Kunio Hara is the creator of the famous HO-ME-I-KU Method, an effective training program for employees and managers to achieve success.
Conflict drastically changes the flow of people, products and money. But what can we do to end this era of an economy dependent on conflict?
When your business is in constant conflict, it can drain your mind without you realizing it. It can lead to a negative view of things with hostile words engraved in your brain resulting in the inability to live life with a full smile on your face.
Therefore, in line with my plea to praise those around you, I propose this form of positivity as a solution to help us move away from our reliance on corporate conflict.
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Keep perspective
You only meet a handful of people in your life. It’s a miracle that you met the people for you – not just your family, but also your friends and colleagues. And yet you can reject them if you discover minor differences with them, such as their religion or personality type.
If you keep accumulating such negative actions, it can be difficult to set good examples for the next generation of leaders. It can lead people who should be helping each other to hate each other instead.
I encourage you to find ways to praise differences instead of rejection. In some cases, praise people all the more for being different and learn to recognize the potential strengths in these differences. Let’s enrich the economy by praising each other in this way. Once praise begins to enrich our hearts and minds, we can begin to take additional actions on behalf of each other.
I believe that the emphasis on praise can lead to increased customer satisfaction and excitement, which in turn can improve your company’s performance and enrich the economy. I want to prove that productivity increases when we praise each other instead of relying on conflict. I want to ask the executives and everyone influential in markets to spread the culture of praise with me.
Praise people to avoid conflict
For conflict resolution, I have created a form of praise that I call “HO-ME-I-KU.” It is an educational method of educating people through praise. The Japanese word for praise comes from the root word ‘homu’. Homu means to pray for the happiness and prosperity of people. I believe that you really praise people when you find and recognize their exemplary aspects, and sincerely wish them a happy future instead of just using the potions of praise.
The example of Taishi Shotoku
Once upon a time there was a great man in Japan named Taishi Shotoku. He established the first constitution in Japan, the Constitution with Seventeen Articles, in AD 604. He learned a sentence Article 1 of the Constitution, which many of us Japanese cherish. The expression is “harmony should be appreciated.” It expresses the importance of respecting and recognizing each other and working together.
At that time, clan conflicts in Japan were on the rise. The arrival of Buddhist and Confucian cultures from abroad also brought conflicts with existing Shinto ideas and Japan fell apart. In such situations, Prince Shotoku preached the importance of stopping unnecessary conflict and respecting harmony by trying to understand each other. However, he didn’t force people to be patient or even always agree with others. He told them to recognize and harmonize rather than just compromise or agree.
I believe this is the idea that the modern business world needs. It can be difficult to fully understand people who were born and raised in different countries or have different religions and experiences. Still, I think it’s important to strive for harmony by working together without anger or conflict. Praise, I believe, is the key to achieving this harmony.
Rich sensitivity
Conflicts arise and the world is often an unforgiving place. In any case, I’d like you to commend people who tap into what I describe as a rich sensibility. Without sensitivity, a business often becomes just a “money game” that ignores the human heart.
Rich sensitivity does not mean that you should praise only ostensibly – only show the appearance of praise. I would like you to praise the way people’s hearts move, that is, the way you understand the feelings of others or the way you read the whole situation. I believe that when people work with the mindset that “the joy of others is my joy”, team productivity will inevitably increase. That’s why I encourage you to create a stronger team by being more sensitive, compassionate and giving sincere compliments.
To move the corporate culture away from conflict, I believe those in top management can make a huge impact through active employee seeking and actions to praise. While we all know in our heads that praise is important, I find that very few managers are able to really put it into practice as part of their day-to-day culture.
We were born to be praised, and we exist to praise each other. Who will be the first to get serious about leading a company to achieve record achievements through praise? I hope it will be you.
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