#359: It's not about the CEO building connections. The true purpose of a 'gas station operator' who talks to 100 people in a single business trip.

The rush of speaking engagements and business trips, which continued from TASU in Takaoka City, Toyama Prefecture, to Himi-Biz in Himi City, Toyama Prefecture, and then to GakiBiz in Ogaki City, Gifu Prefecture, has come to a pause.

To everyone I met in each location and shared such passionate time with, thank you very much.

From the outside, it might look like a 'furious schedule,' but in reality, for me, this level of planning is by no means 'overcrowded'.

It is my default to make business trips into packed trips, and I fly around to various places at this pace once or twice a month.

Today, in the slightly calmer time after my business trip, I would like to write down the 'relational capital' behind this way of working, the system that supports it, and the 'underpinning for the team'.

1. The intensity of 'everything being in a business context,' not just numbers

In this note (#355, #357, #358), I reported on the community events, seminars, and consulting work that were announced, but behind the scenes, I am also handling many individual meetings with people not mentioned in the articles, as well as meetings for various organizations and projects in parallel.

As a result, I have talked with nearly 100 people during this one trip over the past few days.

However, I don't mean to say whether the number '100' is large or small. It just happened to be this number this time; there are times when it is more, and times when it is less.

What I want to convey here is not the number of people I had casual small talk with, but the fact that 'I am having deep conversations with all of these people in a business context'.

Being able to clash business passions with this many people in a short period is, I think, a very 'intense' way of doing things.

And the reason I can move so quickly is because the characteristics of 'remote management' that I practice daily are working strongly.

Because I thoroughly streamline daily operations and brainstorming using AI, when I finally go on a business trip, I can devote all the time and energy I have saved to 'face-to-face dialogue'.

2. Zero membership fees. 'Relational capital' built naturally inside and outside Toyama Prefecture

When you carry out such intense trips over several years, you notice something interesting. It is that 'strong relational capital is formed in a very short period'.

Time on business trips is limited, and there is often no clear promise of 'when we can meet next.' That is precisely why everyone I meet considers that time 'very precious' and uses it very carefully.

There is no time for us to probe each other. The moment we sit down, we hit top gear, share our true feelings, engage in intense brainstorming, and get straight to the heart of the matter.

You can build much deeper and higher-quality relational capital than by meeting sluggishly many times.

By the way, I do not pay membership fees to belong to any organization to create these kinds of connections.

Whether it is within Toyama Prefecture, such as Takaoka or Himi this time, or even when I go outside the prefecture to places like Ogaki City in Gifu Prefecture, everyone I meet is someone who engages with me organically.

It is truly a joy and a blessing to be able to connect so deeply, regardless of location, based purely on passion and business context, rather than through a network bought with money.

3. The 'message-back' function of 'broadcasting' to connect encounters

Furthermore, there is a mechanism to ensure that the relationship capital built in various places like this does not remain a one-time thing. That is the ongoing SNS posting I do in parallel, this 'daily note,' and the contributions I make to industry magazines every month.

After exchanging passion in the real-world setting of a business trip, having all of this function as an 'outward broadcast' creates a very good system for 'messaging back' (expressing gratitude and providing updates) to everyone who has been involved.

I can continue to convey through my posts, even during times when we cannot meet in person, things like, 'The conversation we had back then has been articulated in this way,' or 'With that same passion, things are progressing like this now.'

Of course, it is quite difficult to maintain this daily broadcasting system while managing these dense business trips and remote management. However, I do it diligently every day because I believe this is how I repay those who have been involved with me.

4. I am, first and foremost, a 'gas station operator'

And there is a major reason why I repeat this intense way of working, and a stance of mine that I most want to convey.

I have absolutely no sense that a CEO's job is to 'get to know outsiders and expand their network.' I am, first and foremost, a 'gas station operator.'

The primary purpose of me flying around to various places is to find and create initiatives to make our company's gas stations an 'interface (connection point) for regional economic revitalization.'

My true stance is that I am going around involving various people in various places to realize that vision.

I find seeds of business at my travel destinations, advance new initiatives, and reliably feed them back into our company's 'Boost X project.' I have built an entire system like that, and my movements in various places have become a flow that creates opportunities to expand our company's business.

The probability of a new business succeeding is said to be less than 10%, or sometimes 0.3%, depending on the definition. In other words, the general theory is that things only go well about 1% of the time.

However, I interact with nearly 100 business operators in a single trip and discuss business.

As I have written in past articles, our gas stations released over 10 new businesses and services last fiscal year. I think this is a very normal track record for us, as we guarantee volume.

In other words, I am flying around to various places on top of a 'system that ensures consistency' in all my actions.

And this system works only because of the 'underlying support of company members' who firmly protect the site and handle daily operations while I am away.

The reason I can run wild in various places and bring back seeds for business is because of their existence—the people who work diligently at the site in Toyama and promote projects together with me.

5. Turning the heat I brought back into the next action

The tremendous passion I received in various places and the new relationship capital formed during this trip—I do not intend to let this end as just 'good memories.' I will return the energy I brought back to my company members and burn it as gasoline for the next gritty action.

With the inspiration gained from so many conversations in our hearts, let's continue to move forward together at our respective workplaces starting tomorrow!

My heartfelt gratitude goes to everyone who was involved, and to my own team who held down the fort while I was away.

#GasStation #Business #SmallBusinessOwner #RegionalRevitalization #SME #Executive #SoleProprietor #Freelance #RemoteWork #AIUtilization #RelationalCapital #TeamBuilding #BusinessTrip #TASU #HimiBiz #GakiBiz #BoostXproject