Related News
Japanese find fresh inspiration in book
Source: Agencies |
December 25, 2010, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
FIVE years after his death, management guru Peter Drucker has shot to newfound fame as one of Japan's biggest pop culture icons of 2010.
Revered as the father of modern management, Drucker's ideas influenced some of the most powerful corporate leaders of the 20th century: Intel's Andy Grove, GE's Jack Welch and Toyota's Shoichiro Toyoda.
Now he is the star of Japan's best-selling book of the year, a novel with an unwieldy title: "What if the Female Manager of a High School Baseball Team Read Drucker's 'Management'?"
The book has sold more than 2 million copies since it debuted last December. The manga version launched this week, and an animated television series starts in March.
Its success is in large part due to author Natsumi Iwasaki's creative decision to write about high school baseball, a national obsession. Iwasaki says the setting serves as the perfect vehicle to introduce Drucker's ideas to the Japanese at a time when the country is looking for direction.
Japan's once-heralded economy was eclipsed this year by China as No. 2 in the world. Growth is sluggish, and unemployment remains high by Japanese standards. There's a sense that the country has lost its confidence.
"People are starting to -realize that they can't depend on politicians for change. We have to create change ourselves," said Iwasaki.
"But Japanese people had never practiced management. They didn't know what do to. They needed an intermediary to explain things," he added.
That intermediary is Minami Kawashima, a teenager unexpectedly tapped to assist her high school baseball team. The role isn't lofty, but her goal is: to qualify for the national championship tournament.
Needing guidance to deal with her unmotivated team, she gains inspiration in "Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices." Absorbing one of Drucker's most famous lessons, she and her team start by focusing on their "customers," the parents, classmates and community that support them. With that, the team embarks on a journey out of mediocrity.
Hideki Yamawaki, a professor at the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management in California, says the book has resonated because it reminds people of the strengths that Japan can use to revive the country.
"Almost everybody feels like Japan has really declined," said Yamawaki.
Japan today tends to focus on the negative, on what went wrong over the last 20 years, he said. But the book compels people to maximize strengths and talents.
"I hope this book triggers a new way of looking at Japan," Yamawaki said.
Drucker might have hoped so as well. The Vienna-born author, consultant and teacher had a decades-long love affair with Japan. He initially visited the country to indulge his passion for Japanese art but ultimately counseled many Japanese business leaders.
His books always sold particularly well in Japan, and Iwasaki's novel has further fueled interest in Drucker's original works. Publisher Diamond Inc says it has sold more than 450,000 copies of "Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices" this year, compared with about 116,000 in the previous eight years.
The Drucker Workshop - a Japan-based group of Drucker enthusiasts who study and spread his ideas - added 200 members this year alone, bringing their total to 700, said director Chuck Ueno. Media throughout the year have chronicled how schools and offices around the country are incorporating Drucker's techniques.
Revered as the father of modern management, Drucker's ideas influenced some of the most powerful corporate leaders of the 20th century: Intel's Andy Grove, GE's Jack Welch and Toyota's Shoichiro Toyoda.
Now he is the star of Japan's best-selling book of the year, a novel with an unwieldy title: "What if the Female Manager of a High School Baseball Team Read Drucker's 'Management'?"
The book has sold more than 2 million copies since it debuted last December. The manga version launched this week, and an animated television series starts in March.
Its success is in large part due to author Natsumi Iwasaki's creative decision to write about high school baseball, a national obsession. Iwasaki says the setting serves as the perfect vehicle to introduce Drucker's ideas to the Japanese at a time when the country is looking for direction.
Japan's once-heralded economy was eclipsed this year by China as No. 2 in the world. Growth is sluggish, and unemployment remains high by Japanese standards. There's a sense that the country has lost its confidence.
"People are starting to -realize that they can't depend on politicians for change. We have to create change ourselves," said Iwasaki.
"But Japanese people had never practiced management. They didn't know what do to. They needed an intermediary to explain things," he added.
That intermediary is Minami Kawashima, a teenager unexpectedly tapped to assist her high school baseball team. The role isn't lofty, but her goal is: to qualify for the national championship tournament.
Needing guidance to deal with her unmotivated team, she gains inspiration in "Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices." Absorbing one of Drucker's most famous lessons, she and her team start by focusing on their "customers," the parents, classmates and community that support them. With that, the team embarks on a journey out of mediocrity.
Hideki Yamawaki, a professor at the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management in California, says the book has resonated because it reminds people of the strengths that Japan can use to revive the country.
"Almost everybody feels like Japan has really declined," said Yamawaki.
Japan today tends to focus on the negative, on what went wrong over the last 20 years, he said. But the book compels people to maximize strengths and talents.
"I hope this book triggers a new way of looking at Japan," Yamawaki said.
Drucker might have hoped so as well. The Vienna-born author, consultant and teacher had a decades-long love affair with Japan. He initially visited the country to indulge his passion for Japanese art but ultimately counseled many Japanese business leaders.
His books always sold particularly well in Japan, and Iwasaki's novel has further fueled interest in Drucker's original works. Publisher Diamond Inc says it has sold more than 450,000 copies of "Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices" this year, compared with about 116,000 in the previous eight years.
The Drucker Workshop - a Japan-based group of Drucker enthusiasts who study and spread his ideas - added 200 members this year alone, bringing their total to 700, said director Chuck Ueno. Media throughout the year have chronicled how schools and offices around the country are incorporating Drucker's techniques.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
