Translated from 日本語 • View original I have been working as a manager for 15 years.
My first experience was in 2006 when I was stationed in Germany. By becoming a separate company in the department, I became the representative of a company of about 20 people.
After that, as soon as I returned to Japan in 2010, I was seconded from my original company to Colorkrew (hereinafter referred to as "Karakul") and became the representative. Last year, Karakul itself became independent from the parent company, and I became the representative for the first time as a non-company employee.
Since I became a non-salaried manager, several people asked me, "You have changed your mind tremendously, haven't you?", but strangely enough, there was almost no change of heart.
The reason may be that it was a long time ago that I understood the most important thing as a manager and started taking action.
What Skills Are Required for Management
Management is balance. Even if the business is doing well now, if the team there loses motivation, the future is in jeopardy.
On the other hand, if the team is full of motivation but the business port is not good and the current performance is much worse, the company may collapse.
How to strike a balance between improving performance and motivating the team is exactly what "easier said than done" ".
Management is a series of decisions every day. In order to grow, you will not only have to make safe decisions, but sometimes you will have to take risks.
When any option seems difficult, but you can't afford to do nothing, it can be a really painful decision.
There is a book that explains the series of painful decisions very well and sympathizes with them, so I would like to recommend the following.
Ben Horowitz's "Hard Things: How Do You Face Unanswered Conundrums and Difficulties"
If you are currently running a business or want to become a manager in the future, please read it.
Let's go back to the story. Managers need the skills to deny maintaining the status quo and always seek better decisions and mass-produce judgments.
However, I think there are more important things than that in order to become a manager.
It is "determination" as a manager.
The story of 2006 when I learned the most important thing
I learned this in 2006, just before I started my first company in Germany.
The new company we plan to create is a subsidiary with separate departments. It was like the parent company did not borrow directly from the bank, but lent the necessary amount.
To be clear, I was thinking of it as an extension of my previous middle management role.
I thought that by becoming a separate company, I would enjoy the benefits of being able to operate optimally, and there would be no risk.
The incident occurred shortly before its establishment.
Before the establishment of the new company, the department was in the red for the whole year. Until then, there was a big boss in Japan who fully backed up the establishment of a new company, but I touched his scales.
I knew I would be angry, so I was a little late in reporting it. Rather, it became known before I could explain it myself. This put a circle of anger.
Suddenly, I received a phone call in the middle of the night and was yelled at and called out, "Come to Japan tomorrow!"
And in two months, I went from Germany to Japan four times.
"I don't know!"
I will explain a little about the reason why we are in the red.
In fact, before the establishment of the new company, I was not a department head, but a "coordinator" who was not on the line, and I was in a position where I didn't really understand.
However, since I am an expatriate dispatched from the Japanese headquarters, I am accountable to Japan, and if the business does not go well, I will be pursued. On the other hand, there is almost no authority within the department.
To be honest, I was dissatisfied, saying, "Why are you so responsible, when you have so little authority?" Laughter
From my point of view at the time, I felt that the department head was not properly controlling costs and forecasts, and suddenly negative factors came out from places I didn't know, and I quickly became in the red, so I didn't do anything wrong! I thought.
Looking back now, I guess I didn't feel responsible for this deficit.
Therefore, when I was asked, "Why did we lose money?" or "What will we do to prevent the same mistake from happening again in the future?", I replied, "I will do this."
And my argument was, "If I do it, I won't manage with holes like the current department head, so it's okay."
As for me, I was confident that I could work better than the head of the department, and I was also determined to do my best. In the worst case, if things didn't work, I was prepared to fire the company or do anything.
However, the big boss was not convinced no matter what explanation I gave him. (That's why I was called 4 times...)
"Omae is not prepared enough"
What he tried to tell me was that he was "not prepared enough". I didn't understand this at the time.
I'm desperate and motivated, and if things don't go well, I don't mind being fired. Even though I am trying to do it with that much determination, I am told that I am not prepared enough.
I was like, "Then what should I do!!"
He said to me, who didn't understand me at all.
"If it doesn't work, I'll **accept any punishment. **".
He told me that he only thinks about himself, so that's not his determination as a manager. He further said to me, who was completely lost.
"Do you know that if the company doesn't do well, the 20 jobs there may no longer be protected?"
Yes. I know. That's why I'm desperately doing it. For them too.
Further he asked. "Are they the only ones Omae is carrying?"
「？？？」
Ahead of the 20 employees are families. He wanted them to understand that running a business means carrying the burden on their shoulders as well.
Prepared to Get It
What I had to understand in my mind was the moment when it fell into my heart.
To be clear, being prepared for that doesn't change much about what you need to do.
However**, "Don't give up in any situation, I'll do it through. I don't have the thought. **A clicky foundation was formed at the deepest part of the belly.
By being able to have this mindset, I became more persistent than before, and in a good way, I was able to become a man who doesn't give up.
What do you think? He said that the most important thing in managing a business is not experience or skill, but determination.
▼Organizational reform seminar for managers is being held! Click here to apply
