Tea Ceremony and Business
Konosuke Matsushita, the founder of Panasonic, famously performed the tea ceremony almost on a daily basis. He attributed much of his success to the discipline, focus, and respect for tradition that are part of the tea ceremony ritual. Japan, home to some of the world’s oldest companies—many over a thousand years old—embodies these timeless principles. We propose that the following aspects of Japanese tea ceremony constitute as important lessons for business practitioners:
1-Kanpeki: Perfection in mastery. In Japan we believe one should not serve a product or service if he/she is not proud of it. The only way to be perfect is to practice. Perfection can be reached after countless performances and one should do everything possible to be perfect at what he/she is trying to do.
While the Western culture emphasizes the importance of progress, Japanese culture focuses on the importance of perfection and mastery.
2-Jo-ha-kyu: Slow start-then acceleration. Just like many Japanese movies, the tea ceremony also follows the jo ha kyu routine where the preparations take time in a quiet atmosphere while drinking the tea in 3 sips and passing back the bow is rather fast.
3- Kizukai: Mindfulness of others. The guest makes the slurping sound after finishing the tea to show appreciation. The server feels happy and relaxed by serving others and making sure others are satisfied.
4- Gaman: Tolerate. The host and the guests must wait for their turns to enjoy the tea. Participants must sit on their knees firmly bent on the hard floor.
5- Chinmoku: Silence. In many cultures it may be considered a bit strange if adults come together and drink tea in a quiet small room. In Japan, silence is perfectly normal and should be cherished. The true meaning of things are usually hidden in words that are not spoken.
6- Ishin-denshin: Communication from heart-to-heart. Japanese people can sense the needs and thoughts of others after spending time with them. Similarly, during the tea ceremony there is little eye contact between the parties as communication is from heart to heart.
7- Wa: Harmony. Wa is hte most important thing in Japan. Remember even the kanji character of Japanese (和 wa) is the same with the kanji character of harmony (和 wa). In Japan harmony with low performance is preferred over conflict with high performance.
8- Kei: Respect: “During the tea ceremony the guest must fully realize the pains taken by the host, to give him as little trouble as possible. The ideal relation between them is a mutual understanding and appreciation that needs no words to express.” No perceived respect = no trust.
9- Jaku: Tranquilty. Respect and harmony will breed peacefulness. Only then people will avoid competing and look for ways to collaborate even with competitors. (tea ceremony used to be held among the competing samurais who used to be!!!)
10- Geido: Everything must follow a rule. When boiling and serving the tea, one does not necessarily take the easiest and most practical way. In the tea ceremony, nothing is a detail, nothing is unimportant, nothing is nuisance.
