Published: July 4, 2025
"Ryo, please calm down and listen."
It was a phone call that informed him of his parents' death.
Having just entered his second year at university, Ryo took a leave of absence and returned to his hometown to take over the family business.
However, being completely lost, Mr. Shige, who had been the executive director, became the president, and Ryo became the vice president.
All the employees were people who had played with Ryo since he was a child.
…Even though he was vice president, his salary was the lowest… He gradually learned the ropes without incurring the resentment of those around him.
Eleven months passed, and it was now March.
"Ryo, would you like some help?"
Seeing Ryo working late on the computer, Mr. Shige, the president, offered a helping hand.
"No, it’s for the youth division..."
The youth division of the Chamber of Commerce... It was a troublesome organization for Ryo, consisting only of young entrepreneurs.
It's an organization found in local areas, with many small and medium-sized enterprises as members... Of course, there was no problem if one did not belong, and there were no benefits for Ryo's company to be a member.
However, due to the previous president's insistence, they remained affiliated even under Mr. Shige's leadership.
Ryo wasn't particularly struggling with company affairs, but he was spending time on "external relations."
"Mr. Shige, looking at it like this, our company really has few documents."
While creating documents related to the youth division, presentation materials, and event scripts, Ryo was impressed by the lack of paperwork in his own company.
"That's right. The previous president used to say, 'There's no need for paperwork reports.' It’s a waste of time to create reports. Writing documents doesn’t bring in money. Revenue doesn’t increase. The amount of time spent on paperwork lowers productivity. The time that occupies hours out of the eight-hour workday isn't a normal company structure. That time should be used to develop at least one new business opportunity, hone one’s skills, or come up with an idea… He wanted us to use it for those things. Therefore, if we want to report, we do it verbally. If a superior wants to know something, the superior goes to ask the people on-site; that’s the basic principle."
Of course, if it were a giant organization, it might not work that way, but their company had only ninety-seven employees, including the management team.
"The people on-site understand things better than anyone else," he said, "so a lot of authority is given to the people on-site."
"It's not easy, though. When something happens, the responsibility doesn't just fall on the people on-site; it also falls on the superiors… and of course, us in management as well."
Mr. Shige said with a wry smile.
"What’s necessary for management is that resolve. That’s why we don't have a human resources department; human resources is the prerogative of management. Placing people means sharing responsibility when that person fails."
Mr. Shige said with a smile.
"Now, I must convey this message from the previous president to you, who is trying too hard, Ryo."
"Don’t work to the point of exhaustion."
Ryo and Mr. Shige’s voices overlapped.
And both of them laughed.
Of course, it wasn't said out of laziness, cowardice, or coddling the employees.
It was purely from a management perspective.
Failures, mistakes, and do-overs... Problems arise regardless of how careful one is.
However, in many cases where these occur, there is a common reason.
That is 'fatigue' and 'lack of leeway.'
Redoing something means that all the time, effort, and materials spent previously become wasted.
Moreover, it takes even more time and effort to return to the original state.
If it were possible to cut out all those unnecessary things… it would be beneficial for the company.
Of course, there is also the aspect of employee growth from learning through failure, so it depends on the case.
Ryo’s father, who confidently told his employees, "Don’t work to the point of exhaustion," was impressive as a fellow businessman, but more than that, Ryo now felt a greater admiration for the fact that he "managed the company without exhausting the employees."