Look Beyond Your Own World!

Inspire

Military officers are always eager for opportunities to engage with their counterparts from other armed forces. These include studying at foreign military academies, serving at embassies, and working as military observers on the battlefield.
“For officers serving within the closed world of their national armed forces, direct interaction with the outside world is essential,” says Sir Robert Fry.
The same applies in business. When we get caught up in our busy schedules, we can easily become trapped by the conventional thinking of our own company or industry.
There is enormous value in learning directly from other companies that are fighting their own battles in the real world.

Deep Dive

Throughout history, there are countless examples of military organisations that failed because they became trapped in inward-looking thinking.
- In the final years of the Qing Dynasty, China overestimated its traditional military strength and resisted adopting Western technology. As a result, it became vulnerable to aggression by Western powers, ultimately contributing to the collapse of the dynasty.
- In the early Showa era, Japan banned English as an enemy language and failed to make an objective assessment of American military capabilities, leading to the reckless decision to go to war.
- Under Stalin, repeated purges created a closed and inward-looking Soviet military organisation, widening the technological and strategic gap with Western countries. This became one of the factors contributing to the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union.
Modern military commanders engage with the outside world far more extensively than most of us imagine. Perhaps this is because they recognise that they operate within a closed, inward-looking world and therefore make a conscious, systematic effort to reach beyond it.

In my experience, navies are particularly proactive in this respect. Pippa Pomeroy, a core member of our team working with Walmart in the US and one of the first female officers to serve at sea in the Royal Navy, once told me:

"Among naval officers, there's a bond that comes from being sailors, even when we serve in different countries' navies."

In Ryotaro Shiba's novel Clouds Above the Hill (Saka no Ue no Kumo), we also see Japanese naval officers building relationships with their foreign counterparts. Saneyuki Akiyama interacts with officers of the US Navy, while Takeo Hirose develops close friendships with officers of the Russian Navy.

As for myself, I've experienced three career moves (which I chose to make) and five corporate acquisitions (which I certainly didn't choose to be caught up in!). Through these experiences, I've been exposed to organisations and cultures I had never known before.

My first culture shock came when I joined an American consulting firm straight out of university. Almost immediately, I discovered that English was the official language of the company. Then I was told:

"If you haven't been promoted within three years, you'll have to leave."

I was terrified. It was the famous industry culture of "Up or Out," "Sink or Swim," and "Grow or Go."

"Couldn't you have told me that before I joined?!"

That was my reaction. But after five years, I had absorbed the culture myself and become increasingly ambitious and competitive. It was also inspiring to see Indian and Singaporean colleagues in their early thirties already thriving as partners and co-owners of the firm.

At university, I had belonged to a traditional Japanese sports club, where the unwritten rules were:

"Once you join, you never quit."

"Anyone older than you is your senior—and remains your senior for life."

Those values were deeply ingrained in me. My experience at the consulting firm turned my world completely upside down.

My next shock came when I changed jobs and joined the marketing department of an American consumer goods company.

Being a manufacturer, the company required me to work closely with hundreds of salespeople and factory staff.

Once again, I thought:

"Couldn't you have told me that before I joined?!"

I complained to my boss:

"Creating glamorous advertising campaigns is only a tiny part of the job! Nobody told me I'd have to spend so much time worrying about everyone else!"

He dismissed my complaint:

"What are you talking about? Consumer goods marketing is a job where you have 0% authority and 100% responsibility."

That experience brought home to me that there are worlds where ambition and competitiveness alone simply aren't enough.

My next career move took me to a champagne company as its president, where I received my initiation into the nightlife business.

The first shock came when I spotted customer segments in the sales reports labelled "Hostess Clubs," "Host Clubs," and "Okama Bars" (bars featuring male or transgender entertainers).

"Seriously?! I thought our customers were just fine restaurants and international luxury hotels!"

And for the third time, I found myself thinking:

"Couldn't you have told me that before I joined?!"

When I began visiting customers in the nightlife market, the salespeople accompanying me put pressure on me every evening:

"The women who run these clubs drink so much of our champagne that they're practically drinking themselves sick. You're the president, so you'd better drink plenty too!"

"The chef has prepared special dishes to go with our champagne. You absolutely must finish everything on your plate!"

At the same time, I was amazed by the genuine warmth of the club and restaurant owners and staff who were our customers.

"Let's keep working hard together!"

"Thank you so much for always supporting us!"

They really meant it.

Our employees had also built close relationships with their customers, both professionally and personally.

This was completely different from my previous experience in consumer goods, where our main customers were large retail chains. Their buyers had bullied me mercilessly—or rather, had given me some very valuable training!

In the nightlife business, I discovered a culture where:

"Customers go to places where they know the people, and those businesses prefer to work with manufacturers they have good relationships with."

Picking up a cheaper product at a convenience store or supermarket and paying at a self-checkout is a completely different kind of consumer behaviour from happily enjoying a glass of champagne recommended by a club hostess or sommelier.

From this experience, I discovered an important truth:

"The value that end consumers expect in each industry shapes the way manufacturers in that industry conduct their business."

When we stay with one company for a long time, we tend to become trapped by what that company considers normal. It's much the same as living in one country for many years and taking its customs and values for granted.

Changing jobs isn't the only way to broaden our horizons. Temporary assignments to other organisations, working for other companies on the side, overseas assignments, and studying abroad can all give us valuable exposure to the outside world—and become tremendous assets in our business careers.

Even the military, often seen as the very symbol of a closed society, makes a conscious effort to look beyond its own world.

We can't afford to fall behind, can we?