• Home
  • Conferences
    • Training
  • Scholarships
    • Undergraduate
    • Short Courses
    • Online Courses
    • Masters/Postgraduate
    • PhD
    • Postdoctoral
    • Study Abroad
      • Study in Africa
      • Study in Asia
      • Study in Australia
      • Study in Europe
      • Study in USA
  • Competitions
    • Awards
  • Grants
  • Fellowships
  • Jobs
    • Internships
    • Volunteering
  • Blog
    • OD Specials
      • OD Live Series
      • Young Person of the Month
      • Mentorship
        • OD Mentors
    • Success Stories
    • How-To
    • General Tips
  • ODIC 2022
    • ODIC 2022 Application
    • ODIC Judges
    • ODIC 2022 Winners
    • ODIC 2021 Winners
    • ODIC 2019 Winners
    • ODIC 2018 Winners
    • ODIC 2017 Winners
    • ODIC 2016 Winners
  • Search
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Australia and Oceania
    • America
    • Europe
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Saturday, March 25
  • About Us
    • Partners
  • Submit Opportunity
  • Deadlines
  • Nominate #YPOM
  • Promote
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Contact
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Telegram
Opportunity Desk
  • Home
  • Conferences
    • Training
  • Scholarships
    • Undergraduate
    • Short Courses
    • Online Courses
    • Masters/Postgraduate
    • PhD
    • Postdoctoral
    • Study Abroad
      • Study in Africa
      • Study in Asia
      • Study in Australia
      • Study in Europe
      • Study in USA
  • Competitions
    • Awards
  • Grants
  • Fellowships
  • Jobs
    • Internships
    • Volunteering
  • Blog
    • OD Specials
      • OD Live Series
      • Young Person of the Month
      • Mentorship
        • OD Mentors
    • Success Stories
    • How-To
    • General Tips
  • ODIC 2022
    • ODIC 2022 Application
    • ODIC Judges
    • ODIC 2022 Winners
    • ODIC 2021 Winners
    • ODIC 2019 Winners
    • ODIC 2018 Winners
    • ODIC 2017 Winners
    • ODIC 2016 Winners
  • Search
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Australia and Oceania
    • America
    • Europe
Opportunity Desk
Home»How-To»General Tips»A Lesson from the Japanese

A Lesson from the Japanese

Opportunity DeskDecember 17, 20134 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email Telegram

As a business owner, Social Entrepreneur, Web Worker (I’m all though, LOL), or if you’re involved in any endeavor that keeps you on the edge of innovation and change, there is often the temptation to be extremely capitalist. Which is good – only that jumping on to the next project and taking advantage of the latest opportunity to advance your objectives, without proper consideration, will lead to a spate of unfinished projects or projects that just won’t work after completion.

There is also the case of the ‘idealists’ whose ideas are never ‘good and mature’ enough to be implemented. Such people keep coming up with more and more ideas, without taking the risk of implementing one. They generally have better ideas than the average entrepreneur, but lack that killer execution instinct. The sad thing is that these ‘idealists’ have become the excuse that ‘capitalists’ use to jump into the next project without much consideration – in order not to be caught napping by a smarter entrepreneur. The result of this as we have already seen above is poorly executed projects or projects that end up abandoned because of the poor prospects that reality presents. Examples abound everywhere – great blog ideas with poor design, content and audience, potentially global or continental IT services that the owners have painfully and stubbornly kept local (despite poor outcomes). These are the results of rushed capitalism.

Enter the Japanese, and we see that often the difference between poorly implemented projects (finished and unfinished) and their brilliantly executed counterparts, rests on rushed and poor decision making. There is always the hurry to ‘get to work’, that kills a project’s best prospects before it is initiated. It is widely reported by those who have worked with the top Japanese organizations that there is usually “endless debates and thoroughness of involvement of people at every level of the organization (or innovation cycle) before key implementation decisions are reached”. This allows the organization to move like “greased lightning” when the action stage comes. It is needless therefore to add here that a well-thought and inclusive process in decision making, always leads to better and faster implementation of project/product ideas.

One testimony lies in the story of a Chemicals Company that licensed a chemical plant to a Japanese manufacturer and loaned them one of their engineers as well. The chemicals company also began to build a UK plant at the same time that the Japanese company began work on their identical plant in Japan. Here’s the ending as described by one of the company’s former ex-chairmen, “After four months, we were already breaking ground and priding ourselves on being ahead of the Far Eastern opposition who, according to our engineer, were still endlessly debating items of the design and equipment. Imagine our charging when not only did they complete their plant seven months before us, but it also worked at first go while our suffered the usual teething troubles and only achieved its flow sheet some three months after start-up.”

I work with organizations that just pull projects at the end of each year, and present as progress made in their communities. The result is that while they may win things on the stage (if they present their ideals well), the people whose lives they’re meant to be influencing will know little or nothing about them meaning that their ‘projects’ become unsustainable overtime and financially non-self-reliant (if there’s such a term though). In this time and attention based social media-driven economy that we live in, it is important to get smarter at the things that matter. Getting more or better ideas for your business or organization isn’t the smartest solution. Jumping to implement the newest one without much delibration isn’t a smart move as well. But because the product and not the process will be judged, your best bet in making your next big step work, might just lie in taking a thorough approach to decision making (and scaling prospects), for the implementation of your next product, project or idea.

As a new year approaches, it’s time to choose what the plan will be.

Look out for Part Two of ‘A Lesson from the Japanese’ tomorrow.

Share. Facebook Twitter WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Pinterest Telegram
Previous ArticleApply to the 2014 Clinton Global Initiative University International Meeting in Arizona
Next Article SIDA Global Training on Child Rights, Classroom and School Management
Avatar photo
Opportunity Desk
  • Website

Opportunity Desk is the one stop place for all global opportunities. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram - @opportunitydesk

Related Posts

Attracting the Best Candidates: How to Sell Your Vacancies

March 23, 2023

Launching Your First eCommerce Shop? Here Are 5 Best Practices You Can’t Ignore!

March 23, 2023

Reliable and Affordable Homework Assistance Service

March 21, 2023
Schneider Go Green Competition 2023




Start Your Study Abroad Journey

OD YPOM: Robert Kunzmann


Robert Kunzmann from The United Kingdom is OD Young Person of the Month – March 2023.




Latest Posts
  • SOA/EDF Leadership for Climate-Resilient Fisheries Fellowship 2023
  • Asia Foundation William P. Fuller Fellowship in Peacebuilding 2023 ($5,000 grant)
  • Leading the Middle East Scholarship to Attend the One Young World Summit 2023 (Fully-funded to Belfast, Ireland)
  • NUTM Scholars Program (NSP) Class of 2023-2024 [Round 2]
  • British Council Unlimited Micro Awards 2023 (£2,500 grant)
  • Leading the Americas Scholarship to Attend One Young Summit 2023 (Fully-funded to Belfast, Ireland)
  • Call for Videos: PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival 2023
  • De Beers Group Trailblazer Accelerator 2023 for Female Entrepreneurs
Follow on Twitter
Tweets by @OpportunityDesk
Follow Us on Social Media

facebook   Instagram   LinkedIn   Twitter   YouTube

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Select Global and any other

About
About

Established in 2012, Opportunity Desk (OD) is the largest digital media platform that bridges the gap to education by sharing information on relevant learning and growth opportunities for youth around the world. These opportunities help to facilitate young people’s efforts in exchanging ideas and preparing themselves for the future.

Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn Telegram
Subscribe to our Newsletter

Select Global and any other

SOA/EDF Leadership for Climate-Resilient Fisheries Fellowship 2023

March 24, 2023

Asia Foundation William P. Fuller Fellowship in Peacebuilding 2023 ($5,000 grant)

March 24, 2023

Leading the Middle East Scholarship to Attend the One Young World Summit 2023 (Fully-funded to Belfast, Ireland)

March 24, 2023
Copyright © Opportunity Desk
  • About Us
    • Partners
  • Submit Opportunity
  • Deadlines
  • Nominate #YPOM
  • Promote
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Contact

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.