Wang Tao/writing

 

 

In Japan, and Nikko's sudden "collapse" of the same attracted shock, but also the new head of Nikko's choice of candidates.
　　

February 1, 78-year-old Kazuo Inamori formally took over as the new chairman and chief executive officer of Japan Airlines. This marks the retreat of 13 years of Japan's "management of the saint" to re-emerge, is about to start a new round of inspirational process of governance.
　　

In addition to being a man in danger, the legendary businessman who founded two of the world's top 500 companies has created the "Inamori Philosophy," which continues to grow in popularity. "It is said that the colder the winter, the more the cherry blossoms bloom in the spring. Businesses and individuals alike must use adversity as motivation to make greater leaps forward." Kazuo Inamori's words are timely.

　　

 

Reorganization of JAL on the verge of a crisis

　　

 

Most media outlets interpreted Kazuo Inamori's decision as a desperate one, and indeed, Nikko was on the verge of capsizing.
　　

Ltd. was once regarded as a symbol of Japan's post-war economic prosperity and earned a good reputation worldwide. However, in the increasingly fierce competition in the airline industry, bureaucracy and other diseases made it difficult for JAL to turn around successfully, and in the world's economic recession as a whole, the company was operating in a dismal manner.
　　

On January 19, as expected, JAL filed for bankruptcy protection with the Tokyo District Court and entered into bankruptcy reorganization proceedings led by the Japanese government. As a result, JAL and its subsidiaries have become the sixth largest bankruptcy in Japan's history with a total debt of 2.32 trillion yen. It was also revealed earlier that JAL's market capitalization was only $150 million, equivalent to the price of a Boeing 787, which is quite ironic for the former aviation giant.
　　

The important task of cleaning up the mess and reorganizing the country fell on Kazuo Inamori's shoulders somewhat suddenly. He had been in semi-retirement for the previous 13 years and had no experience in aviation management.
　　

However, it has been pointed out that the Hatoyama government had no other choice than Inamori.On January 13, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama personally invited Kazuo Inamori, and at the end of the talks that night, Inamori agreed to become the CEO of JAL and gave a rousing speech to the media at the Prime Minister's residence, along the lines of the need to prevent JAL from going completely bankrupt and to coordinate the efforts of all parties to get JAL through the difficulties as soon as possible and be reborn.
　　

Kazuo Inamori decided to take charge of the helm of Nikko is not important, whether it is because of the difficult feelings, the important thing is that he began to start to save the day, and has been emphasizing the "speed".
　　

On Feb. 1, he told a news conference that "a conclusion must be reached quickly, and from now on we will work to properly complete the restructuring of JAL." "I would like to make a decision as soon as possible on accepting a capital injection offer from either American Airlines or Delta Air Lines." ......
　　

On top of all this work, he also had to deal with rumors and questions from the industry, such as, "Is JAL canceling its international routes?" "Can the old man still eat?" And so on. Kazuo Inamori in the fastest time to give a clear answer. He said, "From the point of view of Japanese nationals, it is unimaginable for JAL without international routes." "Maybe I am not competent, but I will do my best in my way to save the employees of JAL."
　　

Perhaps, as he said, faith is the fledgling of destiny that is in the world of the mind, and everything that happens in this world comes from that fledgling.

　　

 

He was the founder of two Fortune 500 companies.

　　

 

Kazuo Inamori was born in Kagoshima City, Kyushu, Japan in 1932. He quit his job at the age of 27 to found Kyoto Ceramics Corporation (the predecessor of the current Kyocera Corporation), specializing in the manufacture of industrial ceramics. Subsequently, the company gradually expanded into the processing of electronic components and the manufacturing of information and communication equipment.
　　

In the course of its growth, Kyocera has also successfully merged and reorganized companies such as Mita Kogyo, Cebanetto, and Yashica. Today, Kyocera employs more than 60,000 people in a wide range of fields, including electronics and machinery, medical devices, and solar technology.
　　

This is not an isolated case; Kazuo Inamori was once much more than that.
　　

In 1984, the Japanese government carried out communications reforms that allowed private companies to enter the communications field. Once again, Kazuo Inamori was keenly aware of the opportunity. However, with more than 100 years of monopoly history in the Japanese communications market and the entrenched state-owned giant NTT, the risk of a hasty entry could be blood money.
　　

But in the end, Kazuo Inamori made a strong decision to establish DDI, a communications company, a move that was considered to be like trying to stop a chariot or overrate a tree at the time. However, KDDI, the second largest telecommunications company in Japan by merger and acquisition, once again managed to become one of the world's top 500 companies.
　　

Whether it was the oil crisis, the yen appreciation crisis, the Asian economic crisis, or the IT bubble crisis, Kyocera and KDDI wrote the myth of standing firm. Until now, Kazuo Inamori can still be very calm, "Kyocera in the more than 50 years without a loss, to achieve the goal of smooth growth and development of enterprises," quite a bit of leisurely mood, so that many executives of famous enterprises can not reach.
　　

While many companies have struggled to survive the recent financial crisis that has spread across the globe, Kyocera and KDDI have continued to perform well.

　　

 

Both entrepreneur and philosopher

　　

 

The Japanese media have more than once praised Kazuo Inamori's "management skills" and "Inamori philosophy", describing him as having a godfather-like extraordinary charisma. He, along with Konosuke Matsushita, Akio Morita and Soichiro Honda, are known as Japan's four "saints of management".
　　

Yukio Hatoyama also spoke highly of Mr. Inamori's management skills in front of the media after his meeting with Kazuo Inamori, saying that Kazuo Inamori possessed a strong philosophy and conviction and was the most appropriate candidate to lead Nikko.
　　

The late Ji Xianlin, a master of national education in China, once said that, according to his observations over the past 70 or 80 years, people who are both entrepreneurs and philosophers, all in one and both in the other, are simply as rare as a phoenix. There have been such people since Mr. Kazuo Inamori.
　　

In fact, the Inamori Philosophy is not a summary of success and achievement. At the beginning of his business, Kazuo Inamori compiled his insights into a booklet called "The Kyocera Philosophy", which he implemented in his management practices. Later, he developed and refined his philosophy in new practices, enriching it continuously.
　　

As early as 1983, Kazuo Inamori began to set up "Moriwa Juku" in various parts of Japan to teach entrepreneurial students his philosophy of management, which is widely known as the "Amoeba Management Method". To this day, the number of "businessman students" in the Moriwa Juku has reached thousands. In addition, Inamori has established five overseas training centers to train young management personnel.
　　

Inamori's philosophies are represented by the best-selling books "The Way to Live" and "The Way to Live II - Kazuo Inamori on the "Way to Live" for Business People". As soon as word spread that Inamori had joined Nikko, mainstream bookstores in Tokyo and Osaka set up special counters for Kazuo Inamori's writings. In his book, "The Way of Life," he puts forward his famous life equation: "Achievement in life = Mindset x Enthusiasm x Ability," emphasizing that active work is a great catalyst for achievement in life, which has been adopted by countless fans as the guiding principle.
　　

At present, in the company's development direction needs to reposition the situation, Kazuo Inamori also want to complete the repayment of huge debts, improve the company's operating results, layoffs and a series of difficult actions, its "management skills" will once again face a test.
　　

However, Kazuo Inamori believes that the colder the winter, the more cherry blossomed the spring.