A Man Takes on a $100 Billion Conglomerate
In the late 1970s with the support of the Swedish and Japanese governments a Swedish builder of pre-fab houses entered into a joint venture with three Japanese companies to erect a Swedish village in Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan. The Swedish builder invested over seven years of his creative energy, time, and money, and that of his workmen and consulting architects, in devising a unique proprietary system for the design and construction of the buildings. Following the Swedish custom, he welcomed his Japanese partners into his home, introducing them to his wife and children. When the system was complete, one of the Japanese partners obtained an essential certification from the Japanese Ministry of Construction, based on the Swedish system, which permitted the marketing and sale of the buildings in Japan. However, no sooner was this certification within their grasp, the Japanese partners disavowed their promises to the Swedish builder, appropriated his drawings and know-how for their own use, and began to deal with rival suppliers, all in violation of their contract. This caused the builder great financial hardship and ultimately led to the bankruptcy of his subsidiary factory, which he had purchased to supply houses for the joint venture.
When I first met him the Swedish builder had lost hope. But he was a man of character and resolved to fight. Since then he has obtained two Swedish court decisions confirming the violation of his company's copyrights. He has launched a criminal investigation with the Swedish police. He has prevailed upon a member of the Japanese parliament (Diet) to begin a formal inquiry. And he has obtained a confession from the Ministry of Construction that it failed to test over 600 houses supplied by the rival Swedish company for their ability to withstand earthquakes, which is a matter of grave concern in Japan today given the 1995 Kobe/Osaka earthquakes in which 5,000 people have died and over 25,000 people have been injured.
What are some of the keys to the progress the builder has made to date and how do they relate to the principle of compensation?
Our first task in working together was for the builder to surrender his sense of victimization. There were reasons for his predicament. He had been too trusting, too open. In his hopes for the venture, he had not seen clearly with whom he was dealing and he had paid dearly for his innocence. Coming to grips with the realities of the situation and his contribution to his own predicament helped the builder greatly in planning a fresh course of action.
The first thing we did was to put in place a mission of service. The builder's own predicament was personal. Few people would care about one more business failure. But if there were a way to transform his personal losses into a benefit for other people in business who were facing similar difficulties, his personal plight could acquire force and power. That is what he did. He resolved to dedicate himself to helping others in Sweden avoid the same misfortune. He began giving lectures and seminars and granted interviews, all with the objective to helping others see how to deal more effectively with unscrupulous people.
He put aside grand notions of victory which for the moment appeared beyond his grasp and he focused intensively instead on the specific task before him. And as he performed these tasks according to his mission, winning some and losing others, he began to regain his sense of direction, dignity, and effectiveness.
The builder has not yet recovered his personal fortunes and although this remains an important goal, it is no longer everything. He has drawn dividends from the little victories along the way -- from the joys of persuading people to join his cause through countless meetings, phone calls, public presentations, and with these joys has come a sense of deep satisfaction. He is carrying out his mission with integrity as he observes the important changes that his case has stimulated in thinking at the highest levels of Swedish business, government, and society. He is a wiser and richer man for all the losses he has endured.
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