Some companies are a thousand years old in Japan.
I’ve been to Japan 7 times. I love it. I’m always struck by how amazing it is that a cake maker business remains in the family over 30 generations. ( this one person business where my wife ate makes stunning cakes in the same location for hundreds of years). Or a bed and breakfast that started out as a resting place for travelers.
This is all about empathising with clients. How many companies meet this test today in this crisis?
“Many companies are stuck in short-termism, focusing on a strategic plan for five years,” he says. “But a lot of Japanese companies think about 100 or 200 years from now and envision the kind of future they want to create. During the tsunami disaster, the key mindset of executives was: We have to empathize with others. And companies ought to do the same thing now, during the current crisis, empathizing with those who are suffering and trying to figure out how to help.”