My First Year as CEO

I was so lucky to be able to break that pattern and jump into a completely new role at Communica. I was given the opportunity to become the CEO of Communica exactly one year ago. I look back fondly to the party we held last year just as I was embarking on my journey as CEO. Today we are here to celebrate my first year as CEO. Boy was it an adventure! How different the view can be from up top. First and foremost, I want to show my utmost appreciation for all of your support because I would not have been able to make it this far if it weren’t for all of you. Since I was able to survive my first year, and somehow stay afloat (Communica was actually able to stay out of the red) I want to share some of the new and exciting things I experienced along the way.

The first story is about what I call, “Happy Money.” As a CEO the scariest thing is to realize that your cash flow is drying up. Even if you are working hard, payment schedules can be hard to manage. You have to always have enough money to pay wage, taxes, and insurance. And it’s a lot of money! The logical thing to do when you see your cash flow running low, is to cut costs. I looooove cutting costs! LOL It is satisfying to check for any excess money trickling out and put an immediate stop to it. When I started cutting costs, I went all out! I canceled Mr Yamamoto’s car parking space. Nikkei Newspaper subscription. I realized that our Mitsui Sumitomo Corporate Bank Account fees were a waste. I also cut back on travel expenses to go abroad. etc. etc. As a result, I think both Mr Yamamoto and I became tired of me cutting costs. Our motivation was dwindling. As a result, our business started to dwindle. It’s kind of like a river drying up. As the saying goes, “you need to use money to make money.” It’s all about circulation.

I want to focus on the term Happy Money. The origin of a business is being of use to other people, putting a smile on people’s faces. A satisfied customer will pay for a product or service. This is the fundamental essence of business. And you want people who are happy and satisfied to pay you money. This kind of money is infused with positive vibes. It’s this positive circulation that energizes your company. So as CEO I learned that it is my job to focus on increasing revenue rather than cutting costs.

The second lesson I’ve learned is just how amazing Mr Yamamoto’s communication skills are. I’ve always thought that Mr Yamamoto was a good communicator, like he is good at talking. He is never at a loss for words. But that was just the tip of the iceberg. Upon becoming CEO, I had to take many more meetings than before. And when I participated in a meeting, I had to speak up more. And most important I had to make decisions. By the time a meeting was over, I had to decide Yes or No. It became my job to decide which jobs to accept, which jobs to decline, who I wanted to work with, who I did not want to work with. How much I would accept a job for. Why? What are the risks? How much risk am I capable of taking?

Last year was a year of globalization for Communica. I was offered a job from a Korean company to create an English textbook. Mr Yamamoto had speaking engagements with IHG, the global hotel group, Ralph Lauren, and Isuzu. I was bilingual MC for Sushi Tech Tokyo. We also worked with OIST in Okinawa. Our counterparts were not always Japanese and sometimes we had meetings in English. As I look back to our accomplishments, all of the jobs were a huge success. But while in the process, there were negotiations about the scope of work, the conditions and prices. I felt that the meetings were more intense. There was a lot of pushing and pulling. I was so lucky to able to consult Mr Yamamoto every step of the way. Ever since becoming CEO, I listen to every word Mr Yamamoto speaks and his every move and facial expressions. His communication strategy is full of learning points for me.

The last story is about having a vision. This is probably the CEO’s most important role in the company. The CEO needs to have a vision for the company, show the direction of where the ship is sailing. For Communica, the vision is Create Your Future, Design Your English, Visualize Your Career. These three things have not changed since Mr Yamamoto’s time. My plan is to continue in this exact direction. My goal is to find new ways to conceptualize Communica’s vision.

One technique I’ve acquired to realize my vision is to mark your calendar. Even when you don’t know how to make your vision a reality, mark your dreams into your calendar. For example, if you want to go abroad, you need to set a date in your calendar to go abroad. If you want to improve your English, you need to enroll to take the Eiken. Mark the date of the Eiken exam in your calendar. If I want to become a better golfer, I need to register in competitions. I will set aside time in my calendar for that. The first thing I did to make the Kids Study Abroad program was set a date. If you have a vision for the future, mark the steps and events to create that future into your calendar. You need to take control of your calendar.

I hope my stories of Happy Money, Communication skills and Marking your calendar were of some use to you. I will only experience my first year as CEO once and I am so honored to have been able to share my findings with you.