Customer Reviews

Japan's Business Renaissance: How the World's Greatest Economy Revived, Renewed, and Reinvented Itself

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I picked up this book because I was curious how Japan could possibly recover from their 10+ year slump. What I wound up with is a book that has profound implications for the company I work for and the companies that I deal with. The book makes for an interesting read on many counts: Business - how companies can use renewal cycles to reinvent themselves for continued success; History - how Japan has evolved into the country it is today; Sociology - how Japanese people think and how that compares to how US managers view the world.

All of this is tied together into an engrossing book that covers critical material all managers must understand and embrace given the pace of change in business and technology.

This book is about Japan's renewal - and so much more. John Beck and Mark Fuller provide eye-opening narrative about Japanese culture and history. Countless examples of remarkable transformations are drawn from Japanese businesses in a very approachable manner, while analysis is drawn from rich historical and contemporary sources. The reader is given countless opportunities to reflect - and a surprising number of biases and opinions may be thrown overboard as you read this compelling book.

There are many chapters that will offer truly useful insights. One example is a Chapter called "Youthful." It offers some fascinating examples (and lessons) of how some Japanese companies are harnessing the talents of younger workers and managers - to enormous benefit. Japan has constantly shown that it has the ability to be nimble- and renew itself throughout its history. How? The authors describe how the country has periodically opened itself to the ideas and influences of others (China, the U.S. and others), while retaining its identity. Today's "modern samurai" are again showing a great willingness to try new ideas and approaches- and appear to be helping drive another dramatic Japanese renewal.

A great variety of readers- executives, entrepreneurs, policy-makers, general professionals and those simply curious about the world will find great value in this book. You may find yourself looking at renewal and change in a very different way.

Big ideas in a research-based book, that illuminate the story of Japan as a structure for how countries, companies and people change. The book is instructive, predictive, fascinating and fun with a big take-away:

"We present our Renewal Cycle to help companies thrive on crisis instead of avoid it. Our work shows how companies can take control when a catalytic event occurs, understand the options available to them and implement those options through a logical cycle of measures."

Every manager should read this book. Five Stars.

Do you remember the 1980s cascade of management tomes extolling the ancient principles of Japanese management? Welcome back. At that time, Japanese corporations were asserting themselves globally and seemed invincible in almost every industry. Then, everyone wanted to learn from Japan (to the profit of many authors and consultants). However, the collapse of the Japanese stock market in 1989 precipitated a new way of thinking about Japan. Instead of being a global exemplar, Japan became a global disgrace as news emerged of financial corruption, of inflexible bureaucracy, of agency risk gone amok, of self-serving and incestuous dealings between banks and companies, and, above all, of the insane overvaluation of Japanese stocks and real estate. Now, 15 years after the collapse, in the wake of a few years of apparent Japanese recovery, though not a rebound to 1980s levels, authors Mark Fuller and John C. Beck dust off the myth of ancient Japanese magic. They offer a skillfully retailored hand-me-down of a familiar, somewhat imperial suit. The emperor may still lack a full wardrobe, but not everything is old. The book includes some novel findings from recent attitudinal surveys of Japanese managers, and observations from the handful of Japanese companies that have managed a turnaround. We suggest this as an interesting ride on the swinging pendulum of the Japanese economy, with a look at what makes it tick.

This book is nothing but yet another call for open borders and globalization. Other than using the tired old Samurai metaphor, the authors provide little in the way of real business examples in Japan. I was wondering how far into the book it would be before they mentioned importing guest workers but sure enough, I occurs on page 93 about 1/2 way through the book. The authors give the example of Shinsei bank and make sure to mention importing workers from India to Shinsei as a sure sign of "Japan's Renaissance". Well, I did a little research on Shinsei Bank and since they started this radical new program, the company has gone into the tank including its stock - no doubt ruined by imported guest workers as so many American companies have been. Japan's "recovery" is due to nothing more than increased trade with China - China's new consumers want to buy Japanese products. Don't waste your time or money on this book - and don't give these globalist shills any more money.

This book is neither just talking about Japanese businesses nor business strategies, but is a literary work that, using several metaphors, tries to associate Japan's business renewal with Japanese history and Japanese traditional mindsets, so called Samurai or Bushido spirits.

We, the Japanese usually are not conscious that we are descendants of Samurai. As authors say, however, those factors of Samurai spirits are part of our nature, and they might enable us to continue to revive.

The lessons from Japan's renaissance can be applied to Western business, but of course, just learning them does not revitalize your business. In order for you to enhance your value through this book, the essential process would be to think over the lessons and embody them in your business strategies, tactics and daily operations.