We Are Tomodachi Winter 2018

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8Deep in the woodlands of the city of Ina in Nagano Prefecture is a company named Ina Food Industry Co., Ltd. with 531 employees that makes and sells products using the gelling agent agar. Despite its relatively small size compared to food industry powerhouses, the company hosts a never-ending stream of highly prominent visitors, including management teams from Toyota Motor Corporation and other global companies and the Governor of the Bank of Japan. Why does this company enjoy such immense appeal? The reason is the company’s unique managerial philosophy, known as “tree-ring management,” which has enabled the company to grow gradually but steadily over the decades since its founding.Ina Food Industry Chairman Hiroshi Tsukakoshi accounted for the company’s success saying, “Why do human activities such as corporate organizations and political parties exist? They exist to bring happiness to people. Corporate profit is not itself the goal; it is a means of making employees happy. A company that sets profit as its goal will obtain that profit at the expense of its employees or suppliers. As the recent profusion of ‘how to’ books at bookstores indicates, the essential philosophy is lacking. It is philosophical matters such as ‘how should things be’ or ‘what is the purpose for doing things’ that are important.”Agar used to be produced as a side business by farmers during the winter months and was a typical commodity whose production volume fluctuated dramatically with the weather. During the 1973 oil crisis, the market price of agar rose abruptly alongside various other goods and then collapsed, destroying trust across the agar industry as a whole. It was the result of such experiences that Ina Food Industry’s managerial philosophy of “tree-ring management” was born. Tsukakoshi explains, “Heat and cold and wind and snow in the environment affect the width of each tree ring, but trees always grow, adding another ring each and every year without fail. As I see it, this is the natural state of affairs for a company, and the approach the company should take.”However, in this era of rapid change and uncertainty, for business executives, wouldn’t the correct approach be to focus on making a profit whenever conditions are favorable? In response, Tsukakoshi cites a teaching of the early-nineteenth-century Japanese thinker Ninomiya Feature: Hidden Champions Inspiring the WorldThe Small Giant Tree-Ring ManagementHiroshi TsukakoshiChairman of Ina Food Industry Co., Ltd. Has achieved growth in both sales and profits through pioneering new food, health care, and beauty markets for the gelling agent agar. Maintains that the ideal approach for corporate management is to create companies that foster the happiness of employees, thereby contributing to society.