I just can’t be a one-man show in business - Am I destined to be misunderstood as long as I’m in this position?

As said in the Book of Samuel from The Old Testament, “For man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” In this world, if we could only see into each other’s hearts as God does, communication would go smoothly and troublesome conflicts would disappear. However, the reality is starkly different. It’s so difficult for me to see what others think and feel, and it’s rare that both parties understand more about each other through discussion. Unfortunately, in many cases, people are influenced by appearances and the rumors they hear from others, and they end up often judging others just by assuming they know what goes on in a person’s mind.

For example, just twice in the past two months, people who don’t know me very well or have barely even spoken to me said to me, “Because you’re just a one-man show!” I never even met one of these people who just happened to visit our office and the other one doesn’t even work in the music industry. I felt sad because this is completely different from the truth. The term ‘one-man manager’ refers to a self-righteous, self-indulgent, and forceful manager in business who decides everything on his/her own in leading the company. I thought anyone could obviously see that I had no reason to be called a ‘one-man manager’, and my business management is not even close to that. Is this how people see me?

For starters, there is no way I can be so autocratic. This is because the COVID-19 pandemic caused more need for remote working and as a result, I don’t show up to the office as often as I used to unless it’s necessary. I don’t have to go to the office because I’m not as involved in on-site work as much. I work diligently as a corporate manager every day and night on the things that only I can do without constantly interacting with staff members. We can also contact one another via email, messaging app, and phone call, so I leave most of the department management to the leaders who are in administrative positions. In this way, I have been leaving logistics, IT, tech, web, and accounting jobs almost completely up to the leaders for many years now.

My tasks as a company manager include proactively finishing projects that staff members don’t have the capacity to proceed with themselves, make decisions on important matters, or the staff might need more information or direction with regards to a project. I’m not bragging, but some of the work that I’m directly involved in can sometimes be the dirtiest and toughest work that no one else wants to do. My role is to put up with these unpleasant tasks without forcing it on my staff members. Up until now, I voluntarily cleaned up sludge on the roof, threw away five years of large trash accumulated in our large warehouse, cut down trees, as well as worked in the middle of the night with companies overseas due to the time differences, wrote detailed manuals for the staff, and did much more. Sometimes I wonder why I have to do all of this, but I always just tell myself, “It can’t be helped.”

Even so, I still interfere in some sales tasks. It’s not that I want to be involved, but when I think that a process will be delayed if I don’t do it myself, I think that it’s important to either quickly do it myself, or give advice and instructions to staff members so that they can complete the job as soon as possible. Even sales leaders sometimes have their work delayed because they can’t make a decision, so I intentionally intervene to encourage them to make a decision or I’ll do it myself when I feel it’s going to cause trouble for our clients. By doing as such, I believe the staff is freed from the responsibility and they would be relieved; “the chairman has made this decision, so everything’s okay now.” Seeing only a part of my actions, some staff members may think I’m just a one-man show here. Now that’s annoying.

In any case, I think I’m far from becoming a one-man manager of the company. To begin with, I keep a sense of distance from my staff members. I don’t like feeling distant from them or job titles, so that’s fine by me. That’s why I often go out for dinner and drink with my staff from different sections, and I also participate in all these events with them to make sure everyone knows I’m there. We even go on trips together. Especially recently, I spend more and more time with the younger staff members in their 20’s. When we go out drinking together, the younger staff doesn’t pour drinks for me because they think everyone should do it themselves these days and I’m fine with it. The fact that I frequently exchange texts and emails with many of the staff members is proof that I’m pretty close with them.

Despite this fact, I know that there is one reason why people think I am a jack of all trades: We lack the manpower to handle new business and projects, and it also takes time to train employees, so only I can get things done. Currently, the number of our employees is not enough to work on new projects, so I have to take the lead in new businesses, and I have to get everything done quickly. This situation may look to others as if I, the chairman of the company, is doing everything himself to keep the business going. In particular, new businesses are often far removed from the music industry, so there is usually no one already in the company with the experience to manage these businesses.

An example of one of these endeavors is the recent expansion in Onagawa. Sound House acquired the former Onagawa Junior High School building. The building was over 55 years old and in terrible condition since it was damaged by the earthquake and tsunami. We first had to clean out the building and the gutters, repair all the leaks, repave the pavement, fix the plumbing in the restrooms, investigate the sewage system, and also communicate with the municipal government. There was no way that young employees would have had that kind of experience, so I was left to do all the work by myself because I had previously worked as a developer in the real estate business. In addition, cleaning the windows and floors of the school building takes an overwhelming amount of physical labor. For simple tasks, I had no choice but to gather new local staff members and direct them. When people outside the company and even the new Onagawa staff get a glimpse into a scene like this, they probably automatically think that I’m just a dominant chairman.

Just yesterday, behind the former Onagawa Junior High School building, there were so many trees and weeds hanging over the road from the higher ground that trucks could not pass through. There was a massive amount. If I were the autocratic corporate manager that people think I am, I would have said, “Hey, you, cut these right away! Now!” However, the two staff members there looked so exhausted from unloading. So, of course, I took the chainsaw out of storage, extended the 2-meter ladder to 4 meters, and climbed up to the top of it to cut down the branches myself. This was actually very dangerous work. The area was unstable and I hadn’t prepared for this, but fortunately, I had spare outfits. I changed into work shoes and cut down the branches and weeds until I dripped with sweat. I was worried about getting bitten by mites and I was pricked by rose thorns. The two staff members probably felt sorry for me and helped me out from under the ladder after they finished unloading. The work progressed quickly because they removed the cut branches and moved the ladder, but it was extremely exhausting.

“Do what others won’t or can’t do,” “Decide what they can’t decide,” and “you will quickly get results.” I believe that these are my mission as a manager of the company. Therefore, I’m not involved in more than 90% of the company’s work, but I’m responsible for the remaining 10% as my duty as chairman. To be honest, it’s not something I want to do either, and if I could I wouldn’t have done it. However, when I think of the company, I realize that it will cause trouble for customers and manufacturers if I don’t intervene, so my sense of responsibility compels me to get more involved in business. This is my fate as chairman of the company.

Someday, I hope that all our employees will be able to speak English and everyone is able to form deeper relationships with our overseas contractors individually in addition to working on our own active internal communications. I think that it would be amazing if all the staff members could acquire good conversation skills, then the leaders could propose more projects and make decisions themselves. Furthermore, I hope that all the sales staff could equally acquire product knowledge and make proposals for new products to introduce to the market on their own. At that point, they can proactively formulate and implement plans to improve operational efficiency by utilizing new forms of technology. If my employees can establish a good workflow, all I have to do is to occasionally receive reports and other information, and nod my head in agreement because that is what a chairman should do. That is my dream.