HIDA JOURNAL 2014 SPRING No.4

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No.4 SPRING 2014 11Mr. Athulla R. F. Edirisinghe from Sri Lanka who attended the commemorative lecture of Dr. Yahagi in New Delhi had participated in HIDA’s EPCM in 1990. After returning home, he has grown his company by applying the knowledge he acquired during and outside of the training in Japan to his corporate management on suitable occasions. The effect of human resource development cannot be felt in a short period of time, like in a few years. Various seeds the ex-participants gained from two week training in Japan have a ripple effect and blossom into big flowers many years later. Mr. Edirisinghe contributed an essay about the infl uence of training in Japan on his later life. We would like to introduce you the essay here.A Life Changing ExperienceEx-participant of EPCM in FY1990Mr. Athulla R F EdirisingheInspiration came to me at different stages of my life. Firstly from my parents and as I grew up from my teachers in College. Thereafter from the Jesuit Fathers of the Catholic Community who moulded me at a Jesuit High School. These positive influences laid a value based foundation in me alongside my educational and professional accomplishments. With this formation, after my studies and training I started my life as a career person. This resulted in my becoming a corporate person. I changed my employment twice and finally settled down heading an automobile company in Sri Lanka, marketing as sole agents for four leading automobile franchises.It is during this period in 1990 that I was chosen to take part in the EPCM (Executive Programme in Corporate Management) programme of HIDA (then AOTS) Japan. Today, after more than two decades passing by, it is with deep sense of gratitude that I salute HIDA for selecting me for this programme and giving me a golden opportunity. I am deeply grateful to Mazda Motor Corporation and Sumitomo Corporation of Japan for proposing my candidature and Car Mart Ltd of Sri Lanka for sponsoring me.These two weeks I spent in Japan – changed my life!It was at this EPCM programme that a “whirlwind” of thoughts was virtually born in me.It was here for the fi rst time in my life, that I discovered that there was another side to my life which I did not discover before. My fi rst thoughts were that of utter confusion! I asked many questions from myself. Why am I here? Am I only a corporate person? Can I not be my own boss and create my own business like several Japanese Entrepreneur’s whom I visited in Japan? These were some questions which confused me; challenged me; and eventually became a blessing in my life. This soul searching also showed me that I had something more in me that I have not yet discovered. Thoughts kept on reverberating in me. I recall at the EPCM group we had several participants coming from diverse backgrounds. I have no doubt that they too were challenged by this programme to ask the same questions as I did from myself. Visits to Japanese establishments were selected by HIDA in a most appropriate manner and I recall speaking to those Japanese Entrepreneurs who gave us so much of inspiration and “food for thought”.I started dreaming! Dreaming of many situations. I started dreaming of emulating one of the Japanese Entrepreneurs that I visited in Japan.Though it was over two decades ago, I recall with profound gratitude the manner in which Professor Yahagi got all the participants to dwell deep into Management topics taking us way beyond what we imagined up to that time. His well researched lectures were conducted in a fashion similar to that of a mini MBA.Visits to the Japanese Companies chosen very carefully by HIDA, gave us participants a totally new perspective and paradigm than what I was used to. The thought provoking lectures of professor Yahagi challenged and helped me to think diff erently and brought out some entrepreneurial genes I had in me which were hidden up to that time! With the birth of this new vision as an ex-EPCM participant I returned to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka being a British Colony till we received our independence in the year 1948, the “Top down” approach was something our parents were used to. We too inherited this from our very young days. As I started my own career training in a leading British owned multinational company and my professional studies which had a western influence made me more aligned to the ‘top down’ approach. It was at this EPCM Programme that I had the fi rst opportunity to learn and discuss the benefits of ‘bottom up’ approach as against a top down approach. During our visits to Japanese companies I was able to see the diff erence in this approach and the benefi ts of it fi nally refl ected on its stake holders. I observed the ripple eff ect of this approach in the production environment and eventually in high quality of the products they produced. After having learned, trained and started my career in a totally opposite “top down” environment, it did not take much time for me to understand the difference in the two concepts. I realized that I could achieve better rewards coupled with motivation and commitment, amongst all persons who worked in an organization by deploying a “bottoms up” strategy. Therefore, the day I left Japan after completing the EPCM programme, I vowed to myself that if ever my dreams realize some day, I will utilize this new learning in my own enterprise.After returning to Sri Lanka my dreams never faded. It started lingering in me day in and day out.Finally two years later in 1993, after heeding to my new born passion I was able to set up my first business enterprise, an export company which went in to manufacture and export soft toys. I applied most of what learnt at my EPCM lecture room in this enterprise. Our beginning was small but good. I was able to start off with a Japanese buyer in Osaka. Among what we produced in this new enterprise were mascots of the Hansin Tigers (the renowned Japanese Base ball team) and Kanku Mascot created by Japanese designers for the opening of Kansai International Airport. At the EPCM lecture room and during the visits to Japanese companies, I learnt the stringent and precise quality needs required in the Japanese market. During our visits to Japanese enterprises I realized the importance and seriousness of this commitment that is needed to succeed in the Japanese market. This helped right through our company’s exports not only to Japan but also to United Kingdom and Germany. I attribute our success in fi nding inroads to the most Voice of participants

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