1. Almost 60% of the world’s oldest companies over 200 years are in Japan.
2. Some 33000 companies in Japan have been running for over 100 years.
3. 600 Japanese companies are 300, 190 are 400 and 40 are 500 years old.
4. Famous brands like Nintendo and Suntory have been on since the 1800s.
5. In contrast, Western companies, broadly, appear to be a lot less enduring.
6. Like only 14% of Fortune 500 companies from the 1950s survive today.
7. Difference between Western and Japanese approaches: short vs. long lens.
8. The Japanese orientation to the long view is rooted on several cultural factors.
9. Japan's long been an island with limited interaction and reliance on foreign stuff.
10. So they're predisposed to preservation; to make the most of what's there, for as long.
11. Japan's shown an unusual appreciation for tradition, mastery, artistry and aesthetics.
12. So they revere their craftspeople; some spend entires lives perfecting specific crafts.
13. Japan's ancestry ethos feeds the intention of moving companies onto their descendants.
14. So much that some companies adopt workers into family bloodlines to ensure succession.
15. Japan's ability to manage technological progress is done so whilst retaining competencies.
16. Like Nintendo went from cards to electronics giant by retaining competency on creating fun.
17. Japan's reverence to service/hospitality means anticipating and delivering on needs is principle.
18. So they apply omotenashi—performance without expecting anything in return—to experiences.
19. All added up, Japanese companies endure because they put sustainability before quick profiting.