The Work Ethic

Most books about work on the market deal in techniques: how to improve efficiency, how to manage time, how to manage upward. Kazuo Inamori's The Work Ethic takes a different path, directly answering a more fundamental question: what does work actually mean to you? The author sees work as "a discipline for elevating the spirit and refining character," not a means of making a living, still less a drudgery to be endured. In six chapters the book sets out, in turn, the meaning of work, how to come to love one's work, how to set high goals, how to persist, how to pursue perfection, and how to innovate; each chapter is built from short entries grounded in concrete experience, so it never feels empty. The most powerful element is the equation at the end: the result of life and work equals way of thinking multiplied by passion multiplied by ability. It uses multiplication rather than addition because the way of thinking can be negative: if the direction is wrong, the greater the ability, the worse the result. This equation alone shows that the book is not a set of inspirational slogans but a standard of self-discipline. Cao Xiuyun's translation is plain and fluent, preserving the feel of Inamori's spoken lectures. It is suitable reading during career slumps and transitions, and for managers who want to compare it with their own way of leading a team.