Kazuo Inamori, one of Japan’s most renowned business leaders, has passed away. He not only transformed Kyocera, which he founded, into a world-class company, but also pioneered the deregulation of telecommunications in Japan, established DDI (now KDDI), and helped lead Japan Airlines out of bankruptcy. Mr. Inamori’s achievements are widely recognized. However, his achievements are not limited to management. As an educator, he has influenced a broad range of people—businesspeople in particular—and has generously provided opportunities for learning.

I have often heard him speak, read a number of his books, and underlined countless passages with a four-color ballpoint pen. When I was younger, the emphasis on morality didn’t really hit me, but I understand what he meant now (whether or not I practice them being a separate matter), and I agree with most of what he said. Although I did not join Seiwajyuku, I once went to a subsidiary of Kyocera and took Inamori’s Amoeba Management course. Initially, I thought it would be great if I could introduce amoeba management, but I recall realizing that the important thing was to have as many employees as possible work with an awareness of management, and that amoeba management was just one possible methodology to achieve this. I understood that it was not an endorsement of amoeba management per se; rather, that we should come up with a methodology that suits our organization. I really feel that I have learned a lot from Mr. Inamori. That is why, when I received the news of his death, I could honestly feel gratitude toward him.

Finally, I would like to reiterate the aforementioned insights I gained from his book. (Excerpted from Kamakura Shinsho CEO Column, March 2018)

Price and Value

Kazuo Inamori is well known as one of Japan’s foremost business leaders. Perhaps it is fair to say that for over six decades he has thought more deeply than anyone about how management should be and how people should live. This man has summarized in a book of, say, two hundred or so pages the vital lessons he has learned from his years of in-depth thinking.

For example, his work A Compass to Fulfillment: Passion and Spirituality in Life and Business sells for less than 2,000 yen at bookstores. The price of 2,000 yen is determined by taking into account the number of copies expected to be sold after adding up the royalties paid by the publisher to the author, the costs of printing, binding, and distribution, and wholesale and bookstore margins factor into setting the price, while the value (as perceived by the buyer) is obviously quite different. For those who take the message of this tome to heart and attempt to apply the ideas to their own work and daily lives, they may perceive its worth to be in the millions or even tens of millions of yen. I personally am firmly in that camp, but since you might say that tens of millions of yen is a bit of an exaggeration, let’s bring the number down slightly. Let’s say conservatively that the book could have brought the reader 200,000 yen worth of value (I’m sure this is a figure that everyone can accept).

Price given by seller = 2,000 yen
Perceived value obtained by the buyer = 200,000 yen

Viewed in this manner, A Compass to Fulfillment: Passion and Spirituality in Life and Business is sold at a 99% discount to those who are serious about learning from it. This is not a limited-time-only sale; the book is always available at this bargain-basement price.

If the price set by the seller is equal to or less than the perceived value, the buyer will likely purchase the good or service. Bargain selling is a corporate practice that encourages purchasing by reducing prices to a level commensurate with perceived value. This is why we can say that there is always a super bargain sale going on in the world of books, depending on the buyer’s disposition toward learning.

It apparent that those who have pursued a single path for an extended period and reached the summit of their field—this can include, for instance, business managers, artists, and professional athletes—are expected to then pass on what they have learned, and many professionals share the essence of their accumulated wisdom to us through their books and lectures. If we were able to master different areas of our lives, it might not be so important to learn from others, but our time in this life is limited and it is challenging to excel in more than one area. In this context, such people share the lessons learned by those who have amassed real-world experience. This learning in and of itself is beneficial to life, and acquiring knowledge from others can also lead to new insights when we superimpose this new knowledge on our own particular specialty.

It seems to me to be supremely wasteful not to capitalize on the opportunities we have to learn from others and bring ourselves closer to the fulfilling lives we envision.

Hirotaka Shimizu
Chairman and CEO
Kamakura Shinsho, Ltd.