Note: "Six Refinements" is a business philosophy distilled by Mr. Kazuo Inamori, the sage of Japanese management, from the operational journeys of Kyocera and KDDI, combined with the fine traditions of Chinese culture.
It has been several years since Gaopeng employees were first introduced to Inamori's philosophy. We continue to study and practice the Six Refinements day after day because, with full conviction, we firmly believe these six principles are the fundamental conditions for business management, as well as the character traits employees must possess to live a wonderful life.
Exerting efforts second to none is the first of the Six Refinements. It can be said that all success depends on this. A person can accomplish one seemingly impossible feat after another only through sustained effort. For ordinary employees, making one more sales call a day, visiting two more companies a week, and setting monthly sales targets a bit higher are all practices of exerting efforts second to none.
Of course, even after achieving phased success, we must always remember the second refinement: "Be humble, not proud." "Complacency invites loss, while modesty brings benefit" is a maxim full of wisdom, because truly successful people, despite their fiery passion and fighting spirit, are also humble and prudent.
The third refinement is "Reflect on yourself every day," which is actually a daily requirement for Gaopeng employees. No matter how high a person reaches, if they do not learn to look back, they are prone to making mistakes without realizing it. Therefore, Gaopeng encourages employees to take time each day to review and reflect on their work, summarize the day's mistakes and growth, correct errors in a timely manner, and strive for continuous improvement.
To live is to be grateful. We should be grateful for everything around us, because as members of society, we cannot survive independently. We are grateful for the happiness that favorable circumstances bring us, and also for the transformation and growth that adversity fosters. This is the fourth refinement.
Our gratitude must not remain only in words; we need to put it into practice. This leads to the fifth refinement: "Accumulate good deeds; think of benefiting others." Friends familiar with Gaopeng know that the very first principle of Gaopeng's business philosophy is "altruism," which originates exactly from this. An enterprise that consistently seeks to serve customers and empower society can develop over the long term. Because we sincerely harbor goodwill, we attract more and more like-minded partners and accumulate more and more "good fortune."
The last refinement is not to have sentimental worries. Emotional distress often brings negative moods, and in such a state, it is difficult to solve problems well. In fact, being controlled by emotions may even lead to irreparable actions. So how can we achieve this? Actually, once we truly practice the first five refinements, our willpower and perspective will be elevated, and sentimental worries will consequently diminish.
Finally, we sincerely recommend this book to everyone. No matter what stage of life or career you are at, these six principles—simple as they seem, yet profound and practical—will offer you valuable insights. The people at Gaopeng will continue to study and put them into practice on the path of lifelong learning.
