Good Risks E-Book

David W. Russell

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 392

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Get inside Japan's invisible behemoth to see the future of global business Good Risks is a fascinating insight into ORIX, a global giant whose business empire straddles the world, but which has managed to remain out of the media spotlight for half a century. Award winning author David Russell explains how this Japanese company has transcended its national identity to become a global player, and what that means for everyone else. In a series of one-on-one interviews with senior executives at ORIX companies around the world, readers gain a firsthand glimpse of the inner workings of this "invisible" corporate group that controls hundreds of billions of dollars. Interviews with the company President and Chairman in Tokyo provide rare insight into the thought leaders at the highest levels, and a contribution by the Chairman himself discusses the hard realities of globalization and the keys to success in the coming decade. The key concept that is lost in the Japan vs. China vs. US vs. EU battle is that the business landscape has changed drastically, making national boundaries anachronistic. Companies such as IBM, Disney, Apple, and Microsoft long ago stopped being "American" firms; they are global competitors that take advantage of their deep knowledge of the US markets, but have no special allegiance to the United States. This book argues that this is the future of all large-scale business, as already exemplified by ORIX. * Learn how one executive steered ORIX's meteoric rise from an unknown start-up to an unseen global giant * Explore the coming realities of the global business scene * Discover why HQ location will be little more than historical accident * See how ORIX impacts the Chinese, Indian, and American firms that follow its lead The business scene unfolding today is not "international" or "multinational", but an increasingly unified, global battleground. The rise of ORIX charts the future of business, and Good Risks provides the details and insights business leaders need to anticipate tomorrow's changes.

Leseprobe

Good Risks

Discovering the Secrets to ORIX’s 50 Years of Success

David W. Russell

Epilogue by

Yoshihiko Miyauchi, Chairman,

ORIX Corporation

Cover image: Watercolor painting © iStock.com/jacgladtop;                          electric lighting © iStock.com/tolokonov Cover design: Wiley

Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons Singapore Pte. Ltd.

Published by John Wiley & Sons Singapore Pte. Ltd. 1 Fusionopolis Walk, #07-01, Solaris South Tower, Singapore 138628

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as expressly permitted by law, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate photocopy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center. Requests for permission should be addressed to the Publisher, John Wiley & Sons Singapore Pte. Ltd., 1 Fusionopolis Walk, #07-01, Solaris South Tower, Singapore 138628, tel: [phone], fax: [phone], e-mail: [email protected].

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any damages arising herefrom.

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ISBN 978-1-118-99067-4 (Hardcover) ISBN 978-1-118-99065-0 (ePDF) ISBN 978-1-118-99066-7 (ePub)

For my parents, who encouraged me to read, and especially my mother, who passed on her addiction to the printed page.

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

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Acknowledgments

As with most works involving large quantities of research, many people contributed to the production of this book. Like any hack writer, my first instinct is to blame them for all the mistakes and shortcomings of the present work, and failing that, to blame my editor. Unfortunately, both of my research staffers, the interview subjects, and the overseas editor are all first-rate in their respective fields. By default, then, the responsibility for this book falls on the author. Any errors, mistakes of interpretation, or misunderstandings of any kind were mine and mine alone.

To properly thank all the people who helped bring this project to completion would require a second book, so I will simply highlight those who stand out in my memory.

First, my good friend in New York City referred to here only as “James.” His work requires that he remain anonymous, but I want to thank him anyway for kicking my butt when the time was right and for introducing me to a vast, globally active corporate group that I had never heard of before. With that, I have paid my debt, and the next time we meet, the wine is on him.

On a more serious note, I want to thank all the executives in the ORIX Group who generously gave of their time to meet with an unknown journalist and answer his foolish questions. Chronologically, let me extend my sincere thanks to Scott Beiser and Bob Hotz at Houlihan Lokey and Bill Michaelcheck at Mariner Investment Group, both in New York City; to Nishitani Hideto,1 Kawai Noboru, and Brian Prince at ORIX USA in Dallas; to David Power and his amazing team in Dublin; to John Carter in Sydney; Soh Kim Soon in Singapore; and Liu Guoping of ORIX China.

Very special thanks are also in order for the many people at ORIX headquarters in Tokyo who provided the information and opinions that were necessary for me to understand the elephant I was blindly holding by the tail. I am grateful to Nitanai Takaaki, Miyata Hiyori, and Mizumura Nozomi of the public relations department for their tireless help when I had questions or needed data, as well as to Tominaga Hiroshi and Oishi Tomoko, who offered key off-the-record explanations of the company's history and inner workings. Special thanks to President Inoue Makoto for giving me so much time to meet and talk and to get to know his company better.

My professional thanks to Kato-san, my hard-drinking journalist friend at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan (FCCJ) in Tokyo, as well as to Shimizu Kazuhiko and Ushio Shota, two hard-working local journalists who also contributed their time, research, and professional expertise to facilitate this project.

This book would not have been possible without the help of two special people: Iizuka Toshiaki, my trusted interpreter, who helped manage the interface in Tokyo, and my agent/editor, Cindy Mullins, president of Media Tectonics, a global media giant soon to rival ORIX in size and reach. Cindy introduced me to the good people at John Wiley & Sons and was instrumental in getting this book into print.

A special shout-out to my publishing sensei in Washington, D.C., Nicholas Smith, for his customary invaluable advice and assistance. (Yes, I owe you a bowl of soba.)

And last, but most important, a very, very special thank-you to the chairman of ORIX Corporation, Yoshihiko Miyauchi. Many years ago, another Japanese CEO told me that the greatest executives treat everyone, even the company janitor, like an important guest. His words, poorly translated, mean, “The higher your status, the deeper you bow.” I never forgot that lesson, but it was Miyauchi-san who showed me how true this is. In many ways, this book is for him.

Note

1.

All Asian names are given in the traditional order, with the family name first, with two notable exceptions:  The chairman of ORIX has lived and traveled extensively outside of Japan and is fluent in English. Overseas, he normally presents his name in the Western fashion (Yoshihiko Miyauchi), which is how I refer to him throughout the text. Also, the baseball star known as Ichiro, who has made his home in the United States for several years, is referred to as Ichiro Suzuki in Chapter 8.

About the Author

David W. Russell, President of Russell Communications International, is a bilingual teacher, author, and corporate communications specialist who has lived in Japan on and off for 30 years. In 1996, he formed RCI to help Japanese companies improve the quality and scope of their global corporate communications, and over the past two decades he has advised many of that nation’s largest public and private institutions. He is a frequent lecturer and often presents (in Japanese) at management seminars, such as those run by the Osaka Stock Exchange. He still consults and speaks regularly, but devotes much of his time to writing. David has authored more than 10 books and dozens of magazine and newspaper articles, including pieces for Forbes, The Economist, and Harvard Business Review. Among various awards, one of his books was named Best Business & Management Book of the Year in the United States. He divides his time between a home near Mt. Fuji and offices in both the United States and Japan. He can be reached at [email protected].

Introduction

Every book is a conversation of sorts, and reading requires some level of personal commitment, not just of time but of attention, much like the commitment we make when we listen to a friend begin to tell a long story.  And just as in conversation, I believe that every reader has a right to know who they’re talking to before they make that commitment. Although this book is not about me, I’ve tried to make it as personal as possible to allow general readers to experience this journey as I did. So it helps to know a little bit about the “I” who is narrating the experience.

Although I was born and raised in the United States, I have lived part of my life overseas, mostly in Asia and largely in Japan. I am a writer by trade: I make my living by hunting for interesting stories and finding ways to tell those stories in various media. I’m certainly not a businessman, yet I find the world of international business fascinating. A few decades ago, I started out as a journalist and somehow drifted into business journalism. I’ve always had a nose for a compelling story, and when I find a story that needs telling, I’m willing to do some digging to learn more. I have looked into many kinds of stories, mostly for magazine and newspaper articles (remember magazines and newspapers? . . .), but also for several books I have either written or coauthored.