Tomoya Nakamura explores the significance of the Japanese concept of kokorozashi and its relevance in contemporary society in episode 19 of the Ikigai Podcast.
Tomoya is the Dean of Graduate School Management at GLOBIS University, the largest and fastest-growing business school in Japan.
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The Definition of Kokorozashi
In Japan, they have a term called kokorozashi (personal mission). Tomoya, Dean of graduate school management at GLOBIS University, shares that kokorozashi is a personal mission that unifies the passion and skills of a professional to create a positive change in society.
Having both passion and skills
Nick: I stumbled upon your course, Leadership with Passion Through Kokorozashi. I found the course very insightful and helpful, and I became fascinated with the word and concept of kokorozashi. How would you define kokorozashi, Tomoya?.
Tomoya: We define kokorozashi as a personal mission that unifies the passion and skills of a professional to create positive change in society.
Nick: I understand. So it is something significant and quite ambitious.
Tomoya: Yes. We are not asking our students to come up with a kokorozashi or personal mission easily. It takes time.
Nick: If we look at the etymology of the word, it is formed with two words Kokoro, which can mean mind and heart, and the verb sasu which means to point. So we could understand the word to mean where the heart points or where the mind is focused on?
Tomoya: Yes, I have not thought the way you have. I think you are right, where the heart points or where the mind is focused, is a good definition.
Nick: I have a coaching group and I often teach them words and Kokoro is fascinating because you need to understand the context. Is it the mind or your heart, but in this case, kokorozashi seems to have both the heart and mind connected.
Tomoya: Yes.
Nick: If we go deeper, we can look at the kanji of the word and that can give us more insight and it's a single kanji character made of two radicals.
On the top is the radical bushi, which means Samurai or warrior and below that is Kokoro. From the kanji, I guess we could take the word to mean "the heart of the warrior or the heart beneath the warrior."
Tomoya: Yeah. I think you're completely correct. I prefer to say "the heart of Samurai." A Samurai knows when to put his life on the line so kokorozashi is something that you can put your entire life onto.
Nick: Wow, that gives it some perspective then. I also learned that there is a verb form so kokorozashi is a noun, but there's also kokorozasu, which can mean to plan or to intend, to aspire to, or to aim for, or to set sights on. Is that correct?
Tomoya: Yes. But in Japan, we often use it as a noun, more than a verb.
Nick: I love this word. I think I fell in love with it straight away. I love the way that it sounds. I find the kanji both attractive and inspiring and it appears to be a word rooted in Bushido.
But it's also really relevant to leadership in business and that is something you teach in your courses and as part of the MBA programs at GLOBIS. I'd like to quote how you describe kokorozashi from your course, Leadership with Passion Through Kokorozashi.
So I'll just read the quote out.
"Imagine kokorozashi as an enjoyable life goal, a passion that occupies your thoughts on the weekend, and makes you excited to wake up on Monday morning. Finding it requires imagination, and realizing it requires awareness. As such, developing a self-defined kokorozashi that benefits society is no easy feat."
And when I read that, I found that very inspiring.
Tomoya: If you have a kokorozashi you tend to wait for Mondays, but if you don't have a kokorozashi you’ll probably think thank god, it's Friday.
Depending on whether you have a mission for life, and if you can make it the occupation that can drive you for many years, maybe longer than 10 years, maybe 20 years.
Nick: Wow. Okay, so it's a significant life investment. It sounds like it's not just a goal to achieve, it's something you're happy and wanting to pursue for many years or several decades.
Tomoya: Maybe if we think about mountain climbing, you're thinking of climbing the nearest mountain. But once you reach the top, you find out there's another mountain behind.Adding Value to Society
To have kokorozashi means that you have to think not only about yourself but also about how you can contribute to society. Tomoya believes that it is essential for business owners to have intrinsic motivation: something greater than money. He explains that it is better to use one's capabilities not only for personal goals but also to serve others.
Importance of having societal goal
Nick: My next question is why do business owners need a kokorozashi?
Tomoya: Of course a business owner, I think, can run his or her company without a kokorozashi. Meaning if you have a business model, if you have clients, you can make money. But in the long run, we probably need intrinsic motivation.
To have intrinsic motivation, something like money could be too small, of course, money is important, we need money to conduct economic activities. However, if you gain enough money, it probably will not motivate you.
So, probably you should use your money, your capability, your energy for something bigger than money. That's the reason why we ask students to have a societal goal, not just a personal one.
Nick: So it's something bigger than yourself, bigger than your company, bigger than making lots of money, and involves adding some value to society.
Tomoya: If you want to buy a Ferrari, that's great. But I don't think many people will support you.
Nick: It's a pretty selfish goal.
Tomoya: But if you use that money to serve local people. I think many people would support you, assist you, and help you in achieving that goal. So we think first fulfilling your personal needs are important but I don't think that's the end.
Nick: This seems to go back to the idea of Bushido. I don't know a lot about Bushido, but I do know one of the values of Samurai was to serve their community and their elders.
Tomoya: So the unique part of Samurai in Japan is that they had both responsibilities of the arm and also the government. So in many countries, the warriors and the governors are different. But in Japan, they were the same.
Even if you are a warrior, you need to think about community, you need to think about your people. So Bushido requires integrity. It's not just yourself to cash in for your clan to prosper, together with you.
Nick: I think it's something that the world desperately needs at the moment but we're very much focused on success and materialism. I think we need more businesses wanting to serve society.How to Develop Our Kokorozashi (Personal mission)
Tomoya believes that kokorozashi is closely related to leadership; for people to realize their kokorozashi, they should be the most passionate about it and take initiative so that their passion will transcend other areas of their work or lives.
Kokororashi is about intrinsic motivation
Nick: With this idea of kokorozashi, how does one develop a self-defined kokorozashi that benefits society, what's the process one needs to go through?
Tomoya: At least in our MBA program, we make students make a presentation of what he or she wants to achieve, kind of like a starting point. Because you have shared your kokorozashi in front of your classmates, he or she would start speaking to close friends, maybe bosses, clients.
Let's say, I want to be a bridge between Australia and Japan, for example, and that will lead to more connections, more contacts, more business opportunities. And we are kind of encouraging students to take actions when the opportunity comes.
Of course, they have hardships or challenges along the way but, if they can overcome the fear, we believe, to the second mountain that they should aim for, and eventually to a kokorozashi.
Nick: So there seems to be this requirement of synergy with people and with that comes the importance of leadership. I know that's an important aspect. And kokorozashi is leadership in a way. Would you like to talk about that?
Tomoya: Kokorozashi is about intrinsic motivation. He or she needs to take initiative and we believe that passion or energy transcends from a higher person to a lower person.Stay Focused on Your Personal Mission
In every business, there will come tough times. So how can one stay focused on their kokorozashi during these trying times? Tomoya shares that you must have people that will encourage and support you. At GLOBIS University, they conduct meetings wherein students can share their progress and find support whenever they struggle with their kokorozashi.
Finding the slightest improvement in every trial
Nick: Now with ambitious goals, business ventures, inevitably, there are tough times. So how does one maintain their kokorozashi and stay focused when times are tough?
Tomoya: I tell my students to try to find even the slightest improvements in every trial. Meaning, maybe the result was bad, and we didn't succeed. However, at this point, I could see an absolute improvement.
In that way, I think he or she can carry on or try again. That's one thing. Another is because we have shared the kokorozashi among the GLOBIS community. The classmates are there to support you, especially in the hard times.
So we have three meetings in a year, where GLOBIS alumni get together and share the progress of their kokorozashi. So in that way, even if you are struggling, their classmates who are with you would kind of encourage you to keep on challenging.
So in that way, we are trying to help every student, of course, life is not that easy, not everyone succeeds but at least we would like to provide some kind of support and system.
Nick: So to summarise, you've got to recognize your growth or your small wins and understand that people will support you.My Ikigai and Kokorozashi: Conveying What Globis Can Offer to the World
Tomoya shares that his ikigai or kokorozashi is that he wants to convey what Globis can offer to the world. He also discuss the idea of gratitude: if people and businesses can practice gratitude, he believes it can benefit society.
Gratitude is the strongest form in martial art
Nick: Tomoya, at the end of my podcast, I usually ask my guests what their ikigai is. I'm assuming it's going back to your practice and passion for Aikido.
Tomoya: Actually, I am Japanese born in Japan, but from my father's business I was raised in North America, in Canada.
So when I came back to Japan at high school, I wanted to do something Japanese and that's how I encountered Aikido. Aikido took me quite a long way.
Initially, I just wanted to throw people and understand Japan but eventually, when I was at Harvard Business School because I practised Aikido, I met a great professor called Professor Urban.
He was the CEO of Pioneer Hi-Bred, that was bought of Monsato. He told me that "If you act like an American student, there is no use of you in Boston", so I learnt about Japan and learnt about ki.
Ki is a principal in Aikido and that kind of led me to write about Eastern philosophy and Japan.
So my ikigai or kokorozashi is similar to Nick, I want to convey what we can offer to the world. There are many things I like about this interview but if I may mention your word, you said gratitude, gratitude is the strongest form in martial art.
If you can say thank you to your opponent, your opponent will go flying. If you think you want to beat up your opponent, he's not going to fly. It's very controversial but 'thank you' or 'gratitude' is a very strong word.
I think it's not only for business or individuals but if a business can think in a similar way I think business has a bigger role to play in society, not just making money.
Nick: I agree wholeheartedly, and it's something I think I became to truly understand in Japan because gratitude is expressed constantly. I realized it doesn't take a lot to express gratitude but it means so much.