Perspectives

I returned to LA from Tokyo on 3/1, and was scheduled to go back there on 3/31. The earthquake struck on 3/11 local time. I consider myself incredibly lucky.

The ultimate cost to the Japanese nation from this catastrophe will be hard to measure. Not only will it cost tens of billions of dollars, but the loss of human lives will undoubtedly soar as they start counting those that are missing. The big question mark is what this will do to the psyche of a nation, already suffering from two decades of stagnation, a sense of defeatism after being surpassed by China in its GDP, a younger generation that seems to have lost all hope, and a government that had been operating with little purpose, but stuck in endless and mindless political bickering.

As expensive a price as this may be, will the massive earthquake have an effect of finally bringing this nation together?

The early signs aren’t all that encouraging. The initial response by the Kan government was both weak and confusing. Asking for calm is good, but having no plan to deal with the disaster isn’t very calming. Having no sensible and clear channels of communication isn’t very calming. And with the national broadcasting NHK repeating the same things over and over while providing little useful information–that’s not calming. I get better analysis reading the New York Times or watching CNN than watching live coverage on NHK. The press conferences do little to alleviate concern.

There are people out there calling for help. They need shelter, food, medical aid, and a means to communicate. They need their government now more than ever. The power grid is now overloaded due to the shutdown of the nuclear reactors, another possible catastrophe.

The population is waiting for the government. The people are all willing to help and to chip in if necessary. Japan probably has more material goods than any nation in the world. It is a matter of the will (and getting the logistics in place) to deliver those goods to the people who need them. But at some point, they need someone to lead the way.

It’s the sincere hope of the writer, the nation, and the whole world that great leaders will emerge from this crisis who will not only help the nation heal, but give it some much needed boost. For a nation that rose from the ashes of World War II, nothing is impossible.

Joseph Lee is an Adjunct Professor at the Peter Drucker & Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management and the Graziadio School of Business and Management, where he teaches a course on management consulting. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Chuo University’s Graduate School of Strategic Management where he teaches Business Communication and Negotiation/Conflict Resolution.

The summer movie season has opened in earnest. I have a 9-year old nephew visiting from Japan, so I get to watch a lot of kiddy movies (of course, that’s the excuse I’ll use when I waltz into the theater this week-end’s opening of Despicable Me.)

I do admit that I’m a movie fan (perhaps not a buff, since I don’t know all the details of who won what in which year). And I’m most definitely a fan of any film with a Pixar logo attached to it.

This summer’s Pixar blockbuster is Toy Story 3, the three-quel to the original Toy Story. Now, Toy Story and Toy Story 2 were not my favorite Pixar movies. I’d rate Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, and last year’s UP! ahead, but this year’s Toy Story 3 shows why once again, Pixar always makes films that are relevant.

Toy Story 3 happens in a world where Andy is grown, ready to go to college, and must get rid of his old toys. He needs to make choices (sound familiar?) of which toy to keep, which ones to throw away, and which ones to give to charity. He makes a decision, but unfortunately, this is not executed properly (this sounds more and more like BP), and his toys all end up in a day care center.

Initially, the day care center seems like a dream world for the forsaken toys—children will play with them once again.. they will feel useful, again (sounds like workers who got outsourced, but then found a home at the outsourcing agency). But then, the toys face the stark reality that these children don’t love them, they just want to play with them, and rough (think strikes at Chinese factories).

And even in this world of spent toys, there’s a dark leader (Darth Vader in a Pink Bear costume), who just like the Star Wars version, was turned dark by circumstances beyond his control. The fearless leader, Woody (Tom Hanks’ voice), who is motivated to act by watching a little girl interact with and truly play with her toys (with love), performs feats of Xtra-Toy proportions to save the day.

But then, at the end, just as Andy’s Mom has to watch her son go, Andy also learns that true love is by letting his toys go, giving away even his fav… Woody to the little girl who teaches him that sometimes, the boss has to let his people grow up on their own.

Without focusing on the bad meaning of “letting go” (how did HR people come up with that one?), the movie was truly about the process of letting someone go. Andy’s Mom seeing her child grow up and going to college. Andy, seeing that his toys were needed more, not by him as a nostalgic momento, but by a little girl who would give Woody as much love as he did. And Wood and Buzz and all the toys, knowing that they had to let go of Andy and grow out of his wings so that they can find their own world, so that they can make other children happy, knowing full well that they had done their jobs.

Now, if that’s not how a boss and employee relationship should be like, I don’t know where you can find a better example.

In the book Innovating The Pixar Way, Ed Catmull, Pixar’s founder, thinks back of how he had lost his energy to do anything after the completion of the first Toy Story. His life work had been completed, and nothing more challenged him. But in the subsequent years, as he saw the Pixar creative talent battle with the corporate side of the business, he realized that he had a much more important mission—to create an environment where the next Toy Story can be made, over and over again.

That was how Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 came about. It was about American ingenuity, grit, hard work, talent, and persistence. It was about a bunch of people who got together and wanted to tell great stories. It was about co-workers who truly cared about each other, who openly critiqued each other’s work (and sought such critiquing), and who dared to do the simplest and hardest thing in Corporate America—being honest to each other.

Through that process, Ed created a company where “letting go” meant patting someone on the shoulder not to say, “I’m sorry, you’re gone,” but to praise, “Great Job. Now go out and make it on your own!”

Joseph Lee is an adjunct professor at the Graziadio School of Business and Management and Peter Drucker & Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management, where he teaches a course on management consulting. He also teaches MBA courses in Business Communication and Negotiation/Conflict Resolution at Chuo University’s Graduate School of Strategic Management. Joseph provides Leadership Communication training to global Japanese companies.

November 19th was management pioneer (now deceased) Peter Drucker’s 100th birthday. To celebrate the life and teachings of this remarkable man, the Drucker Institute hosted a weeklong event, Drucker Week, featuring some of the most respected business academicians (a paradox?) of the world at Claremont University.

Ken Blanchard (author of The One-Minute Manager and Know Can Do!) was there, along with Warren Bennis (author of Judgment), Stephen Covey (author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People), Charles Handy (author of The Gods of Management and Myself and Other More Important Matters, Frances Hesselbein (co-editor of the Drucker Foundation’s three-volume Future Series and Leading Beyond the Walls, and Jim Collins (author of Good to Great)—real heavyweights.

Here is a short account of my experiences attending this notable event:

On Tuesday, November 4th, Ken, Warren, and Charles entertained a downtown Los Angeles crowd at Club Nokia. Ken spoke of the need for the servant leader—someone willing to put himself at the bottom of the organization chart (an upside down pyramid)—to support those closest to the customers. After all, as Peter Drucker said, the only purpose of a business is to create a customer.
Charles Handy told the audience that this opportunity to talk about Peter Drucker was a great chance for him to learn—for what better way is there to learn than to teach another person what you know? He also challenged the MBA programs around the country to offer classes that will more properly mirror the demands of the business world.

Warren Bennis remarked about the need for leaders to show respect, the starting point for all forms of communication. All three speakers hit home on themes that Drucker had promoted—the customer, the importance of the human element, and the social purpose of any organization.

On Saturday, November 9th, Jim Collins was the featured speaker. Powerful and eloquent, Jim walked us through his thoughts on Peter Drucker and pointed out that for Peter, his next book was always going to be the best; at age 65 he was only a third of the way through the 39 books that he would ultimately write. He urged students to form their own “board of mentors” who would advise them throughout their careers. Widely viewed as the “Drucker of the 21st Century,” Jim was at times teacher, then philosopher, but perhaps most importantly, a master communicator.

Prominent Japanese businessman Masatoshi Ito had a friendship with Peter Drucker that lasted decades and culminated in the naming of The Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management at Claremont University. I’ve known Mr. Ito for ten years and had the opportunity to have lunch with him on Saturday. Originally, we had planned a quiet lunch to include his son, Yasuhisa, in Claremont. However, I was told of a change in venue on the day of the event:

“Mr. Ito wants to have In-N-Out Burger.”
And so, we ended up at the storied West Coast fast-food chain.

Mr. Ito is one of the most respected business leaders in Japan. He is 85. His curiosity for knowledge, his desire to learn, and his eagerness to experience everything first hand—these are the traits of leadership that have kept him sharp. Upon arrival, he walked in, looked up at the menu and asked, “What is the best selling item on the menu?” (The Number 1—a Double-double with soft drink and fries, according to the guy behind the counter).

We spent the next 45 minutes talking about the speakers, what they represented, about society, and about the future of the US and Japan. We talked about Covey, about Collins, about Rick Warren (founder and senior pastor of the megachurch, Saddleback Ranch), and about Blanchard. We talked about In-N-Out Burger and its business model. He asked probing questions. And then he listened.

Drucker Week was a special week. We heard Drucker’s words through great speakers such as Collins, Blanchard, Covey, Handy, etc. But for me, the final word I heard from Mr. Ito would be the one that remains in my memory.

“Oishii…” (Translation: Yummy hamburger)

Joseph Lee is an adjunct professor at the Graziadio School of Business and Management and Peter Drucker & Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management, where he teaches a course on management consulting. Read his blog at joe-lee.com/blog1.html