In the Land of the Rising Sun

Pawan Verma

There was a time in the history of Asia, when, even though the Sun rose in the East, the light came from the South. The light that enriched the souls of millions of Indians since the 6th century BC, travelled from the South of Asia along the Silk route via China and Korea to the land of the rising Sun, during the Nara period (710-794) and illuminated the hearts and minds of the people in Japan with Gautam Buddha’s preaching of Non-violence and Nirvana. Today, while the Sun continues to rise in the East, the light also comes from the East only. The modern concepts of Quality, Innovation, Just-in-time, Kaizen, are all coming from the land of the rising Sun and enriching lives in India and across the globe.

I could not help reflecting upon the long historical and cultural relationships between the two great civilizations during my recent visit to Japan. The occasion was the Board meeting of our Company in Tokyo which led our Board members and senior Company officials to visit the Head Quarters of one of our promoters, the 110 year old Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co. of Japan.

A first look at the city of Tokyo is mesmerizing. Not the tall buildings and the aesthetic structures alone, but the cleanliness, the public discipline and the punctuality that pervades the entire spectrum of public life. You may try, but will not be able to find a trace of dust on a car or even on the roads. Buildings look as if they had been painted just yesterday. Taxi drivers may not know English, but they are invariably courteous and helpful.

Back to the Dai-ichi’s Head Quarters, what strikes most is the sense of discipline and the respect for time that has become part of the cultural ethos of the entire nation. Our morning meeting with the President of Dai-ichi Life takes place in the majestic conference hall overlooking the Royal Palace. The 20-minute meeting starts just in time and in spite of all the exchange of pleasantries and the business discussions; it is made sure that it ends well in time. Each event whether an official meeting or a lunch or a sight-seeing programme, is immaculately planned and skillfully executed. Quite refreshingly, the whole approach is more functional than ornamental and it runs across the entire organizational hierarchy. The icing on the cake is the superb hospitality and the high degree of modesty and humility that is characteristic of the nation and all its people.

The entire experience generates a feeling of happiness as well as a sense of loss. Happiness on seeing a nation limited by land mass and lack of natural resources, getting over its limitations and rising to the pinnacle of glory by sheer discipline, dedication and commitment of its people. A sense of loss on our own unrealized potential. Our professional interactions only reinforce the fact that we Indians match up to the best in the world in our professional knowledge and expertise. The variety of our professional exposure and our expertise in creating order out of chaos, can be a matter of other’s envy and our own pride. We can be as proud of our grass-root innovations called Jugaad as the Japanese are of their concept of continuous process improvement called Kaizen. If only we had the discipline, dedication and commitment of the Japanese society, we would have been leading the world today.

Finally, from the land of the rising sun, we are back to the land of the rising sons. My normal routine does try to overpower me. But there remains a strong urge to learn from the experience and exposure and bring about the much needed change in myself as well as in our environment to realize our full potential as a company as well as a nation. No doubt, the journey to a thousand mile starts with the first step. I have taken the first step. Are you coming along?