These weeks we had big surprises in the World Cup in Qatar with the victory of the National Team of Japan on Germany Y Spain.
Believe it or not, these victories for the Japanese team are the result of a 30-year plan by the Japan Football Federation (J.League). Like a plot straight out of the anime, the national association began to implement an ambitious 100-year plan called Jei Rīgu hyakunen kōsō kurabu (Jリーグ百年構想クラブ) in the early 1990s.
Japan decided to refound its league in 1993 so that it would be a more complete entertainment. as if it were Super Champions either Blue Lockthe country of the Rising Sun designed a strategy that has two objectives:
- Develop a team capable of winning the World Cup in 2050
- Consolidate a Premiere League that can compete with European leagues by 2030
This strategy was unveiled by JLeague President Mitsuru Murai during a World Football Summit in Asia. This is the reason why players like Fernando Torres, David Villa or Andrés Iniesta were hired to play in Japan.
Also, it is legal for Japanese clubs to have Under-15 and Under-18 categories and have a player under the age of 21 in the senior team to learn from the veterans.
The philosophy kaizen who will take Japan to the World Cup
The strategy of the Japanese Federation has components of the famous philosophy kaizenthe one that managed to make Japan become a world power later despite the ravages of World War II.
This methodology is about a process of continuous improvement, based on concrete, simple and economic actions, which involves all the workers of the company, from the managers to the lower level workers.
kaizen is a Japanese word consisting of two sinograms meaning “good” and “variation.” In Japan it is known as Yon Dankai’s Kaizen (improvement in four steps in Spanish), which is used to facilitate and implement small, high-impact improvements.
It arose after the Second World War (1945), when with the defeat Japan ran out of resources to promote development. Philosophy tries not to wait for a big revolution or alignment of planets, if you will, to make significant changes.
By 1960, Japan had regained stability, positioning itself as one of the most stable economies in the world.
How to implement this philosophy in your business?
The approach is based on the continuous evolution of the processes that make up the business production system, establishing quality standards and continuously measuring the results.
This method can be interpreted as a strategy to have a properly organized and disciplined workflow to reduce or eliminate downtime and progressively design better production systems.
You must follow the 5 S of philosophy
- Seiri: distinguish the useful from the useless;
- seiton: order the useful and decide the useless;
- sixso: maintain order and cleanliness;
- seiketzu: Pay attention to personal hygiene and cleanliness;
- Sheitzuke: encourages discipline and self-control to increase productivity.
MORE NEWS:
Martha Elena Violante Web journalist who loves business and comics. Editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur.com in Spanish.
