Business-Do is your personal handbook for achieving happiness by systematically turning your dreams into reality. Success looks different to everyone, but author Hiroshi Mikitani exemplifies its essential, universal qualities: as the founder and CEO of Rakuten, Mikitani is a self-made entrepreneur who became Japan's leader in the new global economy - a journey that made him a billionaire. In this book, he shows you how to achieve your own version of success in work and in life. Paying homage to Japan's ethos of quality and discipline, this book shares 89 principles Mikitani has gathered over the course of his remarkable career. These thought-provoking, action-oriented rules show you everything from how useful your dreams are, to the best way to harness the internet, to what management techniques work to the importance of self-improvement. The result: your own powerful, personal playbook straight from the mind of an inspirational trailblazer.
Mikitani guided Rakuten from its 1997 foundation to become one of the world's largest e-commerce platforms, with a still rapidly-expanding global footprint reaching industries including fintech, messaging, digital content, and even drones. This book describes the ideas, thoughts, actions, and philosophies that drove Mikitani to the top.
- Discover the myriad ways in which the internet is fundamentally transforming the world
- Learn from a blend of Japanese discipline and commitment to quality and the Silicon Valley approach to business, where collaboration and agility are essential and lucrative
- Adopt data-driven management techniques that constantly question, constantly improve, and empower people to exceptional performance
- Share in Mikitani's optimistic vision, and his industry-specific predictions
Happiness is something you live every day. It is both the result and the critical ingredient of success, and there is plenty to go around. Business-Do gives you the principles you need on your own journey to success.
Table of Contents
Introduction xiii
Chapter 0 Clean Your Space 1
Chapter 1 The 10 Core Principles 5
01 All concepts are relative 6
02 Believe in the power of the moonshot 7
03 Learn the difference between a group and a team 9
04 Think about your mindset, skills, and knowledge 11
05 Question yourself 14
06 A brand is a flag 16
07 The internet transformation continues 18
08 The internet will curate the world’s knowledge and data, but the human touch will still be key 20
09 Taking action leads to deeper thinking 22
10 Continuously improve by a fraction. It’s the key to what others call “good luck” 25
Chapter 2 Personal Development 29
11 Push yourself like a professional (athlete) does 29
12 Play catch between your left and right brain 31
13 Plan forward from birth or backward from death 33
14 Create an objective personality when you’re in the hot seat 35
15 Never stop learning. Ever 37
16 Build self-confidence through small successes 39
17 Always be curious and ambitious 40
18 Find a partner to play intellectual “catch” with 42
19 Set clear goals for your actions 44
20 Remember that great information can come from surprising places 46
21 Don’t rationalize your behavior as others do 48
22 Interrogate your intuition with hard numbers 49
23 Aim to understand the framework 51
24 Create solutions that break down barriers and reveal new challenges 53
25 Identify your weaknesses. Fix them or find workarounds 55
26 Never let your mental energy levels drop 57
Chapter 3 The Value of Relationships 59
27 Offer value-added services. Anything less is meaningless 60
28 Put yourself in their shoes 61
29 See the essence of things 63
30 Size up risk by quantifying it 65
31 Seek out best practices all around you 67
32 Listen especially closely to people you disagree with 69
33 Value the balance between cooperation and competition 72
34 Teaching others will help you grow 73
35 Develop win-win relationships 75
36 Start with good footwork 77
37 Report, contact, and consult 79
38 Analyze the situation from all angles 81
39 Know who and what works, even in tight spots 83
40 Be courageous 85
Chapter 4 Get Your Organization Moving 87
41 Numbers give clarity, so set KPIs 87
42 Pay close attention to resource allocation 89
43 Lead by teaching 91
44 Leverage the organization to move faster 93
45 Harness the power of competition 95
46 Share the sense of accomplishment 97
47 Find the bottlenecks 99
48 Create your own turning point 101
49 Meet and revive in the morning 102
50 Think like a manager 103
51 Create and share a template for success 105
52 Earn trust within your company 106
53 Establish symbolic rituals 107
54 Successful organizations combine pressure and excitement 109
55 Know that there are two types of speed: velocity and agility 110
56 Divide into small groups to improve transparency 112
Chapter 5 Win Every Battle 115
57 Analyze and execute with an eye on the future 115
58 Hypothesize, then create shikumi 118
59 Get things done 119
60 Examine the facts from every angle 121
61 Keep your eyes on what’s at your feet and what lies ahead 122
62 Factorize 124
63 Lean operations generate innovation and growth 126
64 Think about both vertical and horizontal competition 128
65 The Mikitani Curve: Quality depends on a 0.5 percent difference in effort 130
66 Identify what is core and what is missioncritical 132
67 Deciding not to do something can be the most important thing to do 134
68 Companies are sumo rings. They need wrestlers 135
69 Master the timeline 136
70 The devil is in the details 138
71 Success is born of failure. Never hesitate to improve 139
72 Find trends in the numbers 140
73 Think about value chains 142
74 To win, close the gaps and add originality 144
75 No business is special 145
76 Boost profits by using assets in multiple ways 146
77 Strategy, execution, and operation 148
78 No single path leads to success 150
79 Generate the largest cost advantage to win 151
80 Create shikumi that will keep generating value 153
Chapter 6 Nurture a Global Mindset 155
81 The essence of e-commerce is communication 155
82 Seek information beyond your borders 157
83 Your network is your best news source; media come second 159
84 The internet will eliminate national borders. Think global 161
85 Learn from the world’s best practices 162
86 Thinking globally will make you stronger locally 163
87 Thoroughly and humbly analyze past successes 165
88 It’s never too late 166
Acknowledgments 169
Index 171
