Management’s Point of View ~ What I Learned from My Parents ~

April 27, 2026

Until I was 18, my parents raised my two younger brothers and me in the countryside of Fukuoka Prefecture. When asked why I moved to the U.S., I often give a plausible-sounding answer: “After the Soviet Union collapsed and the Berlin Wall fell, I thought the era of U.S. hegemony was about to begin, and that English would become essential no matter what job I pursued.” But that’s only half the truth; one of the major psychological reasons was undoubtedly that I wanted to get away from my parents and family as soon as possible.

My father graduated from high school and joined the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation, the 100% Japanese government-owned telecommunications company at the time, where he worked jobs like climbing telephone poles and repairing telephone circuit boards. He was a diligent person, but I don’t think that he was particularly studious. Once, when he saw me reading the Sangoku-shi by Eiji Yoshikawa (a popular Japanese novel based on the history of the “Three Kingdoms” in China), he said he’d read it too. But just started halfway through, he said, “It looks like Liu Bi will win the way things are going. It’s not interesting,” and stopped reading. Even as a child, I felt he gave a lame excuse to stop reading.   

The saying my mother left me that has stayed with me the most is “Eat quickly, poo quickly, and tap your foot”—meaning eat your meals quickly, use the restroom quickly, and tap your foot while studying to get some exercise at the same time. Thanks to that, I still eat so voraciously when I’m not paying attention that my wife asks, “Are you in an eating race or something?” and when I’m focused on work, I sometimes find myself unconsciously tapping my foot.

I’m sure I often cause some people trouble with this unpolished, rough behaviors that’s become second nature to me. My father was a heavy drinker and rarely came home while my brothers and I were still awake. When he did come home, he and my mother would get into fights. By the time we were in high school and middle school, the conflict had escalated to parent-child altercations—cracked ribs, holes in the walls, and broken windows—and our home was filled with shouting. Looking back now, I can only smile wryly, but at the time, my sole desire was to get out of that house.

My family couldn’t afford to cover the full cost of studying abroad, so I started working as a construction laborer in my senior year of high school to save up for it. Although my parents covered half the cost, I had to work as a delivery person at Sagawa Express or return to construction whenever I ran out of money, which is why it took me six years to graduate from college.

There’s no doubt that for a very long time, I lived my life resenting my parents while constantly comparing myself to my friends and focusing only on what I lacked.

After landing a job, I started my career in Manhattan and Silicon Valley, surrounded by businesspeople in sharp suits.　My main ambition was to surpass my father’s annual income as soon as possible.

However, one morning while I was home in Japan for a visit, I saw my father heading out in a flimsy suit and synthetic leather shoes, and I thought, “He should just buy better clothes…” But when I saw my mother refusing to throw away even a single used tissue because she thought she could reuse it, I realized how my parents had managed to scrape together the money for our college tuition.

My parents did just one thing: they consistently gave their children the very best they could, within their means. They steadily provided the basics—daily meals, a roof over our heads, and clothes to wear—all the things we take for granted. And yet, we children didn’t even realize how fortunate we were to have those basics. And when we went to college, it wasn’t just a matter of steady provision; our parents took out educational loans to cover the costs.

Back then, if you joined a public corporation straight out of high school, you couldn’t ever expect a high salary. Seeing this, my mother made it a habit to take us, the kids, to the library once every two weeks to borrow 15 books so that we could go to college. Thanks to reading a book a day during my childhood, I was able to pursue higher education and lay the foundation for my current career.

Even when my parents were doing their very best, my brothers and I would complain constantly, and I’m sure there were many times when they felt frustrated or resentful. Nevertheless, it was my parents who continued to support my growth all the way through my college graduation.

My parents laid the foundation for me to go to college and find a job, but they also instilled in me the fundamental idea of running a company. That is;

“Always wishing for the growth of your employees and continuously giving them the very best that you have to offer.”

There is nothing more essential to management than this. Whether they understand it or not, it is the job of business owners to quietly and steadily build the company’s foundation—to make it easier for employees to work, to provide better service to customers, and to contribute to society. Even if they are not appreciated, business owners or managers must continue striving every day for the sake of the employees who nevertheless believe in them and work at the company. There is nothing more important for a business leader than this.

It took me quite some time to realize it, but what my parents always provided me with is precisely what should be seen as the essence of management. And I believe that a business leader’s true character is tested by whether they can approach management with the same level of love as a parent, and by how much effort they can sustain.