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March 2017
Graduated from the faculty of Business Administration, Kobe University.
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April 2017
Joined SRG Takamiya Co., Ltd.
(currently known as Takamiya Co., Ltd.),
assigned to the Overseas Business Department
(currently Overseas Business Headquarters) -
September 2023
Joined Frontier Management Inc.
Associate Director, Management Consulting Department -
January 2024
Associate Director, Professional Services Department
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March 2017
Graduated from the faculty of Business Administration, Kobe University.
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April 2017
Joined SRG Takamiya Co., Ltd. (currently known as Takamiya Co., Ltd.),
assigned to the Overseas Business Department (currently Overseas Business Headquarters) -
September 2023
Joined Frontier Management Inc.
Associate Director, Management Consulting Department -
January 2024
Associate Director, Professional Services Department
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INDEX
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Six years of management reorganization
When I graduated, I don’t think I imagined that I’d find myself working in business revitalization, which is my brief here at FMI. I’m here now in large part because of my experience at the first company I worked at. It was a company that manufactured, sold and rented out temporary construction materials, and I was with the Overseas Business Department. My task was to reorganize the management of a subsidiary in Korea. It was my first post in the real working world and suddenly a difficult job for me.
I proceeded step-by-step, starting with making an honest assessment of the real state of the firm. What I soon learned was that the company had a heap of problems. And steep barriers of language, culture and psychology with local staff didn’t help. -
I painstakingly pored over every aspect of the company, asking why the finances were in a shambles, in what way they were bad, and what the causal factors were. I talked to employees one by one to learn what their feelings were. As I worked to develop a meeting of the minds to assess the true state of the firm, the light began to shine at the end of the tunnel. The company wasn’t all bad. There were many talented people there, including some with incredible skills unique to that Korean subsidiary. I was determined to revitalize it, and with that aim in mind, I began working closely with local staff to improve it. More than six years later, the management reorganization was a success. I was filled with both a feeling of accomplishment in completing a major project and a fascination with the field of business revitalization itself. My search for a new stage on which to excel brought me into contact with FMI.
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Identify problems, work out how to treat them and keep plugging away till the job is done.
FMI is a team of specialists with widely varying backgrounds. We aim to be a “general hospital,” responding to the whole range of issues that a company can face. I think the description on the FMI website is accurate. Our large complement of young employees, knowledgeable and strong in body and spirit, is an inspiring presence for me. Since joining FMI, I’ve been mainly engaged in supporting the development of business revitalization plans, and one thing I’ve noticed is the difference between working on problems as a member of an operating company and working on them as a consultant. If it’s the company I work for, I presume that I understand it inside and out, so when people come and go or a section or department is eliminated, it feels like a drastic change. As a consultant, on the other hand, I expect to see only the public face of the company.
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But that’s not how it is at FMI. We learn everything about the companies we assist. We start by carrying out the necessary process of gathering, analyzing and understanding information about the company. Continuing with the analogy of a hospital, the doctors start patients with a full health checkup, examining patient’s physical health in minute detail to identify any problems. Next the doctors and patient decide on a treatment protocol, working out a detailed plan and, after obtaining approval from a manager, implementing it. So it is with business revitalization. You can’t just spin a tale of pie in the sky and leave it there. This job requires close attention and a head for details, and the pressure is tremendous. But that’s to be expected: It’s life-or-death for the company, after all. That’s one more similarity with the work of doctors and nurses and one reason why I find this job so rewarding.
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I wouldn’t want a company to go out of business for lack of resources.
My experiences after joining FMI reminded me that, just because a company’s business results are poor, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have a role to play in society or that it should be shut down. Plenty of companies in this world boast outstanding products or technologies but find themselves in dire straits because of some shortcoming or other. In not a few cases, those deficits are the result of insufficient management resources. My impression is that SMEs outside major urban centers are especially prone to being resource-starved. I feel that it is my duty to assist and support such companies. Wouldn’t it be a terrible waste for a company with such good traits to go out of business?
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Revitalizing even one or two such companies would not only aid stakeholders but also contribute to the support and development of the regional economy. And for me personally, the feeling of accomplishment is indescribable. Mind you, business revitalization is hard work. The corporate client may have a short window of time to raise funds or have a number of partners whose agreement is required. This job can demand all your heart, technique and strength. But when the work comes to an end, I feel an amazing sense of accomplishment and realize how rapidly I’ve grown as a professional. If you’re someone who wants to grow by taking on work of great responsibility, there’s no better environment than FMI. When I work with a company, I want to earn a place in its history. That’s the personal ambition that drives me to seek new challenges.
