Learning from mistakes 失敗からの学び方

It is considered very important in Japan to learn from mistakes of other people. It would be common wisdom of a team and this would avoid next unknown mistakes. In Japan, their first mistake would not be seriously treated, but the second time, it is fatal. Everybody knows there is no prefect people that can do anything without mistake. Therefore, it is sometimes boring just to hear success story. It just sounds bragging and somebody can even be skeptical. This is because many Japanese prefer unsuccessful stories.

人の失敗からいかに学ぶことは、日本の企業ではとても大切なこととして扱われる。それがチーム員共通の経験になり、次の失敗を予知し未然に防ぐための知恵になる。日本では失敗についてそれほどその非を問われることはないが、同じ失敗を２度繰り返すことはもっとも重い罪になる。間違いをしないことなど期待することなどできるはずがない。だからであろう、いい話ばかりを聞いていると嫌気がさしてくるというものだ。自慢話にしか聞こえない。本当か？と疑いたくもなる。日本人が失敗談を好むのもこうした理由だろう。

I once wrote that it is European that would not apologize easily. I feel the same during work. If other people would find fault with others, they would feel very uncomfortable. Then they try to excuse in some way to pass it by. In addition, they are very indifferent to mistakes of others. As soon as they find that "I was not fault", the idea would disappear very quickly from their mind. And they repeat their own mistakes again. Such a behavior, Japanese would never accept. How would have Japanese behaved in such the situation? People would say naturally thank you to whom found his mistake before customers would find it. If it would have come from a customer as a market claim, it might have spoiled products' or company's fame. It is worth gratitude to be able to avoid it. Moreover, Japanese would take the mistake of others very seriously and would consider what they had had done in the place, and try to have a system or rule in their team or group to avoid anybody's doing that again. They would not just blame individual for his mistakes. It is a great loss of a team if its member would privatize their individual mistakes.

謝らないのが西洋人の特質だと以前書いたことがあるが、仕事でも全く同じことを感じる。他人に間違いを指摘されることを西洋人はもっとも嫌がり、それに対して適当な言い訳をしてでもやり過ごそうとする。さらに他人の失敗に非常に無関心。『自分は悪くなかった』と知るやいなや全くの無関心。そして自分では同じ失敗を何度も繰り返す。日本人には絶対に許容することのできない振舞いだ。これが日本人だったらどうか。大事に至る前に自分のミスを指摘してくれた人に対してありがとうと自然に口が開くのが普通だろう。最終的にお客さんが間違いを指摘すれば製品、会社の風評に関わる。それが未然に防げたことはまことに感謝に値すべきことである。それに他人のした失敗を自分の失敗のように真剣に受け止め、自分だったらどうしていたかと真剣に考えるだろう。そしてそれを防ぐためにチームで、グループで何かしらの歯止めを掛けようと考え行動する。失敗を個人のせいだけにはしないのだ。失敗を個人だけのものにすることは、チームにとっての損失なのだ。

How people can feel it as if their own mistakes of others', such idea can only arise where the whole team would be blamed by its member's individual mistakes such as in Japan. Although each member itself is not very talented, they can work in a group very well. It is the very strong point of Japanese and it is hard for European to do the same.

他人の失敗をいかに自分の体験のように感じられるか、これは日本のような、個人の過失に対してもいくらかの全体責任性が問われる組織が一般的でなければ育つ考え方ではないだろう。一人一人が大したことはなくても、グループになればとても大きな力を発揮する。これがまさに日本の強みであり、西洋人にはなかなか真似のできないことなのだ。

Since long years, Japanese education is deteriorating year by year. I am expecting that it would return to what it should be by revision of Educational Principal Law and hard work of current prime minister and his co-workers. It was a wise decision. I wish also that Japan would be able to produce people to be able to survive and succeed all over the world even alone, as Japan used to do before war time.

長年衰退の一途をたどってきた日本の教育。教育基本法の改正でそうあるべき姿に戻って行ってくれることを何より期待し、今の総理以下官僚の奮闘に大いに期待したい。まさに大英断だと思っている。更には、これからの日本はチーム力だけではなく、個々人でも世界で立派にやっていける人材を育てていけるような教育を取り戻して欲しい。