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Chapter 01. Chubei's son, Kichitaro |
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In August 1919, Kichitaro Kobayashi was moved
from Nagoya to Osaka, and assumed the position of president of the
newly formed Kobayashi Daiyakubou Co., Ltd.In his place, Chubei moved
to Nagoya, where he assumed the administration of the Nagoya branch
in conjunction with Fusagoro's widow, Sue. At this point, Chubei was
69, and his young successor Kichitaro was given a central position
in management.
 As
founder, Chubei was an 'idea man'. He was an energetic businessman,
replete with a spirit of enterprise. In contrast, his successor Kichitaro
was a practical person, responsible for soundly realizing Chubei's
progressive ideas. Beyond this however he was also a man of merit,
firmly establishing the foundations for the 100-year history of Kobayashi
Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd., based on the proactive management style inherited
from Chubei.
All who knew Kichitaro speak fondly of the man's warmth. He was not
the type of administrator to severely scold his employees. If he saw
someone smoking during work, he would for example send that person
on an errand to the bank. Then when the person returned wondering,
"Why was I sent on that kind of errand at such a busy time," he would
ask them, "Did you see anyone smoking at the bank during work?" The
employee would realize why they had been picked for the errand, and
would understand what Kichitaro was trying to teach them.
Kichitaro was also a man who despised unnecessary waste. He would
reuse the wooden boxes that were used for shipping goods to other
locations for delivery. The work of the shipping clerk was to size
up the quantity of goods to be shipped and to select a wooden box
to use. If too big a box was selected, not only would the goods rattle
around inside, but there would also be unnecessary shipping costs.
Conversely, if too small a box had been selected, it would be necessary
to return to square one. The wooden boxes were sealed with nails,
and even these were reused. This was an era in which people were naturally
careful of what resources they had - it was not an era in which things
were in plentiful supply.Kichitaro taught by example the importance
of resources and the rigor of business.
When a succession of such episodes is recounted, one might come to
believe that Kichitaro was a "stingy" person. That would be a mistake.
There is a difference between preventing unnecessary waste and being
stingy.Kichitaro invested proactively when necessary.
For example, he expanded the size of the incorporated Daiyakubou store
premises tenfold, saying, "Land is necessary for greater business
in the future." The purchase of the property on which Kobayashi Pharmaceutical
Co., Ltd. is currently located Doshomachi was also Kichitaro's idea. |
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