
Contibuting Things of Value while Considering the People Concerned
Hello, I’m Ichiki of Sync Logistics.
Today I’d like to share our company’s efforts in supporting the areas affected by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake, and my thoughts on the concept of contributing things of value which I hold in high regard.
■Our efforts in supporting afflicted areas
Three months have passed since the Noto Peninsula Earthquake. On the day of the earthquake, I saw the news on the internet and out of concern, I immediately contacted one of our employees who is from Nanao City. Fortunately, he was fine, but I found out that Wajima and Nanao were severely damaged. After confirming the safety of our employees, during a management meeting at the beginning of the year, we talked about how our company can help.
I left the specifics to a working group, and it was decided that we will initially donate 3 million yen to Nanao City in January. We also planned to donate 5 pickup trucks to the Japan Car Sharing Association in the near future.
When we were discussing ways to help afflicted areas, there were a variety of opinions such as “Let’s send money,” “We should send supplies they need,” “Let’s listen first to what they have to say,” “They would appreciate hot food,” “I want to go there right now and volunteer,” and “You’ll just hinder relief efforts so you shouldn’t go.”
I believe a person’s nature emerges when that person thinks about helping people in need or contributing to society. Because there is no single, correct answer on how to contribute things of value, it is but natural that there are different approaches, as it should be. I think it’s important to value each and every person’s desire to contribute and offer support.
■ My commitment to contributing things of value
Many things happen in our lives, and when something that is no one’s fault such as a natural disaster affects people, the desire to contribute surges in me. Especially in this earthquake, the affected area is my employee’s hometown, and I myself have been to Nanao Port many times, working with ships there, so I really wanted to help people in a place I feel connected to.
When the Great East Japan Earthquake struck in 2011, I wasn’t able to do anything. I was a new graduate whose offer for a job at a company was rescinded, and all I could think about was myself. But now, I am somehow the president and CEO of a company with 50 employees, and I now have the power to help people in need, even just a little. This is why I am committed to contributing things of value that I can offer.
■ Instead of being a passive onlooker, think for yourself and act
I believe the ability to think about and execute what you can contribute for others is fundamentally cultivated through work. That’s because it’s precisely work in itself that’s contributing things of value. Your work and the services you create help others, you are thanked, and you are compensated. These make work worth doing and for me, enjoyable.
To taste the true joy of work, I believe it is important to treat difficult situations right in front of us as our own, instead of being passive onlookers. We should have the mindset of contributing things of value, and then act. I hope to have as many employees with this way of thinking as possible.
Through our company’s contributions to the Noto Peninsula Earthquake’s relief efforts, as a company executive and as a human being, I am renewing my commitment to contributing things of value.
Thank you for your time.