The managers on the defensive side also have a voice

When you hold the position of a business owner, there are times when certain words strike a chord in a strange way.

The other day, while reading a manga I love, my eyes stopped on a particular line.

"I will protect everyone, so someone please protect me."

It has been a scene I've liked for a long time. But reading it after becoming a business owner, it resonates a little differently.

Protecting the company. Protecting the staff. Protecting the family. Supporting the businesses of our customers.

Of course, this is a position I chose myself. It is not something someone forced me to carry.

Even so, when you continue to stand on the side of the protector, there are moments when you suddenly think.

Who is protecting me?

A business owner is in a position where it is difficult to show weakness. In front of staff, I cannot just show an anxious face. In front of family, I want to pretend everything is fine if I can. In front of customers, naturally, I want to remain solid as a professional.

But because I am human, I cannot stay strong forever. There are days when I am lost in my decisions. There are days when I carry anxieties I cannot tell anyone. There are days when I think about the company so much that my mind never rests.

At such times, that one line from the manga enters my side in a strange way.

Those who protect have voices, too.

Come to think of it, a few days ago, I visited the [Life-Saving Experience Festival 2026] held in Miyakonojo City. It was an event carried out through the proactive efforts of President Tadayuki Kawabata of Kawabata Sheet Metal.

Spreading the knowledge of how to use an AED to protect loved ones. I felt it was a very noble philosophy. Many people had gathered at that place.

Protecting lives cannot be done with feelings alone. When the time comes, you need the knowledge to act. You need a place where you can encounter that knowledge. Someone needs to create that place.

Watching Mr. Kawabata's event, the way I saw the word "protect" changed a little.

I think protecting does not mean carrying everything on your own.

Turning the desire to protect someone into action. Spreading that action to the people around you. And creating a state where someone can act when the time comes. I felt that "protecting" includes all of that.

I feel this is similar to management.

Business owners try to protect their companies. They try to protect their staff. They try to protect their customers. They try to fulfill their roles within the community.

However, if the person doing the protecting continues to carry everything alone, it will eventually become painful.

Finances. Personnel. Recruitment. Capital investment. Business succession. The future of the company.

A business owner's worries do not fit neatly into a single box. What seems like a tax issue is often actually a people issue. What seems like a cash flow issue is often actually anxiety about the future. What seems like a recruitment issue is often actually a question of how to convey the company's appeal.

That is precisely why I believe a place is needed where business owners can truly be heard.

A place where they can say, "I'm struggling." A place where they can say, "I don't know where to start thinking about this." A place where they can say, "This is what I actually want to do."

It is a place where those who protect can voice their own thoughts.

Listening to those voices, identifying the underlying issues, and connecting them to where they need to go. Thinking together about how a company can move forward in the face of management challenges that go beyond just accounting and tax. I want to gradually build an environment where that is possible.

It may not be flashy. But I believe it is vital for local business owners to keep taking on challenges.

"I'll protect everyone, so someone please protect me."

This statement may look like a sign of weakness, but it might actually be a very human sentiment.

Those who protect have a voice, too. Those who protect also need support.

To Mr. Kawabata and everyone involved in organizing the event, thank you very much for all your hard work.

HIDAKI-KAIKEI will continue to organize figures, create spaces for dialogue, and improve the management environment so that business owners can demonstrate their true value and have that value properly conveyed.

#Management #RegionalManagement #VoiceOfBusinessOwners #Challenge #Miyakonojo #Miyazaki #SMEs #AccountingFirm #BusoRenkin #NobuhiroWatsuki