Everything you gain in life will rot and fall apart. All that will be left of you and be remembered well is what was in your heart.
Liked the article below ….especially on the last paragraph where it is now important to have Leadership Behavior by everyone in the organization and not just form Senior Mgt Heads.
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Author : Eileen Rachman & Emilia Jakob
EXPERD
Pada saat mengeluh mengenai pengambilan keputusan pemimpin yang dirasakan lamban, tidak adil, atau justru sama sekali tidak bijaksana, sudahkah kita bertanya apakah desentralisasi keputusan masih bisa menunggu? Kita sering lupa bahwa dunia sudah sangat berubah sejak perkembangan teknologi. Sebagai hasil dari jejaring informasi, akses ke informasi relatif menjadi universal dan sulit dibendung. Apakah mungkin sekarang kita masih menganut mental “bukan saya” karena hanya pemimpin yang memiliki akses pada keseluruhan informasi? Transparansi sudah bersifat radikal. Rahasia yang ditutupi di satu sisi akan terbuka di bagian lain. Informasi juga bersifat sangat real time, sekarang dan terkini.
Beberapa saat yang lalu, ada bank terkenal di Indonesia masih merasa bahwa branding yang kuat cukup untuk menguatkan penjualan, mengingat prinsipnya bank adalah menjual kepercayaan. Namun, kenyataannya, sukses penjualan sangat berkaitan dengan datang dan perginya pelanggan yang puas atau tidak puas. Jadi, perusahaan-perusahaan besar dengan jalur birokrasi yang bukan hanya sekedar kaku, tetapi juga menegangkan, bisa dengan cepat melempem bilamana ia tidak mampu lagi mendengar dan mendapatkan informasi dari pelanggannya. Pelanggan memilih bukan dengan alasan finansial saja, tetapi juga spiritual. Pemimpin perlu tidaj hanya menginspirasi karyawan, tetapi juga pelanggan. Tidak lagi mungkin sebuah organisasi maju, tanpa mengangkat spirit manusianya dan berusaha merangsang kreativitas orang-orang di dalam perusahaan.
Kekuasaan “stakeholder”
Ungkapan Peter Drucker pada tahun 1970-an mengenai kekuatan akan berada di tangan pembeli, karyawan, dan para mitra, sekarang menjadi semakin nyata. Shareholder yang dulu dianggap paling penting pun sekarang perlu memperhitungkan kebutuhan berbagai pihak. Bertumbuhnya laba perusahaan tidak secara linier ditentukan oleh model bisnis yang sama. Akibat kesalahan dan persaingan bisa fatal. Tengok betapa Apple bisa menjatuhkan Nokia sang raksasa perangkat keras telekomunikasi saat itu sampai rata dengan tanah. Apple membuka keran komunikasi antara para programmer dengan pelanggan dan antara manajemen menengah dengan siapa saja di perusahaan agar inovasi bisa mengalir berkesinambungan secara updated. Kita tidak lagi bisa berkomunikasi dengan cara-cara lama di perusahaan.
Komunikasi “top down” sudah basi
Perusahaan-perusahaan seperti Amazon juga menekankan bahwa komunikasi harus terjadi 360 derajat tanpa adanya pihak yang saling menunggu. Dalam berkomunikasipun individu diingatkan terus menerus untuk mendengar dan bersikap terbuka, sehingga cerita-cerita otentik dan suara pelanggan dapat ditangkap segera. Model komunikasi top-down, apalagi yang bersifat komando tunggal, tidak akan membuat karyawan menjadi bagian besar dari ekosistem inovasi. Pelangganpun akan merasakan, betapa tidak menariknya organisasi yang tidak bersinergi satu sama lain. Di tengah persaingan bebas seperti ini, para mitra pastinya akan lebih memilih organisasi yang berkomunikasi secara tek-tok, tidak berbasa basi, tetapi sangat customer oriented.
Setelah sekian lama bereksperimen dan menghasilkan produk yang tidak begitu sukses di pasaran, Nike akhirnya berhasil membuat strategi value for runners dan mencetak angka penjualan yang tinggi melalui kerjasamanya dengan iPhone. Penambahan sebuah nilai yang sebenarnya tidak teraga, tetapi berdampak bagi para pelanggan yang ingin sehat. Pencetakan laba dirancang secara elastis dan adding value ke pelanggan dibuat sangaat adaptif. Jadi, kalau ada perusahaan yang merasa tegang karena nilai penjualan turun, dan kemudian bereaksi secara tradisional dengan mulai memikirkan efisiensi, memangkas semua pengeluaran, ada baiknya untuk waspada dan melakukan pemikiran ulang, apakah tindakan ini justru akan semakin membuat perusahaan tidak kuat bersaing lagi. Daripada efisiensi secara membabi buta, lebih baik kita berfokus pada co-creating value yang bisa dikembangkan semua pihak dan justru membuat perusahaan lebih langgeng sambil melakukan loncatan-loncatan inovasi.
Ekonomi kreatif
Jadi, yang dimaksud oleh para pakar manajemen sebagai ekonomi kreatif sebenarnya lebih mengingatkan kita untuk tidak sekedar menunggu putusan pemimpin, ataupun menyorot kebijakannya. Sebagai profesional, rasanya kita perlu merasa setiap dari kita sudah menjadi pemimpin. Inspirasi harus datang dari tengah organisasi, bukan puncaknya lagi. Pemimpin harus kuat mengkontrol tetapi tetap bertangan kotor menjamah masalah. Servis organisasi harus diciptakan oleh mereka yang merasa mampu menata diri, jejaring sosial dan ekosistemnya. Sebenarnya, tak ada hal yang baru dalam siasat manajemen ini, namun nilai manusia sudah menjadi semakin penting, menjadi mainstream yang tidak bisa ditawar tawar lagi. Business as usual sudah menjadi cacat organisasi.
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“ The Last Samurai, in which Tom Cruise plays Nathan Algren, a celebrated American soldier who is brought to Japan to modernize their army and fight the samurai. Defeated in battle, Algren is brought back to the samurai village where he gains a deep respect for their contemplative, tradition-steeped way of life and their Bushido code of honor “
Said Algren in the movie
“ There is so much here I will never understand. I’ve never been a church going man, and what I’ve seen on the field of battle has led me to question God’s purpose. But there is indeed something spiritual in this place. And though it may forever be obscure to me, I cannot but be aware of its power”
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A group of friends, my family and I visited Tokyo early October 2015 for a short vacation and indeed we were totally impressed by how the Japanese people lived their lives. It is no wonder Japan is being highly regarded as an efficient developed country.
Everywhere we went, we saw people working in great speed and doing things efficiently. The way they walked (fast), the way they served customers (with good knowledge and clear explanation) demonstrated their pride and accountability in whatever they did. There was a sense of urgency in accomplishing their task and this can be seen clearly through their body language as well as facial expression.
The education system must have undoubtedly played an important role in shaping up these disciplined adult individuals. The feeling of pride, honor and shame (upon failure) must have been instilled into them since young.
Trust and integrity were clearly noted ; as can be seen by how a Yakitori (grilled skewered chicken) street stall seller just allowed his customers to pick whatever they wanted and trusted them to pay the correct amount of money when they finished. There seemed to be no doubt of one’s honesty.
In a food court, the manner in which they utilized vending machines where food was ordered and paid made it very efficient. Customers can pick from a poster-menu, put money into the machine and they will be given a coupon to collect food at designated counters. This method indeed wiped away the need for a human cashier susceptible to human-errors.
Professionalism can be clearly seen too. Whether one was a receptionist, a front desk manager, a cleaner, young or old, – all of them spoke with authority and firm when giving instructions & orders. We saw distinguished power-businessmen in suit taking instructions from waitresses ; bowing as they did what they have been told to do. They respected one another as a human being and the job each individual was doing. There was pride and honor in everyone regardless of status and position. No special treatment was given to the “upper class”. But then again, no one seem to be asking to be treated in privileged manner too.
In one incident at our hotel, a front desk officer was in doubt if I understood him as he was trying his best to explain to me in English on some matters related to my room. Even as I have nodded my head telling him that I understood, he still ran to a translator to have her explain to me what he wanted to convey in English. The point is – he really wanted to ensure that his job is completed in totality and that I fully understood what he wanted to tell me.
Such perfectionism and care !!
The Japanese are certainly proud of their language. We see them conversing, replying and greeting us in Japanese even though they most probably knew that we did not understand.
In areas of practicality, the hotel we stayed had a washing machine and dryer for us to do our laundry ; and housekeeping only cleaned our room every 2 days. Made sense to me.
In Japan everyone plays their role and did exactly what they are supposed to do with passion. We saw no bystanders sitting around doing nothing, neither did we see any group of workers idling around or chatting amongst themselves. Everyone is simply busy busy busy. As can be seen at the Disney Sea world, it took the effort of everyone from the cleaners, ushers, baby pram attendant, waitresses at the cafeteria to make the visitors’ experience organized and guided. Despite the lack of English language spoken or written as instructions, we knew what to do and where to go. A truly great example of teamwork amongst the workers at Disney Sea.
When it comes to discipline and behaviour, it was amazing to see how “stationary-standing” people automatically congregated to the left-side on an escalator; whereas people who preferred to walk took the right lane.
Overall, we were totally impressed. Impressed to witness their culture and the strong energy they have within them to accomplish what they had to do. Further, we saw that it is not just a minority of the Japanese people who posses all these good values, but in fact everyone in general behaved in this similar manner. Well at least in Tokyo they did.
To achieve these strong values, the upbringing of Japanese children must have focused greatly on pride, honor, discipline and integrity. This must have been the foundation of shaping up the whole population of Japan behaving in humility, striving for perfection and having accountability in whatever they do.
When a country has everyone holding so strongly to these powerful principles, it is no wonder that the whole country can move forward progressively in great speed.
In closing, I will take another quote from Nathan Algren from the movie the Last Samurai ……
“They are an intriguing people. From the moment they wake, they devote themselves to the perfection of whatever they pursue. I have never seen such discipline. I am surprised to learn that the word Samurai means, ‘to serve’ “
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Integrity / Courage / Benevolence / Politeness / Sincerity / Honor / Loyalty / Self-Control
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Willie @ Tokyo @ 2-10 Oct 2015
Passions of Willie 