look at the Management Plan for this year. There, you will find our management approach which reads "Based on the management policy, we practice ISO-compliant management by sharing values." But this is just an approach to our business, not our goal. I would like you to reconsider the question again—What we work for?—before reading the rest of this essay.

We sometimes say "wasted effort," which means that even after exerting every effort, we wind up with nothing. What is left is just wasted effort, and a feeling of fatigue and emptiness.

On the other hand, however hard it is, if you do your best and achieve something, you will receive a reward known as "a sense of accomplishment." That is called the "results." We should achieve significant results, and revel in our sense of accomplishment just for a moment. And then, we should start moving toward our new goal. This is the cycle that a progressive, growing body should follow.

Let me make my point clear again. We are making every effort to get the best out of everything.

Now, how about you? I would like you to consider if your efforts have been wasted or not.

What do you say if someone asks you what your unique personality is, and to what you attach the greatest importance?
Each of us is meticulous with clothing, hobbies, ideology, and so on. Some people say they are stubborn. We can be stubborn when we see specific value in something. Have you ever thought of the reason for being stubborn?
The exploration of the question reveals something interesting. That is, your true personality.

For example, I will not argue if you say you attach great importance to brand name products. What is important is the reason for your persistence. It seems that most of you buy those products just because the brand is cool, or because everybody admires the brand. If you ask me, this is just vanity.

I will never buy or put on something out of vanity. There is always a specific reason, such as cost effectiveness, design, or the material used in the product.

What matters is the reason. If it is for being yourself, I think you should be persistent all the way. But if it is just for vanity, I suggest cutting it out right away.

I hope you will be persistent to reveal your true personality and establish a meaningful identity.

I feel that a new culture is springing up in Obun Printing. It is a proactive move and gives me a sense of orientation toward growth and the spirit of challenge.

We have established six values at Obun: the spirit of challenge; professionalism; communication; trust and trusting relationships; problem solving; and teamwork. The new trend I am experiencing is embodied in the six values I mentioned above.

At an after-lunch meeting some time ago, I introduced the story of Jack Welch of GE and the way he made the culture of learning take root. I think that the culture of learning is superb. But, the six values we have established are also wonderful. Though we all lead busy lives, even just taking a glimpse of these six values will have no small effect on your behavior of tomorrow and in the future.

Let us try to make our new culture to take root through our individual efforts.

This is the story I told about ten years ago, at one of our morning meetings. Because we have welcomed so many new colleagues since then, I would like to repeat it again.

From the moment we draw our first breath, we have a relationship of a child to a parent. When we grow up and get married, we will be a husband or a wife. When we have a child, we will be a parent. By getting a job, we become members of society. Among friends, we are addressed by our own name.

Thus, whether we like it or not, we all have "five faces," which means we are required to express one of these aspects according to the times and circumstances. Even though you may be highly evaluated as a "member of society," when you are disqualified as a "parent," your overall face will be distorted.

I have been aware of these "five faces" in my own way for the past ten years, but the reflection I see in the mirror always seems to be distorted. I am not sure to what extent I can repair my face. But I am determined to exert every effort to make it better.

This is another story that I have been telling for the past ten years. In English grammar, there is a common mistake because the adjective "good" changes to "better" and "best." For example, when you score a hole-in-one on a par three golf course, it is the best score. Three hundred is a perfect score in bowling, and it is the best score. There are things like these which can be clearly defined as the "best" in this world. But I wonder if this is true when it comes to the way to living.

Is there a "best way" to live? To be frank, no, there is not. This is because there is no such thing as an absolute scale to measure the way to live. I can understand when people say "I am better person than I used to be ten years ago," or "I am healthier this year than I was last year." What is important here is that they are comparing themselves now with themselves in the past.

If you decide you are at your best and can not be any better, you will not try to live better. Because there is no such thing as the "best way" to live, I believe that seeking a better way of life, and not being content with your current situation will be the energy to raise you to a better life.

Humans are said to be higher animals. I thought about the reason why we are defined as "higher."

First, as I mentioned, this is because we can "think." Second, we have "hearts," i.e. will and feelings. Third, we have the "physical capability" to improve ourselves and make our subtle movements possible. These three qualities make us different from animals and plants.

When we bring these three qualities into full play, we can be defined as human. But the problem is whether we are doing it everyday.

When we "think," we can see the true nature of things, such as why we do what to do. It is important to understand the true nature of anything. Otherwise, we will end up judging things only by their appearance.

When we judge with our "heart," we can see what the people around us are thinking about. If we would like them to be happy, we see what to do. We all know that the best situation is the one in which both we and others are happy. It is also natural for all of us to look for easier ways of doing things. But however hard the task may be, if we make efforts to get through it, focusing on how things will be easier, we will have a very different result from those who try to avoid hard work. This is because hard work is always accompanied by rewards called "accomplishments."

"Physical capability" declines as we get older. Lack of exercise also causes illnesses. I think we should do proper exercise according to our age, and try not to let our acquired physical capability fail.

Though I am writing this to you, I am not quite confident that I have been doing all those things myself. However, as the "higher animals," we should enjoy our precious lives with the consciousness and pride this affords us. In order to do so, I think we should be more conscious of "thinking, judging by heart, and moving our body."

The Trinity I talk about here is not Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are instead "management principles," "values," and "ISO compliant management." Management principles is the "head," representing the goal of management and the basic idea on which I believe the company should be operated.

The "values" are the heart, meaning how you feel about your job and the determination you bring to your job. Therefore, I think these values should be shared with other employees.

Finally, ISO compliant management is the "body." When someone asks us what we should do, we say that we will stick to the PDCA cycle. PDCA stands for "PLAN, DO, CHECK, and ACTION." These are exactly the basic principles of ISO, and the PDCA cycle is the application of them to the entire management system. Even if we share the determination based on superior principles, we will not raise the company to a higher level without the methodology of sticking to the PDCA cycle and enhancing corporate value.

In other words, it all comes down to our management philosophy "implement ISO-compliant management based on the management principles by sharing the values." So long as we do not make this a kind of "pie in the sky," I am sure that the Obun Printing Group will continue to grow without fail.