I understand that the corporate strategic factors Q (quality), C (cost), D (delivery) and D’ (development) should be given equal importance in principle. Still, as I look back, I notice that in reality they haven’t been treated equally and that the order of importance of these factors has changed over time: in the beginning there was a period when the order of importance was CDQD’, followed by CQDD’ and then QCDD’ as it is today.

When we think about what’s really important, and knowing that every action is initiated by people, we can say that safety (“S”) is the most important of all, as I wrote in my earlier entry “Safety First.” As proof of this, companies considered “Excellent” tend to place “S” in front of the other factors in their policy these days, in the order of “SQCDD’” or “SQDCD’.” In addition, when external conditions surrounding companies are taken into consideration, the factor “E” (environment) becomes extremely important as well.

In view of the above, I have adopted “SEQCDD’” as our Group’s policy and ask all employees’ cooperation in improving the quality of our work relating to each of these factors. Accordingly, we’ve been running a corporate-wide, all-participatory campaign to carry out concrete measures (organization, goal-setting, tracking methods, time management, incentives, standardization of definitions of terms, etc.) and to reinforce a sense of involvement.

The campaign is gradually bearing fruit, although not yet to the extent that full satisfaction is achieved. We’re all determined to continue moving forward, making steady steps one by one, believing in the power of perseverance.

In the next entry of this series, I’d like to write my ideas about quality.

Have you ever heard the term “Position Obligation”? Probably not, because that’s a term I coined myself. Today I’d like to talk about it briefly.

A corporate director usually has some basic rules to follow when making managerial decisions and confirming matters of importance; otherwise, he or she will be required to account for irregularities. This is the least that corporate directors must ensure, yet they’re not good enough for the job if that’s all they do.

Business managers must also think about enhancing corporate value, by contemplating well a range of related factors, making decisions, planning and taking actions accordingly, and then accounting for the results. This is what I call “Position Obligation.”

Even when a decision-making process is faultless and all managerial actions are taken in accordance with the basic rules, if a major loss is incurred as a result, the manager him- or her-self must take responsibility for it. So I’m aware that managers are constantly burdened with the responsibility for potential losses. At the same time, I find certain beauty in the way corporate leaders’ work, face to face with this heavy responsibility, running their business in all sincerity and fairness.

This applies not only to top managers but to all who carry out their duties in their respective positions. Doing their very best using all the resources available at the moment is the natural duty expected of all employees; in other words, they do have their Position Obligation. Needless to say, they will be called to account for the results of their actions.

I’m perfectly certain that this way of thinking is totally natural for many people. In reality, however, in the face of intricate factors, it’s not always easy to put into action, making precise decisions and clarifying the sphere of responsibility. In any case, for those engaged in management, it is essential to keep in mind the basic rules at all times, and I’m writing this also to remind myself …

Dear blog readers, did you have nice summer holidays? Even in mid summer, Japan can have largely varied weather conditions depending on where you are, because of the Archipelago’s shape, stretching long from north to south, and also depending on the day. Still, about this summer we can say nothing but that it’s been scorchingly hot. On August 16, the country set a new record high atmospheric temperature for the first time in 74 years, at 40.9 degrees Celsius, in Kumagaya City, Saitama Prefecture and Tajimi City, Gifu Prefecture. We can’t simply attribute this to abnormal climatic change, but we can say it’s been an extraordinarily hot summer.

As for my summer holidays, I went to stay on Mt. Koya with my family. Many should already know where Mt. Koya is, since it is designated a UNESCO World Heritage site: it is in the northeastern part of Wakayama Prefecture, some 1,000 meters above sea level. Mt. Koya is one of the sacred sites of Japanese Buddhism where the Great Priest Kobo (774-835) opened a monastic center. Kongobu-ji Temple and other sites are located there. My stay in this special place was a truly wonderful experience.

Walking slowly on a long, stone-paved approach to an inner temple, surrounded by rows of giant cedar trees and reflecting on the history engraved on old, moss-covered tomb stones on the temple premises, I almost lost the notion of time as I became totally relaxed and released from the busyness of everyday life.

We stayed in a temple lodging called Henjoko-in, which has a long and distinguished history. The temple itself was founded by the Great Priest Kobo, about 1,200 years ago, as the quasi-head temple of the Buddhist sect he started. Various cultural assets are still found there. During my stay, I took relaxing hot baths to peel away worldly grime and partook of delightful vegetarian meals and had a little bit of “prajna(wisdom) water” -- meaning sake (Japanese rice wine).

Detached from the world down below in this micro-cosmos of freshness and tranquility, for the first time in my life I took part in a daily practice consisting of Buddha image copying and sutra chanting in the morning. This experience enabled me to simply live each moment to its fullest and feel truly grateful for the gift of life.

For this great experience, I can never fully thank Mr. Y, who recommended this temple stay to me. Despite the intense summer heat that still lingers in the Kansai (western Japan) area, I was able to get back to work in great shape, physically and morally refreshed.

The Track and Field World Championships will soon begin in Osaka. The official name of this event is, I’ve been told, the 11th IAAF World Championships in Athletics Osaka 2007. In any case, this is going to be the world’s biggest sporting event this year, and it’ll be held in Osaka! I’m impressed by the fact that the event is expected to have participants from 212 countries and areas the world over (larger number than that of the World Swimming Championships, the FIFA World Cup, or even the Athens Olympics). Just thinking that the world’s top-notch athletes will gather together in Osaka for the period of August 25 (Saturday) to September 2 (Sunday) to vie to be the world’s best, I feel very much excited.

As is written in my profile, I used to belong to the track and field club of my university and participated in all-Japan inter-university competitions as a javelin thrower. Even today, I enjoy jogging regularly, and I believe I’m seriously enthusiastic about athletics.

Besides such top-level competitions as the Track and Field World Championships, there are various other events that we as companies and individuals can enjoy and support in our communities, and the Sumitomo Electric Group is determined to continue its social contribution by supporting such events in the future. Still, there’s something very special about high-level international championships in which the world’s best athletes compete. The Sumitomo Electric Group also supports the event in our humble way, and I’d like to express my deep respect for the organizing committee and others concerned for the actual work they are doing in the field in order to make this a successful event.

I understand that the Championships’ venue, Nagai Stadium, is well equipped with the most advanced facilities to accommodate the performances of the world’s top athletes. Its track in particular, improved to make it one of the world’s best high-speed tracks, has been awarded IAAF Class 1 certification. Whether or not new world records are set at Nagai, I very much look forward to the Championships and admirable performances by participating athletes, who will undoubtedly dedicate body and soul to their performances.

What’s a little disappointing is a rumor that advance tickets have not sold very well. I do hope, however, that the Championships, held for the first time in Japan since the Tokyo Championships 16 years ago, will be a great success.

Next week, I’m leaving on summer holidays to recharge my batteries. I hope you will all take good care of yourselves and stay well, despite the intense heat in Japan.

Anyone who has joined a Sumitomo Electric Group company knows that when I talk to Sumitomo Electric people, I always emphasize safety, quality and legal compliance.

In particular, I try to take as much time as possible to discuss safety and ask Sumitomo Electric people to ensure safety in their respective workplaces. This is because I believe that safety comes before everything. My placing so much emphasis on safety may give you the impression that the Sumitomo Electric Group doesn’t have a good track record with regard to safety, but this is not true. Our performance may vary slightly from one year to another, but on the whole we have rather good safety performance records as a manufacturing group. At the moment, we have only one true goal concerning safety: zero accidents. That is our ultimate goal.

Unfortunately, this goal has become unattainable this year. Nevertheless, I know I will continue saying “let’s go for zero accidents” all the way, until we can achieve it. This is only natural for someone like me, who believes in the power of perseverance.

At the Sumitomo Electric Group, we carry out a variety of measures to enhance workplace safety. Since this August we have adopted two new banners with safety slogans, to be hoisted in each workplace.

The banners are also placed at the Head Office where I work, as shown in this photo. In factories, they are hoisted or hung on the wall to raise personnel consciousness. I also have the banners in my own office, and when I arrive there every morning, I see them and remind myself of the importance of safety.

In reality, I know that “zero accidents” is a rather difficult goal to achieve. For individual workplaces, not only attaining the goal of zero accidents, but also maintaining the status of zero accidents, is an ultra-difficult challenge. Still, a variety of ingenious measures and activities are undertaken with vigor by Sumitomo Electric people concerned about safety. I truly admire such people for their effort and dedication.

As for myself, I never give up. Getting the Sumitomo Electric Group recognized by those inside and outside the Group as the safest and most comfortable place to work is one absolutely necessary condition for making the Sumitomo Electric Group a Glorious Excellent Company. I am determined to continue my efforts to have our workplaces achieve uninterrupted records of zero accidents.

The well-known annual ranking of world corporations in terms of sales, the Fortune Global 500, has been announced. It’s said that for a company to be included in this ranking means recognition as a world-class corporation, at least in scale.

This year, the Sumitomo Electric Group has come in 344th place! We were in the 366th place last year, so it seems as if we have progressed considerably. However, to tell you the truth, I had expected that we’d come in a little higher.

To be sure, considering that the yen was very much undervalued against all other major currencies at the time of the announcement, and that the ranking was influenced by the yen-dollar exchange rate, we are rather well placed. Moreover, as many other Japanese companies were ranked lower than in the previous ranking, under the same conditions, I can say that our last year’s sales were quite favorable.

I say “our sales” specifically here, because, as those of you who take interest in our company know very well, our final figures were seriously affected by the price adjustment of quite a few of our products, as necessitated by the higher prices of raw materials, particularly copper.

In the ranking, the Sumitomo Electric Group is surrounded by well-known companies such as McDonald’s (329), Michelin (341), Goodyear Tire & Rubber (348), L’Oreal (353) and Coca Cola Enterprises (354), as well as many other financial service companies and oil companies of various nationalities that I don’t know very well. Looking at this list, I get the impression that there are many excellent companies all over the world.

At the top of the ranking are Wal-Mart Stores (1), Exxon Mobil (2), Royal Dutch Shell (3), BP (4), General Motors (5), Toyota Motors (6) … these corporate groups are easily ten times larger than the Sumitomo Electric Group. Indeed, there’s always something better and larger.

Although sales is not the only measure of corporate performance, and is definitely not the only criterion for the Glorious Excellent Company that we strive to become, business expansion is fundamentally inseparable from sound business management.

In any case, hoping to remain in the Global 500 ranking in the future, and at ever higher ranking as we progress, we continue with efforts to improve our management.

This is a sequel to the earlier entry about the Ataka Collection and the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka.

The original owner of the Ataka Collection, Ataka Co. Ltd., once counted among Japan’s ten largest trading houses, went bankrupt in 1977. At that time, there was general concern that the world-famous Ataka Collection, comprising over 1,000 art objects, might be broken up. Then the Sumitomo Group, headed by Sumitomo Bank, came to the rescue, offering the solution of donating the entire collection to the City of Osaka, thereby preventing this collection of invaluable cultural assets from being dispersed. This is indeed an example of one of Sumitomo’s founding principles, service to society, in action.

The Ataka Collection was initiated and consistently supervised by Mr. Eiichi Ataka, who served as Ataka’s Chairman and in other important managerial posts. With his expert aesthetic sense, he compiled what may be considered the world’s best collection of oriental ceramics.

At present, the special exhibition, The Eyes of Ataka Eiichi, Seeker of True Art, is being held at the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka to commemorate the museum’s 25th anniversary. I think the amazing aesthetic acuity of Mr. Ataka can be found in this exhibition in the relatively small museum, where you can view two National Treasures, “Celadon bottle with iron brown spots” and “Tenmoku tea bowl with silvery spots,” twelve Important Cultural Properties and many other art objects of immeasurable value.

I believe there’s no other museum that owns two ceramics designated National Treasures. As for the beauty of the exquisitely arranged iron brown spots on the indescribable jade green background of the celadon bottle and the breathtaking perfection of glistening silvery spots, although produced by chance, on the tea bowl, I can only say, please go to the exhibition and experience them with your own eyes.

Luckily, due to the museum’s renovation work, the exhibition will be held in Osaka until the end of September and will then travel to Tokyo, Fukuoka and Kanazawa. So this will be a rare opportunity to view in one visit numerous ceramics of great value, works also highly admired by the well-known antique appraiser Seinosuke Nakajima, who appears in the popular TV program about antiques and art objects.

I hope that as many people as possible will have the opportunity to appreciate the Ataka Collection in person, and have an enjoyable encounter with the powerful charms that enchanted Mr. Eiichi Ataka, legendary seeker of true art.