1.Prologue
OCEAN here, I’ll be taking over the reins of this “Books on Business" series by request of BigBrother, who wrote the first installment: “16 Books on Business Everybody Should Read."
Just a little background about myself: I was born to a Japanese mother and an American father—I’m what you would call a “hafu" (or a “daburu," according to some). I’ve split my life between Tokyo and NYC.
Currently I’m based in NYC, but I spend about three months out of the year in Tokyo.
As a consulting professional, I specialize in leveraging cultural differences—specifically, the different ways of doing business in Japan and the U.S. I assist Japanese companies looking to get in the U.S. market, and American companies looking to get in the Japanese market.
In this series of columns, I’ll be writing about various business-related topics while comparing and contrasting these differences.
2.Global Consulting Firms
In Japan, it used to be that the elite of the elite would become bureaucrats or bankers; in the U.S. they would become politicians or investors.
How times have changed. In Japan, the bureaucracy has been mired by scandal after scandal, and banks are struggling to stay afloat. Meanwhile, the U.S. caused the 2008 financial crisis and gave rise to a president of questionable legitimacy.
These days, the most promising young talent join consulting firms, both in Japan and the U.S.
Although most of these consulting firms may not be household names, they are nonetheless cultivating grounds for the best and the brightest. Some of the consulting firms that have offices in Japan include:
・McKinsey & Company
・Boston Consulting Group
・Bain & Company
・A.T. Kearney
・Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting LL
・Accenture
There are also other consulting firms that specialize in areas like merger & acquisitions and information and communications technology.
It is considered the elite path to learn the ropes at one of these consulting firms before striking out on your own.
3.Well-known Japanese Consultants
●McKinsey & Company Alumni
Ohmae Kenichi
Management consultant. Joined McKinsey & Company in 1972, and later ran the firm’s Japanese business and later its Asian business as senior partner. Currently serves as president (and founder) of Business Breakthrough University (operated by Business Breakthrough, Inc.), where he instructs students with entrepreneurial ambitions. Author of many books, including The Mind of the Strategist, The Art of Converting Conceptual and Creative Thinking into a Practical Business Plan, and The Professional. Known for the 3C business model, which says a strategist should focus on three factors for success: company, customers, and competitors.
Katsuma Kazuyo
Economic commentator. Started working as a junior accountant for former “Big Five" accounting firm Arthur Andersen while attending Keio University Faculty of Business and Commerce. Went on to work for JP Morgan Chase (at the time Chemical Bank) before working as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. Known for starting up Mugi-Batake, a social networking service for working mothers. Voted one of “50 Women to Watch" by the Wall Street Journal in 2005. Author of many books about business skills, work-life balance, and women in the workplace, collectively selling more than 5 million copies.
Takimoto Tetsufumi
Management consultant, angel investor. Associate professor at Kyoto University. Author of a number of bestsellers that give young people joining the workforce the “weapons” to get through the new economic era, including Boku wa Kimi-tachi ni Buki wo Kubaritai (I want to arm you with weapons), Buki to shite no Ketsudan Shikou (The decision-making mindset as a weapon), and Buki to shite no Koushou Shikou (The negotiation mindset as a weapon).
Namba Tomoko
Entrepreneur. After working for several years at McKinsey & Company, got her MBA at Harvard Business School, and returned to McKinsey, where she became the third Japanese woman to become a partner. Later founded DeNA (pronounced D-N-A), a mobile game developer and distributor, where she currently serves as CEO.
●Well-known consultants who’ve worked at Boston Consulting Group
Hori Koichi
Management consultant. Joined Boston Consulting Group after working at Mitsubishi Corporation and attending Harvard Business School. Founded Dream Incubator Inc., a consulting and investment firm, in 2000. Currently serves as president.
Iwase Daisuke
Director and Chairman of Lifenet Insurance Company. Joined Boston Consulting Group out of university. Later attended Harvard Business School. Founded Lifenet after returning to Japan. Author of a number of books, including Nyusha Ichinen-me no Kyokasho (A textbook for first-year employees) and 132-oku en Atsumeta Bijinesu Puran (The business plan that collected 13.2 billion yen) .
4.Classic Books on Self-Development and Business Skills
Today I’d like to introduce you to some classic business books that I can pretty much guarantee aspiring consultants read while getting their MBA.
●1) The Effective Executive by Peter F. Drucker
Peter F. Drucker, one of the leading management thinkers of the 20th century, states that in order to be an effective leader, it is imperative to do the right things. In this book he goes over concrete methods to do just that: time management, how to contribute to an organization, how to get results, how to set priorities, decision-making. This is the ideal introduction to Drucker’s writings.
●2) Managing in the Next Society by Peter F. Drucker
In this book Drucker talks about the changing business environment and evolving discipline of management in the information age. What will low birthrate and an aging society mean for employment? How must business schools evolve to meet the demands of the era of the entrepreneur? How should we approach our personal careers? Drucker predicts where society is headed, providing invaluable food for thought, not just for executives but for anyone living in the modern era.
●3) Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
The Hungary-born American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi explains that it is when we are utterly focused and absorbed in a situation or activity—to the point that we lose awareness of our surroundings—that we are at our most fulfilled. He calls that mental state “flow", or what is colloquially referred to as being “in the zone". In order to experience flow, there must be a balance between the challenge level (difficulty) of a task and a person’s skill level. If you’re looking for ways to get yourself motivated, read this.
●4) Competitive Strategy as a Narrative Story by Kusunoki Ken
Kusunoki Ken, a scholar of business administration specializing in corporate competitive strategy, makes the case that a narrative story is essential to a management strategy. When starting up a new business, having a logical management strategy is a given. But in these times where the market is overflowing with products and services, having a narrative story that moves your audience and sets your business apart from your competitors can make all the difference.
●5) StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath
This is the textbook for maximizing your potential: knowing your strengths and making the most of them over the long term. You’ll find concrete methods for identifying your strengths and actionable ideas for making them into weapons at your disposal. Read this and re-read this when you find yourself in a slump work-wise.
●6) How to Get the Most From Your Organization edited and translated by the DIAMOND Harvard Business Review editorial team
Perhaps the biggest challenge in running an organization—and in work in general, for that matter—is how to increase motivation. Two workers with an identical skill set and skill level will produce wildly different results depending on motivation. This book is a collection of essays on motivation previously published in the Harvard Business Review.
●7) The McKinsey Way by Ethan M. Rasiel
If you’ve ever wondered why McKinsey & Company is the best in the world at what they do, you’ll find the answer in this book. Rasiel covers McKinsey problem solving strategies, brainstorming techniques, presentation skills, how to make pitches, team building, and more—providing concrete lessons that will help the reader acquire first-rate business skills. Even if you’re not in consulting, this is an invaluable read for any businessperson.
●8) Managing by Harold Geneen and Alvin Moscow
The late American businessman Harold Geneen explains that unlike reading—where there is a linear progression to the end—management is predicated on a conclusion. By setting an attainable goal and planning backwards, you will be able to accomplish what you set out to do without fail. These are essential truths of management and leadership, but they hold true for anybody hoping to accomplish something or realize their dreams.
●9) A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink
Author Daniel Pink has published a number of books on work and behavioral science. In this book, he assesses human history and identifies several “ages": the Agricultural Age, the Industrial Age, and the Information Age. He states that we are now entering the Conceptual Age, where creativity is the currency—and key to survival for businesses. Side note, the Japanese version of this book was translated by Ohmae Kenichi.
●10) Shikou no Seirigaku (A Scientific Approach to Organizing Thought) by Toyama Shigehiko
Good ideas don’t come out of thin air—they come out of habits learned the hard way. This book is not so much about concrete methods for acquiring those habits as it is a treatise on the process of “thinking about thinking". Originally published more than 20 years ago, it still offers invaluable insights for our age, especially considering our education systems still lack an answer as to how to teach students to live with computers and hold an advantage over artificial intelligence.
●11) Boku wa Kimi-tachi ni Buki wo Kubaritai (I want to equip you with weapons) by Takimoto Tetsufumi
This book written by McKinsey alumni and Kyoto University associate professor Takimoto Tetsufumi is a call-to-arms for Japanese twenty-somethings. He writes from the perspective of an investor, commentating on how the upcoming generation can weather the storm of capitalism and increase their market value. The key takeaway here is that we live in an era where simply being a good student is not enough to ensure your survival.
●12) Blue Ocean Strategy by Renée Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim
Blue Ocean Strategy is a marketing theory that argues that companies can succeed—and even make competition irrelevant—by leaving “red oceans" (heavily contested market spaces that have turned red from the blood of competition) for uncontested “blue oceans". This new edition has been updated and expanded with a new chapter, and provides practical approaches to implementing its strategy.
●13) Leverage Thinking by Honda Naoyuki
Leverage thinking is an approach to getting big results out of fewer resources. Consultant and venture capitalist Honda Naoyuki says that the key lies in investing in yourself—specifically in terms of labor, time, knowledge, and contacts. Of course, it’s all predicated on having a clear goal in mind, and in that regard this book is a wake-up call for anybody who naively believes that tireless effort is always rewarded. A lot of the examples presented are not just about business but sports and neuroscience as well, making this a straightforward read.
●14) Logical Communication Skill Training by Teruya Hanako and Okada Keiko
Business is all about logical communications skills: you must be able to logically grasp a problem, logically come up with a solution, and logically explain that solution to someone else. Logical thinking is vital for any businessperson; a plan based on a firm logical foundation will go further than one with a shaky foundation. You’ll find numerous logical thinking techniques such as MECE (ミッシー), an approach to identifying the elements of a problem that is “mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive".
●15) Anata no Nou no Shitsuke-Kata (How to discipline your brain) by Nakano Nobuko
If you find yourself falling into the same behavioral or cognitive patterns despite the fact that you know better, this book has something to offer you. After all, the brain is a muscle, and by consciously repeating the right motions and establishing the right habits, you can obtain results both at work and in your private life. This book offers concrete ways to make that happen.
●16) 2022—Kore kara 10-nen, Katsuyaku dekiru Hito no Jouken (2022: The qualities a person will need to flourish in the coming 10 years) by Kanda Masanori
There are plenty of books out there that lay out all of the reasons why Japan’s future is so gloomy; management consultant Kanda Masanori presents a more positive outlook in this book, which outlines his career philosophy. If you’ve ever found yourself living day-to-day, overrun by your daily obligations, the idea of looking ahead one year—or a week, for that matter—seems impossibly nebulous. This book argues that there are opportunities before your eyes that will only become clear by making the effort to look ten years into the future and giving serious thought to what you should be doing now.
5.Epilogue
All of these books, I believe, are worth reading for any businessperson, regardless of whether or not you work in consulting or a consulting-related field.
Students studying economics or management at a Japanese university—where they only teach you generalities and outdated theoretical concepts—should consider these 16 books necessary reading.
