A couple of years ago I had a discussion with Mr. Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group. (We are both 50 years old.) He said, "On a certain project we are working on, I contracted with two excellent consulting firms to conduct feasibility studies as to whether or not it would go well. Each of the firms came back to me with an opposing answer: one said yes, and the other said no. In fact this occurs often. You won't get anywhere by wondering which is good or bad. If you think it will go well, that means you have a 'go' sign." I found myself agreeing with his comments.
  The decision-making criteria for ideas and decisions must rely on our senses. Whether it is the concept of unstable stability or a "non-serious" approach that is nondependent on accepted theories concerning seriousness and laziness, the final basis for a judgment must be one's senses inclusive of this field.
  Mr. Branson also said, "When the company has become so large that you can no longer remember the first names of your company members, it is a danger signal. If that occurs, I would take that division and make a separate company."
  It is with this unconventional approach, that the creator of the "British Dream" has built up more than 200 group companies from scratch and expanded to all corners of the world.
  As I mention later on, Mr. Branson is one of many leaders that gave me courage. Of course, I do not agree with him on everything, and our personalities are very different. However, there are many lessons I can learn from him as an administrator who was the first to realize a model that is similar to what I am striving for. This is because when I make the final decision as to whether or not a new business or new development project will be successful, that decision is based almost entirely upon who the decision maker will be and his or her attitude towards the work.
  Decision making in and of itself is just the start. What remains is whether or not you have the will to continue through with a decision once its been made.

  During my third year of presidency (1990) I presented the company executives a declaration as a new dictatorial president: "Cheerful, Enjoyable, Lively, and Exciting. I did it!" I am sure there were some members who wondered what this declaration meant, and in fact, there was confusion among the executives at the beginning. The statement may have been interpreted as something that completely tore apart the conventional vertically divided, horizontally aligned organizational stability. This is only natural, and there was a time when both company morale and performance declined before improving.
  However, that declaration is, in a sense, a reconfirmation of my values; my pledge to the company. It was not my intent to become a traditional dictatorial type of president. I have never conceived of taking the conventional stance of ordering company members into action, I rather want to support them. I want Katoites to work using the processes and procedures they prefer, thus enabling them to demonstrate their full potential within. In order to accomplish this, I do not want company superiors ordering their subordinates about, telling them, "Do this. Do that." I demand that those with seniority refrain from ordering others around. This is one way that I am dictatorial and promote the corporate culture that I am fostering.

  "I have become a dictator for the purpose of creating a new and unique corporate culture." In this manner, I have burned the bridges that would have allowed Kato Spring to turn back. Such action is correct for the company at this time, as we have begun a number of new projects including expansion of the No. 1 Factory in Fukushima, construction of the No. 2 Factory in Fukushima, and the establishment of Kato Precision UK and Kato Precision Malaysia.
  Simultaneously, many in-house systems have been implemented including initiating the Coffee Club (a committee-type activity for young leaders), giving women the option of choosing from four uniform colors, and introducing a flex-time system for working hours at the Kashiwazaki Factory and a point-based pension system.
  The approach to option management was introduced and set in motion in 1992, and within this environment, I declared the following to the executives: "The time has come to put an end to superiors exercising traditional leadership that robs freedom from their subordinates by forcing them to work as they have been commanded. I will not stand for this type of action. As a rule, the Katoite motto is to be "Think on your own. Proceed on your own. I, as the president will take responsibility for your actions. In this sense, I will be a dictator."
  This means that general managers "shall be general managers" and the original duty of a section chief is "to be a section chief." I am well aware that people are very busy with their daily duties. However, this may be because of an insufficient delegation of authority to subordinates as well the failure to place total trust in them.
It is possible that many executives may not be able to escape from needless complexities of being wrapped up in the traditional practice of entertaining people inside and outside of the company and their relationships with subordinates. More than anything else, however, doesn't this mean that management uses this as an excuse to avoid tomorrow's work and simply deal with the current tasks of the day? Although Kato Spring only has about 1,500 Katoites in its consolidated operations in Japan and overseas, signs of "large corporation sickness" enveloped us before we knew it.