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The Way of the Merchant

Hanging on the walls of Mr. Masatoshi Ito's guest room at Ito Yokado (7 & I Holdings) Headquarter building in Yotsuya Tokyo.

It summarizes his philosophy--a Merchant must not follow the footsteps of others, but must develop his own way.

The Way of the Merchant

The farmer lives in a sense of solidarity

The merchant shall make a goal to live in solitude

Everyone is a rival

The farmer seeks stability

The merchant cheers the instability which is the source of his profits

The farmer desires safety.

The merchant hopes for adventure, and

A merchant who does not seek and immerse himself in a dangerous world lives off of interest and is nothing more than a retiree.

The farmer loves what is native and tries to lay down deep roots in the land.

The merchant must be a weed, capable of sucking out the nourishment from anywhere.

His home should be anywhere he lives, and his tomb is the entire world.

The merchant who utters of land passed on from his ancestors should throw away his abacus immediately and take up his plough.

Never test the strength of the stone bridge before crossing.

Following the road laid out by others with care is a task for women, children, and the old.

Wherever he walks shall be his path.

The road of others is not the road for him.

That is the Way for him.

Anonymous

*portions of this are from the book The Heart of Doing Business: Memoirs of an Entrepreneur by Masatoshi Ito; I took the liberty to modify some of the translation

What's in a Name?

In the early 1980s, a company by the name of Temporary Center launched its first US office in Los Angeles.  Founder Mr. Yasuyuku Nambu found a market niche in staffing services, and grew his company to be a market leader in Japan.

Concerned that the name "Temporary Center" would hint at the company being perceived as, well, temporary, Mr. Nambu quickly decided to make a change. 

A contest was held in the LA branch for a new name, but none came up.  Then head of the US operatioins Mr. Ueda thought of naming the company "U and I", playing on the words "You and I" and because the words meant "Yu-ai" in Japanese meant "Friendship and Love."

As the consultant, I quickly dashed the dream name, informing Mr. Ueda that the initials "UI" stood for unemployment insurance--not a good name for a company n the staffing business.

Instead, I suggested "Persona".  The name stuck, and was made easier to pronounce (and also due to legal reasons) and became PASONA.

Today, PASONA is one of the leading staffing agencies and career placement firms in Japan, and Mr. Ueda continues to be my valued friend.