[Column] Why Can't Executives Manage?

I would like to introduce a column article.

It's not that they lack ability; they simply haven't experienced it before. The management style of small and medium-sized enterprises is that of a playing manager, where one engages in on-site work while also managing. To put it in terms of soccer, it's like someone who thinks about strategies such as player substitutions while kicking the ball on the field, but in reality, there are no playing managers in the world of soccer. Employees of small and medium-sized enterprises become managers once they are capable of doing on-site work. They are not selected for management roles from the start based on their potential. Moreover, there is no management curriculum in Japan's compulsory education. Consequently, if students serve as captains in club activities during their school years, they learn methods through experience, but only a very small number of people get to experience this. In other words, many department heads are thrust into management roles without prior preparation when they are told to take on management responsibilities. In large companies, employees receive various training as they are promoted to higher positions to prepare themselves. If we think of it in terms of a driver's license, they obtain a provisional license and then challenge themselves with management, but small and medium-sized enterprises do not have that luxury and experience management for the first time in a trial-and-error manner, which is why it is natural for things not to go well.

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