I am Yoshida, president of Yamada Shusei Ltd., a professional apparel garment repair group in Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture.
Needless to say, business succession is a time-consuming process. It is said that it takes about 5-10 years to train a successor and coordinate with related parties, and although it may vary from person to person, it is said that it is advisable to start preparations as soon as you pass the age of 60.
In my case, I became a manager at the age of 55, which is not an early start. In fact, it is probably too late...
First of all, my mind is always very busy because I have to shift my movements according to my position and role as a manager while at the same time preparing to pass the baton to the next generation. In addition, I also need to consider my post-retirement life plan...
There are so many issues that I panic when I think about them only in my head, but I spend my days thinking from the other person's point of view, recording the process, and taking one step at a time from what I can do on my feet while looking far into the future.
The late start of management has the advantage of giving me a real sense of both the person taking over and the person being taken over.
I try to steadily record my questions and problems every day and take action to improve. The tools I utilize for recording and improving my actions are my "blog" and "journal.
