When I am occasionally asked to give a lecture, I particularly notice that questions are rarely asked during the question and answer session. I have to reach out to the attendants and ask, "What do you think about this?" or "What about this point?" The answers are always very good, but no one raises their hands to ask questions.
  The general image concerning Japanese was once expressed as the three Ss, "Silent, Smiling and Sleepy." Another metaphor is that of a black hole. This reflects that Japanese people are very good at taking in information from outside and incorporating it internally, but they have difficulty in expressing things from within.
  Although such cultural comparisons do not easily connect to whether or not one will be successful in business, it is definite that the Japanese carry a handicap today. Imagine, in this era of major global competition, a culture in which people with the ability to express cannot be cultivated.

  I, for one, am somebody who wants company members to raise their hands.
  I previously purchased a card as a gift in the United States. Under the title of "Our Policy" were listed many words. Policies like "Pick it up if you drop it," "Close it if you open it" and "Repair it if you break it" were written. The key is whether one interprets this to be very childish or to be phrases that are simple but easily generate action.
  If you can't make a product well, you should make it anyway. Instead of worrying, "I can' make it" or "What should I do," the thought process is changed to the active approach of "I should make it anyway," "How should I make it" or "Okay, I'm going to make it." In my mind, this is what it means to raise one's hand.

  When I began working in sales activities in Los Angeles soon after graduating from college, I had a hard time fitting in with the local community. I wasn't good at English and I knew no one else living as I was, distant from the Japanese society. So how did I raise my hand in this situation? It was through tennis. During high school, I had gone as far winning second place in an interscholastic athletic meet, so I played well against most anybody. Consequently, I used tennis to make American friends and was even able to meet the president of a spring manufacturer, who later became a treasured teacher concerning American business.

  Raising one's hand is a type of self-assertion. Elementary school students eagerly raise their hands in the classroom. This is an assertion of one's confidence or one's sense of values; that of, "I can do it" or "I know the answer."
  It has been concluded that Japanese are not adept at self-assertion. The individual thus reasons that this culture is not one in which one raises their hand. However, the raising of one's hand is not simply the self-assertion of saying, "I am here. I am here." Although this fits with my example of tennis, the raising of one's hand is the act of broadcasting a sign for wanting to create an association with those who share the same thoughts or actions and letting others know that you are searching for an answer or response.
  The administration of a venture business is the administration of raising your hand. It is an organization in which one raises a hand not looking for friends to share past information, but friends who are willing to share information about the future.

  Although I do not like words with a strong emphasis on a temporary status such as "boom," there have been many so-called venture corporation booms in the past. The first boom occurred in 1970-1973. This boom was started by the introduction of technology from the West and called for corporations to be built around unique technologies. The second boom occurred in 1983-1986. The keys to this boom were stimulation from new elements and biotechnology, and the deregulation of disclosure standards for stocks. And the third boom began around 1993. In reaction to the disillusionment from the collapse of the Japanese economic bubble, corporate groups targeting new markets in the 21st century and other niche markets have become the mainstream. However, the tight control of capital by Japanese banks, which even extends to the withdrawal of funds, has caused this boom to turn.

  Nevertheless, the formation of a network of venture-type subsidiaries that Kato Spring is pursuing is something new and unprecedented in Japan. It is not as if Japanese companies haven't already attempted to create satellite-type systems before, but it appears that many of those attempts faded away because the relationship between the head office and the satellite companies remained within traditional "company organizations."
  The question at the time of founding Strawberry Corporation, the test of Kato Spring's associates system, was whether or not there were people who would raise their hands and join the adventure of developing a new administrative domain, and furthermore, participate in such an important startup that carried such risk? In fact, I myself was worried about this. But...