I can recall the time that when men were asked their ideal occupations they responded "commander-in-chief of a combined fleet," "conductor of a full orchestra" and "coach of a soccer team." My father often conveyed his belief to Katoites using the term "orchestra management." Even if only a single member of an orchestra makes a small mistake, the entire production falls apart. A wonderful sound that moves the audience is achieved for the first time when the various parts of the 50 or 60 members are integrated and perform as one.
  The intent behind my father's words was that all types of work are important. Even when each division is properly conducting its work, the end product can fall apart due to a mistake made by one individual alone. He emphasized with his words that he wanted each Katoite to devote himself/herself to his/her position in order to attain harmony in the workplace, and in turn generate a superior product. My father stood on this podium and earnestly waved his baton. He is somebody who led the era of continuous change by unifying the entire company, sometimes through confrontation with society.
  In the board of directors, my father was unrivaled. This is only natural. He was proud that he had continued pushing himself to take the initiative in technical innovation regarding springs. He had the "Kanputer" that appeared to accurately foresee the trends of the era, and his pride for successfully making investments for the future that diverted from accepted approaches. It was routine for my father to indicate a policy, instruct measures to be taken and then for the board of directors meeting to end. As far as to my knowledge, there was never any active discussion in board of directors meetings. He was a typical dictatorial president. Although Kato Spring would not have grown to this extent if he had chosen a different philosophy, there was always a hidden premise that his way was to be adopted no matter the issue. That dictatorial president gave up his position in 1987 at the young age of 61.

  As I wrote earlier, he once said, "Although there is a mountain of things I want to say, I will hold them back. I will not conduct a two-headed form of leadership." Even though somewhat paradoxical, I have felt secretly that this was the most amazing part of my father's approach to educating me to be his successor.
  One day, he came up to my desk wearing his normal facial expression and announced so all could hear, "It was decided that you will become president right after the next shareholder's meeting," and then he left as if nothing had occurred. Today, he is out swinging his golf clubs towards his goal of 7,000 rounds.
  Although my father still held representative rights, the daily ringisho all stopped at my desk. His involvement at that time was to look over the monthly report and make one or two comments. Initially, I am sure that he probably bit down hard on his lip several times, just as the veteran ship captain did. However, he has voiced absolutely no opposition to my administration style even though I became president at the young age of 37. At that time, I was the youngest president ever of a company listed on the first or second sections of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Only in June of last year (1999) did he resign his directorship and assume the post of honorary chairman.

  It is easy to say, "Times have changed." What is important is the attitude of "What am I going to do now that the times have changed?" If the chairman wants to breathe new life into a company, that is a reason for giving up the presidency. Furthermore, if he personally rejects the strong dictatorial approach followed to date, the change to a new president serves no purpose unless the successor introduces a new attitude and new concepts. Simply speaking, if I failed to introduce new concepts and change, I would be of no use to the company.
  Leading companies in the market have been undergoing massive change one after another. It is impossible to know from where strong competitors will emerge. Within this continuum of intense competition, I have personally seen examples of companies, regardless of their size, being obliterated if they do not change. Companies must change.
  "Don't adapt to change, Create it!" I wrote the Declaration of a New Dictatorial President as a testimony of my personal style of administration concerning this slogan. This is truly how I feel.