Way out from Accelerated Bureaucratization of Japanese SMEs.

Nobody can escape from one single fact: Aging. Every one of us is doomed to pass away some day. The moment of truth will come abruptly, however, the process towards the day never stops to go forward step by step.

The same thing is the case for companies. When they get started, they try to accelerate growth rate. Once they succeed to so, they seem as if they can’t stop growing. However, they are doomed to reach the level where their growth rate turns out to be slowing down. At first glance, we can’t recognize such a simple fact. But it’s true that companies, which proudly announced to rocket in the market, suddenly have to show their own aging. As a matter of fact, they inevitably die slowly.

It’s owner of these companies, particularly SMEs that matters at this stage. If they accept this as a kind of fate, they just let down their own companies, conditioned that they have already profited a lot of money from the enterprises so far. The companies’ employees, who are usually incapable of recognizing the fact that their overwhelming “bureaucratization” is leading to this fate, are used to oppose to change themselves to revitalize. Instead, they just try hard to find out “pseudo-effective” argument to override any innovative ideas and initiatives the founders/company executives dare to bring in for the better future of the companies.

As our institute, IISIA, is dedicated to support Japanese companies, particularly SMEs, in terms of global expansion and HRM, we frequently face this phenomenon. Founders and company executives make tremendous effort to remain “bullish”, but their employees never follow them. Especially in the on-going accelerated deflation of the Japanese economy, this trend can be seen everywhere in the local SME market, I think.

The only way out from this fate is quite simple: Forget the previous company with more or less sucess so far, and create a new one with new members. Even in the aging society, nobody hinders old entrepreneurs from starting up from now on. Instead of wasting time by trying to reform the corporate culture of employees who never want to change themselves and think outside the box, go forward towards new challenges with members with whom you can share new dream.

That’s exactly what we, the Japanese, are urged to recognize to enable us to establish “Pax Japonica”. Watch out.