Partner Who Covers Your Blind Spot

“Partnering with Someone Who Can Compensate for Your Weaknesses Chef: “The restaurant is so busy, why isn’t it more profitable?” Accountant: “Of course. With so much spent on labor and purchasing costs, no profit remains.” Chef: “That’s easy to say, but purchasing also costs money, and we need people to run the restaurant.” Around 1994, when we moved to the slightly larger “Toshi’s Sushiya,” we often had such conversations. The chef was me (Toshio), and the accountant was Keiko. At that time, we would tally up sales at the end of each month and combine expenses every three months to create a profit and loss statement. Toshi’s Sushiya was fortunate in terms of the economy and customers, and was so prosperous that lines formed every day. However, it was hard for profits to accumulate.”

“There might be “supermen” who can do everything on their own, but that’s not the case for most people. How important it is to have partners with different perspectives and experiences—this is an important lesson we’ve learned from experience.”