AOTS E-Newsletter: Insight
2025/11/28 (Fri) 10:30
◆◇ AOTS E-Newsletter ◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
29 November 2025
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"AOTS E-Newsletter" is published by the Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships (AOTS)
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<Index>
1. Insight: Thoughts on the Management Philosophy of Various Japanese Companies
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1. Insight: Thoughts on the Management Philosophy of Various Japanese Companies
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In the previous edition, I discussed Manager A who fell into the trap of self-interest, which is the opposite of the “benefiting three parties” approach. What, then, is the key to never abandoning the “spirit of altruism” and being able to maintain the right kind of management? I believe that it’s “being content with what you have.”
In Japan, there is an old saying, “He who is content with what he has is blessed.” It means that a person who knows how to be satisfied is spiritually rich. Management based on “being content with what you have” does not mean you are always satisfied with maintaining the status quo. It means first being grateful for your own existence right now: appreciating your current health, that you have friends and family who you love, that you have challenging work, etc., etc. It means recognizing and appreciating the genuine abundance that you already possess, which does not need to be compared with anyone else.
Company A, which I discussed in the previous edition, had been growing steadily and increasing its profits. But before it knew it, it forgot that its success was due to the support and loyalty of customers and end users, to whom it owed a debt of gratitude, and concentrated on making profit only for itself, using any means necessary. When faced with adversity such as sudden economic downturns or stiff competition from other companies, many managers stop thinking rationally and gradually fall into the trap of a profit-centered approach.
“Being content with what you have” means that your company should not lose its sense of gratitude for the support it receives from its customers, end users, and society as a whole. What’s more, making further effort to apply your knowledge, based on a desire to further enrich your customers, users, and society as a whole or rescue them from adversity, will lead to true success.
The late Kazuo Inamori, who was widely revered as the “god of management,” once displayed a “cup that’s content with what it has” at a gathering. If you filled this cup around 8/10ths full of sake, you could enjoy as many cups as you want. But if you greedily tried to fill it completely, all the sake would mysteriously disappear in an instant.
In fact, the cup that Inamori displayed on this occasion had a mechanism based on the same principle as a siphon, which drained all the liquid in it if it exceeded a certain amount. However, he told the astonished people around him that “unless you’re content with what you have, you’ll lose everything, just like this.”
In the next edition, I will talk a little more about “being content with what you have.”
To be continued in the next edition.
Rikio Suma, Author
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Your personal information is protected and is not made public. Any information you provide through AOTS website and email will only be used by us to provide you with AOTS E-newsletters, occasional information and related questionnaires.
Copyright 2016
The Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships (AOTS) 30-1, Senju-Azuma 1-chome, Adachi-ku, Tokyo 120-8534, JAPAN
29 November 2025
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"AOTS E-Newsletter" is published by the Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships (AOTS)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
*This e-mail has been sent from a send-only address.
*There have been more and more cases of subscribers not receiving AOTS E-Newsletters via Yahoo address or Gmail address. If you are using Yahoo address or Gmail address and willing to continue to receive the AOTS E-Newsletters without fail, we recommend changing your email provider to another one. It may be possible to avoid such a case by unblocking "johochosa@aots.jp" if your email provider offers such a service.
<Index>
1. Insight: Thoughts on the Management Philosophy of Various Japanese Companies
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Insight: Thoughts on the Management Philosophy of Various Japanese Companies
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the previous edition, I discussed Manager A who fell into the trap of self-interest, which is the opposite of the “benefiting three parties” approach. What, then, is the key to never abandoning the “spirit of altruism” and being able to maintain the right kind of management? I believe that it’s “being content with what you have.”
In Japan, there is an old saying, “He who is content with what he has is blessed.” It means that a person who knows how to be satisfied is spiritually rich. Management based on “being content with what you have” does not mean you are always satisfied with maintaining the status quo. It means first being grateful for your own existence right now: appreciating your current health, that you have friends and family who you love, that you have challenging work, etc., etc. It means recognizing and appreciating the genuine abundance that you already possess, which does not need to be compared with anyone else.
Company A, which I discussed in the previous edition, had been growing steadily and increasing its profits. But before it knew it, it forgot that its success was due to the support and loyalty of customers and end users, to whom it owed a debt of gratitude, and concentrated on making profit only for itself, using any means necessary. When faced with adversity such as sudden economic downturns or stiff competition from other companies, many managers stop thinking rationally and gradually fall into the trap of a profit-centered approach.
“Being content with what you have” means that your company should not lose its sense of gratitude for the support it receives from its customers, end users, and society as a whole. What’s more, making further effort to apply your knowledge, based on a desire to further enrich your customers, users, and society as a whole or rescue them from adversity, will lead to true success.
The late Kazuo Inamori, who was widely revered as the “god of management,” once displayed a “cup that’s content with what it has” at a gathering. If you filled this cup around 8/10ths full of sake, you could enjoy as many cups as you want. But if you greedily tried to fill it completely, all the sake would mysteriously disappear in an instant.
In fact, the cup that Inamori displayed on this occasion had a mechanism based on the same principle as a siphon, which drained all the liquid in it if it exceeded a certain amount. However, he told the astonished people around him that “unless you’re content with what you have, you’ll lose everything, just like this.”
In the next edition, I will talk a little more about “being content with what you have.”
To be continued in the next edition.
Rikio Suma, Author
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Others
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
<Inquiries>
https://www.aots.jp/en/contact/
<Past Issues>
https://h.bme.jp/bm/p/bn/list.php?i=hri_hida&no=all
<Unsubscribe or change your registered e-mail address>.
https://www.aots.jp/en/publications/newsletter/
*If you want to change your registered email address, please unsubscribe once with your old address and register your subscription with your new address at the above website.
<Privacy Policy>
Your personal information is protected and is not made public. Any information you provide through AOTS website and email will only be used by us to provide you with AOTS E-newsletters, occasional information and related questionnaires.
Copyright 2016
The Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships (AOTS) 30-1, Senju-Azuma 1-chome, Adachi-ku, Tokyo 120-8534, JAPAN