As the saying goes: no pains, no gains. The benefits of serious efforts are not only the corresponding returns, but also another effect-perfecting human nature, sharpening personality and beautifying the soul.
Effort refers to the attitude of devoting to a certain job, which can improve a person's personality. And a good character comes from a person's positive way of thinking.
Where do leaders want to take their companies? What kind of life do you want? In other words, what do you want to achieve? This determines what kind of way of thinking you need.
If you want to climb higher mountains, run higher-level companies and enrich your life, then your way of thinking must be high-level. Different goals have different ways of thinking.
I often ask myself, "What is right as a person?" And insist on serious work and management. In the process of implementing this attitude towards life, I realized the "Kyocera Philosophy".
Kyocera philosophy has made Kyocera Company, a small enterprise with a capital of only 3 million yen and 28 employees, develop into what it is today. From Kyoto first, to Japan first, and finally to the ceramics industry first in the world.
Text | Founder of kazuo inamori Kyocera Group
Editor | Notebook Man Ma Chang Hu Tiehua
This article is an excerpt from the book. Compiled from Kyocera Philosophy: The Origin of Life and Management, translated by Zhou, revised by Cao Jinyun, published by Oriental Publishing House on June 20 16.
At the end of the article, Chaos Jun sent you three books.
Have a strong and persistent desire to penetrate into the subconscious.
To achieve lofty goals, we must first embrace the strong and lasting desire of "must achieve".
To develop new products, get customer orders and improve the yield, no matter what the subject is, we must first strongly imagine and describe the idea of "achieving it satisfactorily anyway" in our minds.
This desire is pure and strong. If you think about it day and night, think hard, repeat it and never forget it, then this desire will penetrate into the subconscious. Once in this state, it will be different from conscious rational thinking in peacetime. Even when you are sleeping, the subconscious will work, exert its powerful power, and make your wishes move in the direction of realization.
Kyocera is still a small and medium-sized enterprise, and I have been telling my employees my dreams. "The special ceramics we produce are indispensable for the development of the electronics industry all over the world. Let us supply it to the whole world! "
I then said to them: "If we can do this, then, although we started out as a humble street factory, I want to turn it into the first street company, the first company in the original town;"
"After becoming the first in the street, it will become the first in Zhongjing District;
After becoming the first in Nakai Shinji, it will become the first in Kyoto;
After becoming the first in Kyoto, it will become the first in Japan;
After becoming the first in Japan, it will become the first in the world. "
What I want to emphasize is "having a strong and persistent desire". In other words, we should think strongly and continuously: "I want to live this life" and "I want to build this enterprise". Only in this way can desire penetrate into the subconscious.
Woodworking, for example, requires apprentices to learn these skills repeatedly with "consciousness", whether using a plane to plane wood or sawing wood with a saw, so it is very easy to get tired. But once you get used to it, the apprentice will work with the "subconscious" and it will be much easier.
The same is true of business activities, as long as the subconscious mind is used reasonably, excellent results can be achieved. For example, "I want to make my company better", if I have such a wish, I will think about various ways and means every day. Once I want to enter the subconscious, I can suddenly flash my wonderful inspiration at an unexpected moment.
Edison, known as the "king of invention", once said: "Genius is 99% sweat plus 1% inspiration." The reason for saying this is probably because he is also a person who persists in his efforts every day. Through repeated experiments and thinking, his thoughts have penetrated into the subconscious and he was inspired in an instant.
In other words, by "paying attention" from morning till night every day and constantly thinking seriously about work and business, you can drive your subconscious mind in unexpected situations and get wonderful ideas. The inspiration that flashes like this often hits the nail on the head and touches the core, so the problems you face can be solved easily.
Growing up, I would wake up in the middle of the night because I suddenly thought of an idea. Before I fall asleep again, I will write down my thoughts in a notebook next to my pillow. The next morning, when I arrived at the company, I immediately put the inspiration that flashed at night into practice. I often have such wonderful experiences.
You may think that this is just an accident, but in my opinion, this is actually the subconscious mind at work.
Entrepreneurs don't have to be "all-rounders". Although I made Kyocera develop all the way to today, I certainly didn't do the business alone. I have a strong desire to "finish the project", which drives my subconscious. In this way, experts in various fields gradually gathered around me to provide me with assistance, as if they had sensed my thoughts. Because of this, I can have today's achievements.
If you don't have a strong desire to drive your subconscious mind, even if the ideal object you desire passes by you, you will be oblivious and miss the opportunity.
As long as we persist in serious and repeated thinking, everyone can "have a strong and lasting desire, which permeates the subconscious."
When making a business plan, everyone will definitely have the idea of "wanting to make their company excellent", but this is not enough. We must be "indomitable and single-minded".
No matter what difficulties and hardships we will encounter ahead, we must work hard, not concentrate, not be discouraged, not give up, and swear to achieve our goals with the spirit of "dripping water wears away the stone". This pure and firm belief is the secret of success.
Pursuing the infinite possibilities of human beings
People who can achieve new goals at work are those who believe in their own possibilities. Judging "yes or no" only by the existing ability, it is impossible to challenge new things and complete difficult work.
People's ability can be infinitely expanded through continuous efforts. If you want to do something, you must first believe that "people's ability is infinite", and keep working hard with the strong desire of "success anyway". Kyocera has become a world-class manufacturer from scratch, which strongly proves this point.
Always believe in the infinite possibilities you have and get up the courage to challenge. This spirit is very valuable.
This truth can also be expressed as: "I believe that people's ability is unlimited." Therefore, it can also be said that the term "pursuing the infinite possibilities of human beings" is "everyone has unlimited abilities"
Many people will feel bad about themselves. For example, I have often forgotten some things since primary school, and even got a zero because I failed the exam, so it is hard to believe that I have unlimited ability. Many people have this way of thinking. Even so, I still want to emphasize to you: "Please believe that you have unlimited ability."
Don't think too much about whether your ability is unlimited, but rather "unreliable". The concept of "ability" is not limited to mental quality, but also includes physical quality and so on. Ability can be defined as "the sum of all kinds of abilities that should be possessed in order to survive in society".
For example, in the real society, physical health can also be regarded as an ability. If a person has never had a serious illness, rarely catches a cold, and keeps healthy all the time, then it can be said that "his ability is higher" than that of people who often get sick.
If you are still skeptical about what I call "unlimited ability", then the expression "ability will improve" may be easier to understand.
As long as you keep exercising every morning and evening, you can exercise well; As long as you study hard, you can improve your grades. It can be seen that both health ability, learning ability and other abilities can be developed and improved. So from now on, try to temper your ability.
Ability should be used in the future continuous tense.
Therefore, when making new goals, we should also dare to set this goal above our own abilities. High goals that are now considered unattainable will be achieved at some point in the future, and goals will be set accordingly.
At the same time, in order to achieve the goal within the set time, we must consider ways to improve our existing capabilities.
Anyone can say whether he can do it according to his existing ability. However, it is impossible to complete new work and achieve higher goals without improving existing capabilities.
Although I can't do it now, I will do it anyway. Only this attitude can achieve high goals. In Kyocera's philosophy, "ability should be used in the future continuous tense" and "pursuing infinite possibilities of human beings" are a pair of mutually echoing items.
Each of us has infinite possibilities. If you want to be an excellent entrepreneur and make great achievements in business activities, you must deeply understand the meaning of this item.
Its central idea is "when drawing your own life blueprint, you should first look at the problem from a developmental perspective, and believe that people's ability will continue to grow and improve."
In reality, most people will simply give themselves a conclusion-"I can't do this." They are based on their current abilities.
People's ability is not static, and people will continue to grow and progress in the future. Therefore, in a few years, we will be able to achieve the goal that is impossible at present. Without the spirit of "I can", mankind will not progress.
So don't say, "I don't have a diploma, literacy and skills, so I can't do it." It's not too late to start working hard. As long as we persist in studying hard, we will certainly make progress in the future. Man's ability is infinite, and he can create all kinds of possibilities.
Presumably no one will really give up life, and no one will really want to maintain the status quo. Subconsciously, people always hope to live a more wonderful and beautiful life through hard work. But once faced with real problems, they tend to shrink back and deny themselves.
We must change this negative attitude and believe in ourselves even if we encounter difficulties and obstacles: "I should be able to do it" and "I should be able to do it as long as I work hard".
Ability will improve with the passage of time, making people work hard towards their goals.
I am a living example. At that time, I had no money or skills, so I had to take "the ability to use the future continuous tense" as my only "weapon of faith" and keep working hard to advance my work. It is with this "spiritual wealth" that Kyocera can grow from the initial stage of "poor and white" to today's group enterprise.
In addition, for researchers, "ability should be used in future continuous tense" is also of great significance. Only researchers who can do this can achieve excellent research results. In large enterprises and other organizations, research work is usually carried out in the form of "project team". In my opinion, all team members must have the belief that "the ability should be used in the future continuous tense", otherwise they are not qualified to join the team.
Deliberately "see the results"
At work, we must reach the psychological state of "seeing the result of things".
At first, it was just a dream or a wish, and it was carefully simulated repeatedly in the brain. How to do this and how to do that. Unconsciously, the boundary between dream and reality gradually disappears, and things that haven't started feel as if they have already been done, gradually generating confidence that they can do well. This is the so-called "see the results" state.
Only by carefully thinking about this state of "seeing results" can we complete a career that has never been done before, a creative career, or an extremely difficult career that needs to break through many obstacles.
For example, after the establishment of Kyocera Company, I have always regarded the Kyocera concept as the benchmark for operating enterprises. There is public opinion in the society that "kazuo inamori's career is thriving because it has caught up with the good momentum of industrial ceramics development", but this is not the case. The real reason for Kyocera's success is to establish an excellent management philosophy system and put it into practice.
Therefore, when the Second Power Company was established, I made this declaration:
"In the second power company, I will recruit experts in the field of telecommunications to help me. But in business management, I will adopt my own ideas. If successful, it can prove the importance of philosophy in enterprise management. On the other hand, if it fails, it proves that enterprise management cannot rely solely on philosophy. "
Today, Second Power has grown into a large-scale enterprise with outstanding performance. This made me deeply realize once again that philosophy is really a treasure of enterprise management. This is also because I have reached the realm of "seeing results" through thorough thinking.
Before the establishment of the Second Power Company, I kept asking myself and answering questions to determine whether I was "competitive and selfish". Once I decided to let go, I began to seriously think about the specific operation of the company every day.
While listening to the opinions of professionals, I repeated simulation exercises in my mind. Finally, the boundary between dream and reality disappeared, and confidence in success began to rise.
Develop your own path
No one can guarantee our future. Even if the company's current performance is excellent, it is the result of past efforts, and no one can foresee what will happen in the future.
To keep our company excellent and sustainable in the future, we can only rely on each of us to do our best in our respective posts and fulfill our due responsibilities.
You can't expect others to help you, nor can you expect others to help you solve your problems. First of all, we should recognize our responsibilities and do things well by our own efforts. This mentality must be maintained.
No matter what difficulties you meet, don't count on others' help. You must blaze your own trail. I believe all small and medium-sized entrepreneurs understand this truth. In other words, the spirit of independence is essential.
In my opinion, the person who needs independence most is not an entrepreneur, but a company cadre under the entrepreneur. In other words, the "employed" must have self-awareness.
As the owner of a company, entrepreneurs often have the spirit of independence. But the company's vice presidents, commissioners, executives, directors, ministers and section chiefs are different. Faced with difficulties, they often think, "After all, I'm just a part-time worker. I don't have to worry about that. The president will definitely find a way to solve this problem. "
In my opinion, any poorly managed company often has many employees who lack independent spirit. The benefits they create for the company are not as good as the wages they get, which shows that the company supports them. On the other hand, if most employees of the company can earn their own wages and contribute profits, then the company will develop smoothly.
Kyocera adopts an operation mode called "amoeba management", which divides the enterprise organization into small collective units called "amoeba", and each leader of "amoeba" shoulders the responsibility of management. Amoeba management does not directly link wages and bonuses with performance, and does not adopt the practice of "paying bonuses for outstanding performance and deducting wages for poor performance". Because in my opinion, this practice is rigid and not conducive to uniting people.
If you get a high bonus, employees will naturally work hard and be full of energy. However, it is difficult to maintain excellent performance all the time. Once the performance declines, employees' wages or bonuses will be reduced, which will inevitably cause employees' dissatisfaction and disgust. Not only that, employees whose performance has not improved will become eccentric and jealous of colleagues with excellent performance.
I don't want the employees of the company to deviate from the people's hearts and have a tense relationship, so I won't let them have a big gap in bonuses and other benefits, whether they are excellent or ordinary.
However, if we engage in thorough egalitarianism, "if we don't work hard for the same thing, we will do more and do less", which will inevitably lead employees to lose their sense of ownership and think that they are "just wage earners". Entrepreneurs must give employees a sense of ownership and let them "go their own way" and "earn their own wages". Not only that, but also let employees contribute profits to the company.
Therefore, Kyocera Company adopts independent accounting system, and expresses the added value of each "amoeba" every hour through "unit time accounting system". Assuming that the labor cost for one hour is 3000 yen, if the added value of 5000 yen is created within one hour, it is equivalent to contributing 2000 yen to the company. If the value created by an "amoeba" unit far exceeds its salary, thus making great contributions to the company, it will be praised by everyone and commended by the company.
The key is to let employees have the same sense of ownership as business owners and managers. If all employees can unite with the company leaders, it will be an unparalleled force.
To this end, I often communicate with employees repeatedly. I have been committed to improving the ideological level of employees.
Listen to the sound of the product
Products can reflect the ideas of producers. The things made by the thick-hearted people are rough, while the things made by the thin-hearted people are delicate. It is impossible to produce products that satisfy customers with the idea of manufacturing a large number of products and then selecting qualified products from them.
The production process of this product is perfect. On this basis, all staff concentrate and operate carefully, and no defective products are allowed. The goal must be that every product is perfect.
However, when there are problems with products or difficulties in work, we should continue to observe related things and phenomena carefully and humbly.
For example, in the production site, the material utilization rate is still not high after all means are exhausted, and such obstacles are often encountered. At this time, we should observe every detail in the whole process from products and machines to raw materials and fixtures, and pay close attention to related phenomena with sincere eyes.
If there are defective products or the machines are not properly maintained, we can all hear their "crying". The product itself will tell us the clue to solve the problem.
It is very important to observe the real state of things with an open mind without prejudice and insight, which is also closely related to the production of Kyocera products.
No matter when I was working before starting a business or after Kyocera was founded, I always went to the scene, holding a magnifying glass every time and using it to carefully check every product. The magnifying glass I use consists of multiple lenses, 1 lens can be magnified 5 times, and other 1 lenses can be magnified 10 times. If two lenses are used together, the magnification effect can be increased, and if three lenses are used together, the magnification is higher.
Because the product is small in size and high in precision. For example, circular or four-corner openings, as long as the corner parts are slightly defective, are defective. Of course, such details are invisible to the naked eye, so I examined them carefully with a magnifying glass. At the same time, check whether there are impurities in the product. Qualified ceramic products must be pure white. If there are black particles similar to sesame spots on the surface, it is also inferior. That's how I look at the details with a magnifying glass, sometimes for an hour.
In this way, listening to the sound of the product, I gradually developed feelings for the product. Once I found the defect, I couldn't help recreating the actual production process in my mind and speculating: "Where was this child (product) injured (disabled)?"
Deep affection for products is the premise of hearing "product voice". The reason why I always use the anthropomorphic expression of "product voice" is not simply to make the explanation vivid, but to emphasize the importance of carefully observing the product. In practical work, we must achieve such a mentality.
In my opinion, it is precisely because of this attitude and spirit that Kyocera can grow from small and medium-sized enterprises to medium-sized enterprises that have begun to take shape, and then develop into large enterprises.
Do you have a strong and persistent desire that permeates your subconscious?
Answer the question. Three students were randomly selected from the comment area and presented with a copy of Kyocera Philosophy: The Origin of Life and Management.
Kyocera Philosophy: The Origin of Life and Management condenses the internal teaching materials of Kyocera Company and brings together kazuo inamori's management and life wisdom for more than 80 years. Explain kazuo inamori's philosophy of life and the starting point of practical management one by one.