Managerial Dialogue: Walking with Oka Foods Vol. 02

Following Vol.1, we bring you a conversation between Representative Director and CHO (Chief Health Officer) Oka, Managing Director Hamada, and Director Eda.

Differences in the roles of a president and a director / How managers feel about employees

-About the roles of the president and directors

Director Eda (hereinafter referred to as Eda) : This may be a bit off topic, but the president doesn't think about the "now" I think that my job is to decide what will happen in the future. The work ahead may be difficult, but they are taking steps to make things easier for you later on. I think you might think, "I was lucky."

-------------When the president decided on the next job, did you, Hamada-san and Eda-san, ever think, "Huh?"

Eda : It's always like that! Only the president knows, and I consciously think that I "don't understand." I don't feel embarrassed about not knowing something, and even though I don't understand what the president is saying, I trust him and practice "yes." But after a year or two, I understand why he did it. Even if I don't understand, I can just try it. Important! Don't waste your time worrying!

Managing Director Hamada (hereinafter, Hamada) : I believe that the role of the president is basically to say outrageous things. That's how a president should be, and it won't work if he just keeps saying things that are an extension of what he's doing now. I believe that the role of executives is to put into practice what the president says in concrete terms.

Representative Director Oka (hereinafter referred to as Oka) : The president is the person who makes decisions, the employees are the ones who implement them, and there are executives in between. And as Ichikura-san wrote in his book, the role of the president is to "ask employees to do things even if it's difficult," so I'm just fulfilling this role and carrying it out. I think that Oka Foods' executives and employees are surprisingly good at getting things done even when they're told, "It's impossible."

- Management's feelings towards employees

Eda : I think it's amazing. Each employee has their own unique qualities, and my job is to help them bring out those qualities, which I enjoy. I also think it's amazing that everyone is able to help each other and that we have a cooperative system in place to increase productivity. I feel that this is all thanks to the Oka Juku and FISH activities (business improvement activities) that the president initiated. When employees are not good at work or look like they are struggling, I want to watch over them so that they can contribute to the company's value by taking them off the job as much as possible and doing the work they enjoy and are good at.

Hamada : What I've been thinking lately is that Okafoods is constantly evolving, and I feel like all the employees at Okafoods are enjoying it. It's not that Okafoods is better than other companies, but rather that it's good that Okafoods is changing. As a result, when you compare yourself to others, you will feel like you are one or two steps ahead. It may not be the case for all employees, but I think that the number of employees like this is gradually increasing. I feel like I'm enjoying it.

Oka : This is also very moving when you think about it from a historical perspective. We have always had to consider things to a certain extent from the company's perspective, but in the past, we thought, "Employees are useless! They are the enemy." But I wanted to make the company a good place together with the employees of that time. Now, rather than enemies, we feel more like "comrades," and I personally think that our connections and mutual trust have become stronger. It is precisely because we have a relationship of trust where we trust them to do a certain amount of work and they take on the challenge of understanding the meaning of that work that we can ask for unreasonable or unreasonable requests. In the past, when I asked for something unreasonable, I always said it knowing that it was impossible. Also, the situation was structured so that the unreasonable demands were made in order to scold the person for not being able to do it.

Hamada: He's a real sadist (laughs).

Eda: I was deeply involved in that era (laughs).

^{Managing Director Hamada (left), Representative Director and CHO Oka (center), Director Eda (right)}

-------------From the perspective of the employees, even if the executives say unreasonable things, they feel that they trust us, so they don't feel uncomfortable. I feel like I can take on new challenges without worrying. Trust cannot be built one way, so the CEO-employee structure is I wondered if it was already ready at Oka Foods.

Oka : In that sense, it was the first time I had bent down and shaken my core. It wasn't a question of whether I could trust my untrustworthy employees, but rather, I "decided" to trust them. But that has led me to where I am today.