F oreign language lesson: the Japanese word for spinach is hourensou. It is also a term that describes a Japanese corporate philosophy towards both internal communication and improvement of products or services. The term takes the first character of three different words: hou-koku, ren-raku, and sou-dan. These three translate as “reporting,” “informing,” and “consulting,” respectively. The executives who coined the term pointed out that just as spinach made the fictional character Popeye strong, hourensou also makes a business strong.
With that in mind, what does it actually mean as a philosophy in business and what can it contribute to the success of a small entrepreneurial venture?
At its core, it is about communicating with those who need to know how things are going, giving those people updates and reports on progress. At the same time, it also requires that the person remain open to any feedback or advice that may come their way, whether from a peer or from a more experienced senior within the company. This is applied to virtually anything that the business does, from developing an entirely new product line to choosing whether or not to allot capital to acquire Orlando corporate housing. In Japan, this tends to lead to quite a bit of organizational ambiguity, as many in middle management and functional roles don’t have clear job descriptions that divide people along departmental lines.
For a small business, which likely doesn’t have enough people to even have departments, the application of “spinach” could be a positive move. Being able to communicate effectively at any level of operations is essential, because no one man – even the best of entrepreneurs – can handle everything by themselves. As people report on their progress or on what they’re doing, they are also getting feedback and incorporating what is good into the final product. The result is a clear team effort, often superior to something only worked on by one person.
Note that this does not mean a boss should micro-manage, even if it sounds like it. Micro-management tends to be more focused on smothering the team and telling them how to do every little step of the process. With “spinach,” the team makes its own decisions and decides how to carry them out on its own, but is bolstered by feedback and advice from others who may see something they don’t. Micro-management is about taking fine control over details best left alone, while hourensou focuses more on open communication and a strong team effort.
