The moment a scheme diagram appears on the screen, those who reach for their smartphones probably don't understand anything.

I give dozens of lectures a year.

I talk about urban development, hotels, and sometimes even complex financing. When I do, there is always a moment when the atmosphere in the room changes during a certain slide.

That is the moment a "scheme diagram" appears on the screen. (laughs)

That single slide filled with boxes and arrows—showing the SPC, the arrows extending from financial institutions, and the agreements signed with local governments. The moment it flashes on the screen, the gentlemen and ladies who were listening with their arms crossed all at once, almost reflexively, reach for their smartphones.

Click. Click-click.

That artificial shutter sound echoes throughout the venue. As if the screen were displaying a magic mallet that could be used starting tomorrow.

I will be blunt: those who take a picture of that slide will never grasp the essence.

First, please forgive me for using harsh words.

Most of the people who are intently taking pictures of that scheme diagram with their smartphones will likely never grasp the essence of management in their entire lives.

This is because there is not a single shred of management contained within that diagram.

What is depicted there is merely the "skeleton." The two-layer structure of the SPC and GK, and the three-stage procurement plan are certainly beautiful in terms of design. I myself spent months with a stomachache putting that diagram together, so it couldn't be anything but beautiful.

However, even if you take that diagram home exactly as it is and copy it in your own town, it will almost certainly not work. I guarantee it.

This is because management is, at the end of the day, a personal endeavor.

My company does not distribute the "blueprints for profit" used in lectures afterward.

Here, I will reveal one of my company's rules, swallowing my pride.

In my company, as a general rule, we do not hand out the types of scheme diagrams used in lectures, even if someone asks for the materials later.

It is not because I am stingy. It is quite the opposite; I know that handing them out does not benefit those people.

Diagrams are terrifying things because they make you feel like you "understand" when you have one in your hand. Just by holding a piece of paper with boxes and arrows neatly arranged, people feel as though they understand the business. And they completely forget the most important question: "Who exactly is going to push which arrow in this diagram through, and with what kind of expression on their face?"

How many financial institution representatives did I have to sit knee-to-knee with, and how many times was I told "it's impossible" just to get that one arrow of funding approved? To sign that one box of an agreement, which official had to stand alone in their office and keep waving the flag?

That is where management lies. The diagram does not capture a single drop of that sweat or that loneliness. That is why I do not hand it out.

So, is this just a matter of grit, telling people to learn by watching others?

If I write it this way, some people will jump to the conclusion that, 'I see, Okazaki is ultimately talking about the old-school craftsman's approach of learning by watching.'