7 Best Japanese Philosophies
Learn from these Japanese Philosophies that will surely improve your life & business
Introduction
The Japanese are well-known for their technology, culture, and how organized their country is. But how did they achieve that? Is there a secret behind it?
For a Filipino like myself, this is a great thing that we can adapt when it comes to business and life. Since Japanese culture focuses on orderliness, precise process, and many more.
In this article, we will discuss some of the Japanese philosophies that we can use to improve our lives and even in business, that being said, let’s get right on to it!
7 Best Japanese Philosophies That Will Improve Your Life & Business
List of Japanese Philosophies that you can use in Life & even in Business that will bring forth excellent improvements
Japanese Philosophies #1
Poka-Yoke / Error-Proofing
The first on our list of Japanese Philosophies is Poka-Yoke. Poka-Yoke is a Japanese term that means “Fool-Proofing” which was changed into “Mistake-Proofing“. This term is part of Toyota’s Production System, it was created by Dr. Shigeo Shingo who was an industrial engineer at Toyota.
The idea of this philosophy is to eliminate “unintended errors” in manufacturing and operations. It is also part of the Zero-Defect Quality Control of Japanese companies.
Why is this relevant to you?
Relevance of Poka-Yoke to your Life or Business
Mistakes and errors are avoidable, In life and mostly in business (especially in machine-operated businesses such as manufacturing). We all know the old saying that “accidents are unavoidable“.
However, the Japanese did not believe in that saying. They believed that errors or mistakes can be eliminated by implementing automation and establishing a great quality control protocol in business to improve the process and the efficiency of manufacturing products.
If you are to adapt to this in life, every day we face different types of challenges, regardless if it’s for a job or even in school. By applying the Poka-Yoke philosophy you will be able to improve your efficiency to finish your projects, assignments, and your overall performance.
Similar to the idea of DIRFT (Do It Right the First-Time), the concept will help avoid mistakes and errors. Maximizing the efficiency and quality of your results.
Applying Poka-Yoke in Business
How to apply Poka-Yoke in Business
The process is a vital part of businesses and establishing a simple process will eliminate errors because the steps are very easy to understand. Hence, it will be time-efficient and error-proof.
Just remember that the Poka-Yoke concept can be applied in different aspects of your business that is how useful this philosophy is. However, you must learn and understand the process flow of your business, so that you can pinpoint which you should focus on before improving another aspect of the business.
Always take one step at a time, just like the saying.
“Slowly but surely“
Applying Poka-Yoke in Life
How to apply Poka-Yoke in Life
If you want to apply Poka-Yoke in your daily tasks at work, you can study the processes thoroughly, you can prepare a process mapping or flow-chart to help you understand the process in different kinds of situations.
By doing so, you will be able to know what are options you can do in case there are possible loopholes in the process. Which you can improve and formulate an effective approach that can eliminate any possible errors.
Applying the Poka-Yoke in making the right decisions in life. But unfortunately, you cannot fully eliminate bad decisions in life.
However, by understanding the philosophy of Poka-Yoke you will be able to understand and learn from those bad decisions so that when the time comes that you will encounter a similar situation you will be able to make the right decisions this time.
Japanese Philosophies #2
Muda, Muri, Mura: The 3 M’s of Lean Management
One of the Best Japanese Philosophies that was adapted by companies worldwide. The 3 M’s of Lean Management was made by Dr. Shigeo Shingo & Taiichi Ohno, together they formulated the Toyota Production System. Which inspired the U.S companies to adopt this method in their businesses.
These 3 M’s of Lean Management focuses on the efficiency of production by eliminating waste (Muda), applying balance (Mura), Maximizing productivity without overburdening workloads (Muri).
What is Muda, Mura, Muri?
Muda
Muda is a Japanese word meaning futility; uselessness; idleness; superfluity; waste; wastage; wastefulness.
This is used in businesses in terms of eliminating waste by implementing the strategy called TIMWOOD.
- Transport – moving products that are not actually required to perform in the process or manufacture.
- Inventory – All components, work in process, and the finished product not being processed.
- Motion – people or equipment moving or walking more than what is required to perform the process.
- Waiting – Waiting for the next production step, interruptions of production during shift change.
- Overproduction – Overproduction of what is demanded or required.
- Over Processing – Resulting from poor tool or product design creating activity.
- Defects – The effort involved in inspecting for and fixing defects.
Mura
Mura is a Japanese word meaning unevenness; irregularity; lack of uniformity; nonuniformity; inequality.
This term is used to ensure that everything is balanced or even, usually in the transportation of products moving from one place to another.
Muri
Muri is a Japanese word meaning unreasonableness; impossible; beyond one’s power; too difficult; by force; perforce; forcibly; compulsorily; excessiveness; immoderation.
This term is used when it comes to the efficiency of production by not overexerting too much of what is required. Usually applies to the transportation of products and workload of employees. By implementing standardized workload, repeatable process/steps, and just-in-time to finish certain tasks or assignments.
Why is this relevant to you?
Relevance of Muda, Muri, Mura to your Life or Business
Understanding and applying the philosophy of the 3 M’s of Lean Management. You will be able to lessen or eliminate unnecessary costs in production, it also helps you when it comes to the workload efficiency of your employees by balancing the tasks equally and maximizing your resources without wasting any of them.
Applying the 3 M’s of Lean Management in Business
How to apply the 3 M’s of lean management to your business
Muda, Mura, and Muri are Japanese Philosophies all about efficiency and eliminating waste. This is a great philosophy that you can use in your business to minimize or eliminate unnecessary costs when it comes to production or delivery. To further explain, please check out the examples below:
As you can see in the illustrations above that by eliminating the Muda, Mura, and Muri. Your business will be cost-efficient, production-efficient, and workload-efficient. This is a very important aspect of a business. Because the unnecessary cost from production, transportation, and workload will lessen your possible earnings. By eliminating those, you will be able to convert those costs into probable earning instead.
Applying the 3 M’s of Lean Management in Life
How to apply the 3 M’s of lean management to your Life
This is very useful for you as an employee or even as a leader. Because by understanding the Muda, Mura, and Muri. You will be able to control and do your tasks efficiently.
Nowadays, we tend to waste opportunities (Muda), because we don’t understand the value of it since we focus on a lot of things. We are prone to limit our growth by being complacent in our lives.
We forget to balance our time (Mura) due to our busyness in our daily lives we don’t have time to spend with our loved ones and families.
Because we become a “working machine” that only focuses on our jobs, disregarding and forgetting that spending with family and loved ones are tantamount to what we earn.
We always overwork beyond our capabilities (Muri) which lead most of us to Anxiety and Depression, we are struggling because we lost our connection with our family, loved ones, and the purpose of living. Always remember that living a life in an autopilot mode is never considered to be living. As Paula Rinehart said…
Japanese Philosophies #3
Wabi -Sabi, Embrace your imperfection and live in simplicity
Third, on our list of Japanese Philosophies Wabi-Sabi is the concept of Japanese which translates to a world view that is centered on the acceptance of simplicity and imperfection. Embracing simplicity and imperfections will eliminate expectations and over-standards of one’s self.
Why is this relevant to you?
Relevance of Wabi-Sabi to your Life or Business
Nowadays, we live in a world that all people are chasing perfection. Regardless, if it’s about beauty or even in lifestyle. Social media is a great factor in why a lot of people tend to belittle their beauty and compare their life status to other people.
You will always see luxury in lifestyle, expensive items, traveling to different parts of the world, and more. Though some of them wanted to “flex” these kinds of things, however, some people wanted to inspire others to live their life to the fullest.
Understanding the concept of Wabi-Sabi, you will be able to appreciate yourself and everything about yourself. You will learn to embrace and appreciate small things, and you will still treat them as blessings.
Applying the Wabi-Sabi in Business
How to apply Wabi-Sabi in Business
In business, you cannot expect your business to bloom into its full potential overnight. It is a slow process that will make you fail most of the time and you must have the courage to accept mistakes and learn from them until the day you were able to unlock their full potential and enjoy the fruits of them.
Most of us tend to expect too much from ourselves. But by applying the concept of Wabi-Sabi. You will be able to understand and embrace the learning process of your business.
And even you fail, you will be able to get the determination and patience to keep on improving until you get that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You have to accept your capabilities and improve them along the way. Just take one step at a time, and eventually, you will reach your destination, and that is to succeed!
Applying the Wabi-Sabi in Business
How to apply Wabi-Sabi in Life
Perfection is one of the things in the world that is not achievable. But why do we still aim for it? If you learn to value yourself, embrace your flaws, and understand your capabilities. You will realize that the closest thing to “Perfection” is “Continuous Improvement“.
Just like what Kim Collins said in this quote, instead of finding perfections, aim for continuous improvement instead. Why? Because it is the only thing closest to it.
Just like what we know about this old saying that…
“Practice makes perfect.”
This is not about perfection. It is about your determination to improve yourself every day to be the better version of yourself. For example, look at those Hall of Famers, athletes like Michael Jordan, Lebron James, and Kobe Bryant.
They started from the bottom, they embraced their flaws and capabilities as of the moment. They worked hard to be the best by improving themselves along the way.
Therefore, do not be disheartened with all your flaws and imperfections. Instead, embrace them and keep on improving until you become the best version of yourself.
Japanese Philosophies #4
Art of Kintsugi, the concept of emphasizing your imperfections
This is the concept of emphasizing imperfections. They are made from broken glassware like plates, bowls, and even vases. From the broken pieces of each of the glasswares, they will be put back together. And will undergo a new type of processing, to improve their quality and appearance by applying an expensive gold powder.
And instead of hiding the broken marks, it will be highlighted in gold and render the fault lines. These fault lines will be the foundation of their durability.
Why is this relevant to you?
Relevance of the Art of Kintsugi to your Life or Business
This concept symbolizes that broken things can turn into something new and something more durable. By applying the concept of the Art of Kintsugi, it will teach you the idea that even our imperfections can be the source of durability and strength to start brand new.
Applying the Kintsugi concept in Business
How to apply the Kintsugi concept to your Business
Though Kintsugi is a concept primarily used for glassware, however, the idea of it is applicable in different aspects of our lives.
If you want to adopt this in your business. Some of your ideas, goals, and strategies have failed. By applying the concept of kintsugi, the idea of using the parts and reprocess them to create a new one.
You can pick up the pieces from different failed approaches in your business, and use them to create a new one. This time you will not start from scratch, you will be starting from experience.
Applying the Kintsugi concept in Life
How to apply the Kintsugi concept to your Life
For those people who are just like me that lost their jobs, or for the people who went into depression. I want you to know that this concept applies to us, it enlightens the fact that even if we get broken at times. We can become something stronger and has more value.
We just need to accept our failures and embrace them, then use them as our source of strength instead. So that we can stand up once again and start a new beginning to continue our lives.
Just like the Kintsugi, you are the glassware, the reprocess is your depression/failure, the gold powder is your experience, together, you will be able to create a new version of yourself. Stronger and more durable this time around!
Japanese Philosophies #5
“Ni Usagi Wo Ou Mono Wa Ichi Usagi Wo Mo Ezu”
“One Who Chases After Two Hares Won’t Catch Even One”
Our bosses wanted us to do multi-tasking, for them multitasking is good for their business. Of course, it is good for them. But just as mentioned in the 3 M’s of Lean Management, overloading will never bring good instead it will just increase the costs.
And I agree with the Japanese 100% because they proved that their methods are beneficial to businesses, that is why their methods are adapted by other businesses worldwide.
In this Japanese philosophy, Ni Usagi Wo Ou Mono Wa Ichi Usagi Wo Mo Ezu translates to One Who Chases After Two Hares Won’t Catch Even One. Instead of doing multiple things simultaneously, you will focus and achieve one goal at a time. Because the success rate of achieving goals is much higher compare to achieve multiple goals at once.
Why is this relevant to you?
Relevance of “Ni Usagi Wo Ou Mono Wa Ichi Usagi Wo Mo Ezu” to Business or Life
This philosophy applies to different aspects of life, it meant that we cannot achieve anything by doing multiple things at once. The idea is that why not focus on one thing first before moving to another one.
We tend to try different things at once because we to hasten up and we wanted to finish things immediately that is why most of the time we multi-task.
But there are latest studies confirmed that our brain is not programmed to do multitasking, according to researchers aside from the fact that multitasking can damage your brain, it also affects your career because of the stress that your brain gets amplified to how many tasks you wanted to achieve simultaneously.
The exact point of this philosophy, why should we aim and do multiple things if it will just stress ourselves and has a high rate that we will not be able to accomplish anything. So slow down and just focus on accomplishing one at a time because it has a higher success rate!
Applying the “Ni Usagi Wo Ou Mono Wa Ichi Usagi Wo Mo Ezu” in Business
How to apply the Ni Usagi Wo Ou Mono Wa Ichi Usagi Wo Mo Ezu in Business
In business, there are a lot of ideas that you can think of that you wanted to apply in your business. Such as Marketing Strategies, Advertising, Process, and many more.
By applying this philosophy, you will learn and understand to focus on one aspect of your business that you need to work on, rather than doing everything else at the same time.
Try to assess and compare the transition of your business every week, and check out the results that you need to improve on. Until that specific aspect runs smoothly then that is the time for you to work on another aspect in your business.
Creating a checklist of the things you need to improve is a great help for you. Aside from that, studying the analytics of your result is a huge contribution as well such as demographics, number of inquiries, sales, etc.
Applying the “Ni Usagi Wo Ou Mono Wa Ichi Usagi Wo Mo Ezu” in Life
How to apply the Ni Usagi Wo Ou Mono Wa Ichi Usagi Wo Mo Ezu in Life
There are a lot of things that we wanted to do in our lives, such as starting a business, improve our skills, study a master’s degree to gain new knowledge, and more.
However, most of us do not know which of them should we do first? The answer to that depends on what you actually need at the moment.
If you think that starting a small business for extra earning is what you need, then starting learning about business and if you think you are now ready then put it up.
The concept of Ni Usagi Wo Ou Mono Wa Ichi Usagi Wo Mo Ezu teaches us to slow down our pace and focus on one thing at a time so that we can achieve it. Doing small but accurate steps forward is much better rather than doing big but inaccurate steps forward.
Japanese Philosophies #6
Kaizen, the philosophy of continuous improvement
Kaizen or continuous improvement is known as a lean management tool that originated in Japan which translates Kai means improvement and Zen means good. This is used by companies in regards to security & safety, product quality, work efficiency, etc.
The concept of Kaizen focuses on continuous improvement by understanding the process, fix errors, analyzing the results, standardization then repetition. By doing so, efficiency will increase as well as productivity.
Why is this relevant to you?
Relevance of Kaizen to your Business or Life
As we mentioned in previous parts of the article, that even if perfection is not achievable but only the closest we can get is continuous improvement.
This philosophy is a vital part of whether if it’s for business or life. Since we cannot settle on ‘okay‘ we need to improve our skills to compete with the demand of what the world needs just like we need to improve our way of living as well. Remember complacency is never been good for business and it hinders personal development.
Applying Kaizen in Business
How to apply Kaizen to your Business
Continuous improvement is very important in business. Because we need to cope up with the needs of our customers and market itself. Regardless if it’s for customer experience, sales, product selections, process, etc.
We need to innovate our ways of business every year because change is very constant. If you fail to maintain with the changes of the needs in the market your business will definitely fail.
Take as an example of what happened to Nokia, in the ’90s up to the early years of 2000. We cannot deny the fact that Nokia mobile phones dominated the market.
But due to the rapid changes that occur when it comes to technology and the needs of the consumers. Nokia lost its grip on consumers and its competitors.
On the other hand, companies like Apple & Samsung maintained their ‘continuous improvement’ through innovation. Which raised their brands to the top when it comes to gadgets and technology.
That being said, it is up to you if you want to be a brand like Nokia? or be a brand like Apple or Samsung?
Applying Kaizen in Life
How to apply Kaizen to your Life
As we mentioned, that change is constant and inevitable. If we fail to learn new things that can help us compete with the needs in terms of skills, there is a big possibility that we will be left behind.
Remember, that every year schools produce new graduates who possess the latest skills that the world needs. Similar to our skillsets compared to what our parents possess. That is how the world works, therefore we need to learn new things to keep ourselves from being obsolete.
Take into consideration that even if we have the experience required but if we are not equipped with the right skills needed in this generation we will still be left behind. That is why continuous improvement will definitely use as your main weapon to compete and cope with constant changes that are happening in the world.
Japanese Philosophies #7
Ikigai, the philosophy of finding life’s purpose
A man once told me that there are two most important days in one’s life. The day you were born and the day you found out why. Finding your purpose to live is like finding a treasure. It was never an easy task, but if you were able to find it, it will make your life more fulfilling.
However, the ‘million dollars‘ question is how can we find our purpose? What is the secret of people like Bill Gates & Warren Buffet who found their purpose in life which contributed to their success?
Luckily, Japanese philosophy has something that can help us find our purpose in life and that is called Ikigai or ‘Life’s Worth‘ which translates Iki means Life and Gai means worth.
This Japanese philosophy simply teaches us the aspects of life that contribute to finding our Purpose. Similar to Karate, Ikigai started from Okinawa, Japan. A place where a lot of people are 100 years old is living. This proves that Ikigai has a great contribution in their way of living that is why they were able to live a happy life and live that long enough. Because they’ve found their purpose.
Why is this relevant to you?
Relevance Ikigai to your Business or Life
Finding Ikigai does not just help you find purpose in life, it also helps you find happiness and fulfillment. That is why this is very important because most of us are stuck and struggling in life. Some experienced anxiety and depression.
4 aspects contribute to finding one’s Ikigai
1. Start asking yourself, what do you love to do?
This can be classified by two things through your passion or mission. Passion is something that you love to do regardless if there will be monetary value in return or not, something like art, writing, dancing, etc. While mission can be defined as a charity, community services, medical missions, etc.
By doing either of the two can make you feel good and delighted, however, the majority of things in this list do not have a guarantee of any money in return.
2. Does the thing that you love to do can be contributed to what the world needs?
Does the world need your mission or vocation? This is also can be related to your current job, does your job can contribute to what the world needs? By doing either can bring you excitement towards your activities.
However, you will realize that these activities are uncertain and may not last long.
3. Are the things you love to do and the activities you are doing can make you paid for?
This is also classified by your profession or even your side hustles. I know, we mentioned in our previous article about Love or Money that money cannot buy the entirety of your happiness.
However, let’s face it, we cannot survive without money. Because money provides you shelter, food, and clothing. That is why the things that you love to do and the activities that you are doing should at least give some earnings.
In this aspect of Ikigai, you will be comfortable but somehow you will realize that something is missing in your life.
4. What are the things that you’re good at?
This is classified as your skills. What are the skills or the things that you are good at? This is where your passion and your profession are relevant.
Knowing your skills and the knowledge from your profession can make you feel satisfied. However, you will notice that even if you possess multiple skillsets and knowledge, if you do not know what you can sink your teeth into, you will feel that your talent and potential are not being used or maximized.
Answering these questions will help you find your Ikigai, you will be able to figure out what are things you need to do to find purpose and happiness. Aside from that, this philosophy is relatable to every aspect of life. You can use the concept even in Business.
Applying Ikigai in Business
How to apply Ikigai to your Business
Ikigai is flexible that is why you can apply it in different aspects of life and even in business. Nowadays, since the market is saturated. Uniqueness is your key to stand out. And lucky for you, because uniqueness can be drawn out by knowing your Ikigai.
Look at businesses like Amazon, Tesla, Apple, and many more. These big companies are driven by purpose. And Ikigai is all about purpose right? Hence, knowing your Ikigai in business can help you achieve your goals for your business. Purpose adds value to your products and services.
Vision & Mission are created to be the ‘GPS’ of businesses, it is a guide that will lead you where you want your business to be after several years. Hence, if you want your business to set sail towards success, apply Ikigai to create your Vision & Mission.
Applying Ikigai in Life
How to apply Ikigai to your Life
There was a quote that hit me, it goes…
“Life without purpose is like a body without a soul”
If you think about it, most of us, take time & life for granted. We waste these wonderful gifts by living a life without a purpose. Like living life with vengeance & hate, we gamble our money, do parties & take drugs, etc.
On the other hand, some people struggle to find their purpose to live their lives which leads them to feel emptiness or feel lost. They feel like they are living a life that is on autopilot and leads to nowhere. This kind of feeling may result in loneliness then evolves into anxiety & depression. I know because I was one of those people.
Find your Ikigai is never an easy task, that is why understanding your personality and your capabilities is a good start. To help you further understand.
Start by assessing yourself and ask these questions. What you’re good at? what are the skills that the world needs that you possess? what are your talent and passion? and does all of these can make you paid for? If you can answer all these questions the closer you can get to achieve your Ikigai.
Conclusions
Our conclusions about the topic, 7 Best Japanese Philosophies that will improve your life & business
And that concludes our list of 7 Best Japanese Philosophies That Will Improve Your Life & Business. Apply at least one of these to your business or your life will surely bring improvement.
Use these Japanese Philosophies are your guide and walkthrough, throughout your journey to achieve success and happiness. Always remember, these Japanese Philosophies are proven effective.
That is why it was adapted by other businesses worldwide, learn and apply them. And most of all, always do something with a purpose. Because purpose will unlock your full potential, it will push you to get through hardships and challenges in life.
Lastly, always apply faith. Faith is always the foundation of everything. If you feel that everything has been lost, seek out to the higher being and fill your heart full of faith. Because faith moves mountains it is the most powerful thing that we tend to ignore, so don’t ignore it!
Author: Carlo David
KG Collections is an online store on Facebook, Established on April 15, 2020. Primarily, We started selling Pre-loved goods which eventually expanded to sell brand new apparel through reselling.Now, KG Collections is a franchisee of Siomai King, Mangbok's, And other food products. We are also a franchisee and operator of the newest delivery platform called TokTok PH.Aside from franchise and reselling business. KG Collections also participates in multiple affiliate marketing programs, content creation, and online course teaching.KG Collections is managed directly by the owners Kathlene Garcia & Carlo David, the couple's goal is to build a business community for small business owners where they can attain new knowledge and be inspired with their businesses.The organization will also launch its online course programs to help the public learn new things, which the courses will be prepared by professionals who have excellent skillsets to share and teach the enrollees.-KG Collections
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