Why You Need A Tatakidai

In consideration of ‘tatakidai” one must also take into account the cultural orientation of a business. Tatakidai and for that matter, “nemawashi” are Japanese concepts that are wholly consistent with naational culture that requires and embraces agreement and alignment more than most. This may be in part due to influences such as limited geography or a sophisticated tradition of respect for the group by the individual. Some have called this the “quiet way of doing business”. In the west, again maybe due to expansive geography, conforty has not been embraced as dearly as in the east and one could argue that the “loud way of doing business”, is most often practiced and rewarded. This becomes particularly evident when westerners attempt to do business with the Japanese. They do not understand that nemawashi is being practiced and that progress, though appearing to be slow, is quietly underway. There is significant value for the west to integrate concepts such as tatakidai and nemawashi into major change management efforts, particularly at he sponsor and change agent levels. The key word here is integrate. A western company will find it challenging to fully adopt such practices, particularly with a western workforce. Not that it can’t be done in large part as Toyota and Honda’s American operations have successfully demonstrated. But, then again, those are Japanese transplants with Japanese leadership employing Japanese shadow support to American managers. Finally, any major change initiative will benefit from clear communication of the mission and the time taken to perform nemawashi, thus tatakidai, may prevent a false start, re-work or even failure in implementing a change.