At the end of the allied bombing of Japan, which is marked by the collapse of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, practically the entire territory of Japan suffered almost complete destruction. In a grave situation, the emperor of Japan at that time, Emperor Hirohito, doing inspection tours to see directly the conditions of its people.
There is one question asked the emperor to his staff, who will never be forgotten by the nation of Japan until this second. The Emperor was not asking how many factories are left, how many banks are still open, or how many houses are still standing. His only question was, "How many teachers that we still have?"
Results from this short dialogue was incredible. Japan is now turned, as if they who colonized the Americas. In 2006, the car manufacturer Toyota soared to number one car manufacturer worldwide. For the U.S. market alone, two local giants, Ford and General Motors-up-up had to reduce its employees for their continued market eroded by Toyota.
What is the essence of the story? None other than the spirit to build value. In the eyes of marketing knowledge, values defined as (functional benefits + emotional benefits) / total give. In simple language, increasing the value from a product or a service meant to give more benefits to customers or consumers, so that they will get more than just products they buy.
Of course, to understand what benefits can we create, or how to increase the value of our products, need a process to learn and keep learning. That is why Emperor Hirohito is very concerned with how many teachers are still "left". Japan is indeed a portrait of a nation that has a higher awareness to build its value.
Year 2007 has started and we entered the competition in various fields would be even harder. Whatever the field or type of business you are doing, of course you want to always appear as a winner right? And value is the one thing that will make you or your product is perceived "different" than your competitors. Value is the key to emerge as winners.
However, an effort to build value will require humility to "willing" learning, and this was often a constraint. Even Jim Collins in his book Good To Great to the point of saying, "Good is the enemy of great. And that's one of the main reasons why we only have so little things can become great."
There is one question asked the emperor to his staff, who will never be forgotten by the nation of Japan until this second. The Emperor was not asking how many factories are left, how many banks are still open, or how many houses are still standing. His only question was, "How many teachers that we still have?"
Results from this short dialogue was incredible. Japan is now turned, as if they who colonized the Americas. In 2006, the car manufacturer Toyota soared to number one car manufacturer worldwide. For the U.S. market alone, two local giants, Ford and General Motors-up-up had to reduce its employees for their continued market eroded by Toyota.
What is the essence of the story? None other than the spirit to build value. In the eyes of marketing knowledge, values defined as (functional benefits + emotional benefits) / total give. In simple language, increasing the value from a product or a service meant to give more benefits to customers or consumers, so that they will get more than just products they buy.
Of course, to understand what benefits can we create, or how to increase the value of our products, need a process to learn and keep learning. That is why Emperor Hirohito is very concerned with how many teachers are still "left". Japan is indeed a portrait of a nation that has a higher awareness to build its value.
Year 2007 has started and we entered the competition in various fields would be even harder. Whatever the field or type of business you are doing, of course you want to always appear as a winner right? And value is the one thing that will make you or your product is perceived "different" than your competitors. Value is the key to emerge as winners.
However, an effort to build value will require humility to "willing" learning, and this was often a constraint. Even Jim Collins in his book Good To Great to the point of saying, "Good is the enemy of great. And that's one of the main reasons why we only have so little things can become great."
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