7
--The Moment a Company Gains Personality
A decision carries true weight not when it's spoken, but when it begins to be implemented.
The week after President Saeki said, "Let's do it,"
the atmosphere within the company quietly began to change.
A new project team was formed.
The names of young employees were among them.
That was unusual for this company.
Until now, this company had chosen "reliable talent."
Those who wouldn't fail.
Those who followed precedent.
But this time was different.
Those who "want to shape the future" had been selected.
Employees were whispering in the hallway.
"They're really going to do it."
"Apparently it's the president's decision."
"That's unusual..."
There was some anxiety in their voices.
But more than that, there was something else.
Expectation.
People who work in companies instinctively know the difference between an organization that only defends itself and one that strives to move forward.
And,
When working in an organization that is moving forward,
people themselves begin to move forward.
The president was alone in his office, looking through some old documents.
It was a photo from when the company was first founded.
A small building.
Few employees.
But everyone's eyes were looking in the same direction.
There was no air of "enough."
Only a quiet determination to "make something better."
For the first time, the president understood.
Companies aren't born out of stability.
They're born out of determination.
Two travelers were watching from the corner of the room.
Conrad Hilton said slowly.
"He remembered."
Beside him, Paul Rusch nodded.
"Why does this company exist?"
Hilton continued.
"Not for profit,"
Rusch replied.
"Because we're needed."
Several months passed.
The new business wasn't going smoothly.
Unexpected problems arose.
The plan had to be revised.
It wasn't easy.
One day, one of the executives said.
"Perhaps it was too early after all."
The president didn't deny it.
He didn't deny it, but said,
"Perhaps so."
The executive was a little surprised.
But the president continued.
"But better late than never."
The room fell silent.
The president slowly looked at everyone.
"Will we continue to be a 'company that never fails'?"
No one answered.
The president continued.
"Or will we become a 'company that is needed'?"
The question was directed at everyone.
And at the same time,
it was directed at the president himself.
Hilton said quietly.
"He's never coming back."
Rush replied gently.
"Yes.
Once someone has experienced 'first-class standards,' there's no going back."
A year later.
The business was still small.
It wasn't the company's mainstay.
But growth was undeniable.
And there was an even bigger change.
In the eyes of the employees.
They weren't just working to protect.
They were working to create.
The future.
Trust.
Value.
A company
doesn't exist because of profit.
It exists because of trust.
Trust is
proof over time of a company's determination to be first-class.
One evening, the president was looking out the window.
The city of Tokyo was chugging along just as usual.
But his company was no longer the company of yesterday.
The scale was the same.
The building was the same.
But
the people had changed.
He quietly asked himself.
"Is this first-class?"
That question never ends.
It is precisely because it never ends
that a company continues to live on.
Hilton's final words were:
"First class is not a place you reach,"
Rush continued.
"It's a path we continue to choose."
The two of them quietly walked away.
But those words remained.
In every company.
In every manager.
And,
Before every choice.
Do your best.
And it must be first class.
