To cultivate a sense of Responsibility, provide Authority and Freedom.

 Last week, I had the opportunity to give a lecture on family businesses at the University of Tokyo.

During my previous lecture, the chairman attended in person, which admittedly made it a bit challenging to speak openly (laughs). However, I still shared candid insights about our strengths, weaknesses, and everything in between.

This time, I had more time to go into greater detail. With the chairman absent, I felt a bit more at ease (laughs), and it struck me once again how unique our succession model truly is.

In our case, the parent and child generations have completely separated their areas of authority and responsibility, allowing each to make independent decisions. While I’m not claiming this is the “correct” approach, it undeniably serves as a fascinating example for participants.

For successors, having the authority to make decisions is essential to develop a sense of responsibility. Without this, they remain dependent on the predecessor’s instructions or may shift blame to them. Having authority, however, isn’t enough—successors must also feel free to make decisions and put them into action. From my experience, this process of independent decision-making and execution fosters a genuine sense of responsibility in successors.



This concept isn’t limited to family business succession—it applies to management within any organization.

If you want people to take ownership of their work, simply giving instructions won’t suffice. It’s important to give them the right to make decisions and propose ideas, as well as the authority to execute their plans. Letting them take the lead on projects or initiatives allows them to gain firsthand experience, which they can build on for the future. Repeating this cycle helps individuals realize, “I can create real change in this company, team, or workplace!” This sense of freedom and possibility can be incredibly empowering.

When individuals are entrusted with a certain degree of authority, offered an environment where they can freely propose ideas, and given the responsibility to see their tasks through to successful outcomes, they start to feel a sense of fulfillment—even amidst a busy workload. This is because they shift from simply "doing a job" to being a creator of change.

This feeling isn’t exclusive to management positions. It can start with a single idea or proposal. Being entrusted to carry out a plan builds confidence, and the lessons learned from that experience lead to new opportunities. Over time, individuals who consistently take on and deliver results naturally find themselves in leadership positions.

There’s rarely a single “right” way to do things. Most situations allow room for change and growth, regardless of where you start. Whether it’s knocking over a large domino or starting with a smaller one, the scale of your actions may depend on your current role. But what matters is to start acting and striving for change now.

I firmly believe that this ongoing pursuit of change will inevitably transform how we work, our perspectives on life, and the sense of purpose we find in our endeavors.

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