Founded in 1983, Tsutaya Shoten is a magical presence in Japan. Although it is a bookstore, from sky-high books and works of art, down to clothes, books, and even beer and rice, a pair of chopsticks can sell for 1,000 RMB, and a Ferrari limited edition book can sell for 395,000 yuan. What is even more amazing is that it is almost not promoted, but it has a very large "tap water" group, which has become a "pilgrimage place" for many literary and artistic youth, and has also become a punch card resort for Japanese tourism.
Why did Tsukiya Bookstore become a "pilgrimage place" and what is the secret of its operation? Why does a library with a population of only 50,000 in its city exceed 1 million visitors a year? In today's difficult time for physical stores, how can stores become "lifestyle proposal stores" that make customers thrilled and become loyal fans? Masuda Soaki, the founder of Tsutaya Bookstore, will reveal his business thinking and work ethic.
01 Making money is the result of continuous efforts,
Not the reason
1. Making money is not something that can be achieved by thinking about it, and only by planning a customer value with social significance and achieving it at the right cost can we obtain profits.
2. Business is based on various interest relationships: with customers because of "price", with suppliers because of "trading conditions" and established, with employees because of "wages", and with shareholders because of "dividends" established.
3. Only by planning out the customer value that customers still want to buy even if the price is slightly higher, establish a company that allows employees to work here regardless of wages, provide a job that satisfies employees, gain the trust of suppliers, make them look forward to the development of the future cause, trade with a mutually recognized supply condition, and strive to build a company with future value that is still willing to invest even if it obtains a small amount of dividends shareholders, the company will make money, employees can grow, and customers can achieve common development.
4. If you blindly "cater" to these stakeholders, such as selling goods to customers at a price lower than the cost price, paying employees an unreasonable high wage, buying goods under unimaginable trading conditions, and paying a large dividend beyond the capacity of shareholders to make the shareholders happy, the company will soon go bankrupt.
5. The so-called "profitable business" does not exist at all. Making money is the result of continuous effort, not the reason. So, when I hear someone say, "This is very profitable," I immediately plug my ears. Because in my opinion, even if there are really easy-to-earn jobs and careers, they are all temporary, and we simply can't make easy money all the time.
6. The so-called management is not to do what the operator chooses. If there is an opportunity for rapid development, then we should seize the opportunity, and talent training is not slack.
7. The size of the company is determined only by the sum of the dreams of each employee.
02 If you don't do what you won't,
Man cannot progress
8. People who constantly challenge things that they are not good at, with the accumulation of time, become people who can do a lot of things. And those who only think about doing what they are good at, but it is difficult to continue to expand in the passage of time.
9. Anyone will fail because they are doing things they would not do. If you don't do what you can't do, people can't progress.
10. Success is inseparable from the stepping stone of failure, it is precisely because of failure, people's experience points will gradually increase, as long as there is still a chance, they will be able to succeed. However, if you are discouraged by failure, you may not be able to seize the next opportunity.
11. In terms of business, considering that people who fail tend to accumulate more power, I am more willing to give them opportunities. However, failures due to ill-intentions or negligence are not counted.
12. The greater the development of the enterprise, the greater the loss after failure. But in order to achieve development, it is essential to accept the challenges. This reminds me of a saying I have always regarded as a treasure - the essence of business lies in tolerance of failure.
03 Being humble is more important than doing the job perfectly
13. From excellent company leaders, I often see such a common point, that is, to stand up straight, and desperately protect the interests of employees and customers.
14. A qualified leader needs to have both certain abilities and a certain determination and mental preparation. This determination and mental preparation not only allows employees to work with peace of mind, but also is the basis for teamwork.
15. If the management decision is wrong, then no matter how hard the front-line employees try, it will be in vain. For example, the production of very good products, if you find the wrong sales partner, the product is not selling well; if you do not leave a good impression on the customer, the product is not selling well; choose the wrong place to open a store, or use the wrong network marketing strategy, even if there are good goods, no matter how good the service, it will not bring revenue. All in all, strategic mistakes cannot be reversed through tactics.
16. Man is a creature that is difficult to resist temptation and is easily proud. So, the ability to be humble is perhaps more important to success than the ability to do the job flawlessly.
17. As a leader, although you must have the ability to unite and mobilize people, and you must also have certain skills, but more importantly, you must have the ability to depict collective dreams.
04 The so-called sales are actually creative projects
18. In the business world, the way to find the "answer" is actually very simple. That is to think from the customer's point of view, or to think about the customer's mood. Even in the same store, I will carefully experience the different moods of customers in the morning, noon and evening.
19. Do not think from the perspective of customers, or do not consider the employee's sense of expectation of work, such a store, neither attract customers, nor can employees work happily.
20. You can't sacrifice your most important customers in order to open a store. Indeed, if the level of service declines, it is bound to cause dissatisfaction among customers, causing them not to come or to come less, thus affecting sales and making business unsustainable.
21. When it comes to sales, we often have the impression of selling a certain commodity to a customer and then exchanging money from the customer. In fact, the essence of sales is not so simple. Because no customer will happily pay for the goods being marketed out of their own pockets for the benefit of the company, there will be no such company.
22. Do everything you can to get to know your customers. Understanding what customer status is currently in, what is being sought, what is helpful to their company, what problems exist in their company, etc., and comprehensive and in-depth understanding of customers is an important reason for the company's development to this day.
23. The so-called sales is actually to create planning power and establish a relationship of trust with customers. This is perhaps the most important behavior for businesses.
24. Customers do not exist for the sake of the store, but the shop exists for the sake of the customer.
05 Man is an "animal" who likes to be praised by others
25. In order to cultivate the self-consciousness of employees, I try to become a boss who does not give orders, but strives to create a team where subordinates take the initiative to report to their superiors in order to promote the progress of the work. Of course, from an organizational point of view, the method of giving orders is indeed fast and efficient, but I decided to sacrifice efficiency anyway.
26. Man's existence is itself self-centered and self-centered. However, when people have the motivation to realize a certain dream, people can control and control themselves.
27. It is impossible to motivate and evaluate employees based on ideological goals alone. Therefore, we set clear goals for each team, or every business, and each company, so as to strive to develop so far.
28. If every business, every team, and every person can have a clear goal, it can not only improve motivation, but also facilitate evaluation. With clear goals, performers can be paid according to the goals, and management can achieve incentives through goals. The realization of rewards and punishments is inseparable from clear goals.
29. "Man is an animal that likes to be praised by others. "Some people work for a living, and some see work as one of the steps to self-actualization. Either way, people are eager to get tangible evaluations and pay that is commensurate with their work.
30. To build a dynamic team, it is necessary to be clear about the role that each team member needs to play (simple team), as well as the numbers that need to be achieved (clear goals), and have the necessary team collaboration skills to achieve these. No matter what is missing, you can't build a vibrant organization or team.