Are You Serious About Creating a "Win-Win" Business Strategy?

  Once everyone was talking about Japanese-style business management. It was the flavor of the month. But now it is time to move on and to grapple with new styles of management that better cater to a new era. Many people have lost their jobs to the incredible advances made in the information technology and robotics fields. However, there are some skills that only people can perform and demand for highly skilled individuals remains healthy. It has been a long time since the term "Win-Win" became popular in the corporate world, but I often wonder how many companies and managers seriously think about how to create that "Win-Win" strategy. I am sure that there are many critical elements to having a successful business in this new, modern era, but what are they? Have you started thinking yet?

Creating the Right Environment for your Employees

  In my opinion, democracy within a business is the key to success because it will create a new paradigm for successful business management. If you are the kind of manager or owner who takes your employees' loyalty for granted merely because you pay their wages, you can bid a brisk farewell to success. It is imperative to see your employees as individuals. Respect the fact that your employees are all individuals who have different opinions and lifestyles. Every company employee is motivated to work for his or her own unique reasons. There is no doubt that providing your employees with a democratic working environment will help them to achieve their full potential.

  It does not matter how quick administration and processing methods become in today's world, we all still spend the bulk of our day working in the office. Therefore, it matters more than ever that we feel that our work is in some way nourishing and fulfilling our own existence. It is no good for anyone's whole professional life to provide no substantial meaning to the greater scheme of things. So, what can you do for your employees to make their working environment as meaningful and as relevant as possible?

  As I just mentioned, respecting your employees as individuals who all possess different views and have their own needs is a good place to start. For instance, it is better to avoid trying to restrict the values held by your employees so that they correspond more closely to those of the company. Give employees some space to voice their own opinions and also give them the freedom to challenge themselves and to test their own limits. In this way, every day can be exciting and stimulating. Nobody will reach their full potential or maximize their skills if they are put into a box, and, consequently, no business that restricts it workers will be a success. Companies that look after employees and take care to recognize each person as a unique individual; Companies that don't try and clone employees and that communicate the idea of "Cheerful, Enjoyable, Lively, and Exciting. I did it!" to their employees will be the real winners in today's competitive business world.

But how?

  My book, "The Option Management" can answer all of your questions. It is your responsibility as the owner of a business to create the right environment for your employees. That environment must embrace their individual views ahead of concern for productivity and profits. A company must be a place where we can all challenge our own goals as part of the experience of life. As you may already realize, the better your employees do in their general lives, the better your company will perform. Happy and satisfied workers equal productivity and further success. I call this management approach, "The Option Management". This approach is not only about management techniques, it requires shifting the whole paradigm of any business structure. It involves a fundamental change to the overall concept of how a business operates.

  You may also be wondering what is so new about my approach. It may well appear to be almost identical to the good old Japanese-style of business management. "Investing in People" was the catch-cry for many years. Many of the ideas developed in "The Option Management" are rooted in ideas originally professed in "Investing in People" doctrines. The difference is, however, that the old idea emphasized and even relied on the importance of employees' loyalty to the company; it was based on devotion to the employer. The old "Investing In the People" system was also characterized by employers maintaining a sympathetic relationship with unmotivated employees. This meant that people kept their jobs, regardless of their performance because employers felt obligated to preserve their incomes. I do think that during the difficult reconstruction period that began after WWII a system based on loyalty and paternalism was probably necessary.

  "The Option Management" uses a more positive approach than this. Today Japan has the second largest economy in the world; Japanese society, as a whole, has become more affluent and people's attitudes towards their work are as different and heterogeneous as their views and values. The term, "shin-jinrui" (similar to the Western Generation-X phenomenon) has been bandied about in the last few years. It is this generation of people with their different values and expectations who will soon form the core of society. The entire business community must adopt a new paradigm to smoothly modernize and change with the times. No company can ignore the importance of this generation because they are both potential employees as well as a solid consumer base. It is only companies that are flexible and that are ready to optimize the particular skills unique to each worker that will be able to implement "The Option Management" effectively.

So, what would you like on the menu?

  Flexi-time is one good example of how you can implement "The Option Management" into your company. Every business management plan needs to incorporate more choice into its structure. Choice about working hours, working days, working locations, and choice about which departments an employee is assigned to will make it easier for all workers to fulfill their own individual needs, and will ultimately generate a better and more positive energy throughout the company. It is exactly the same as having a wide variety of choices made available to you on a restaurant menu. Why not try to provide your employees with a list of choices so that they can apply their different views, values and skills more appropriately to their work? Better working relationships will also be established because they will be based on a more interactive, one-on-one approach. Open and transparent communication between managers and employees will make everyone's needs and expectations much clearer.

  You can also apply "The Option Management" when dealing with your customers. It is, of course, hard work for you to constantly ensure that all the basic satisfaction requirements of both your employees and your customers are met. However, at the end of the day, your aim is to supply your customers with high quality products and an excellent service that surpass their expectations. Such high standards can only be achieved when staff morale, within your company, is high.

  It is my sincere hope to see many more companies realizing their corporate goals and developing a better working climate by using the ideas and examples described above.