Business Lessons From a Geisha
On my recent trip to Japan with my sisters, I spent an evening with a Geisha. We shared a delicious Japanese meal, then ended the night in a karaoke bar. It was one of the most interesting experiences I've ever had.
I came away curious about why the tradition exists at all. The word Geisha means "person of the arts." The profession grew out of teahouses in Edo-period Japan (1603 to 1868), and its job was to host guests with dance, music, tea and conversation, and to keep those traditional arts alive. In Kyoto a Geisha is called a Geiko. Becoming one takes years. It starts as a Maiko, an apprentice who learns by watching an experienced Geiko and being guided by a senior until she earns her place.
I was impressed by the discipline and dedication a Geisha brings to her craft. Learning the philosophies behind it gave me ideas I now apply to running my business.
Shokunin: mastering the craft
The dedication to mastering a craft, and the standard our clients can expect. The knowledge lives in the process, not in one person's head.
Omotenashi: help before you're asked
Hospitality that sees what you need before you ask. In bookkeeping, that is where I find AI useful. I don't want it replacing the thinking. I like it for the watching:
Noticing the transaction that looks wrong
Handling routine categorization
Reminding people about what they forgot
That leaves me more time for the parts that need a person.
Poka-yoke: design out the mistake
Designing a process so mistakes are hard to make in the first place. For books, that means a clean flow:
Invoices captured once
Coded once
Approved by the right person
A record of who did what
Reconciliation as the check
AI on top of messy books just gets you messy answers faster, so I fix the flow first.
Kaizen: small improvements, steadily
This is how I get there. One system at a time, implemented properly and built into the workflow. Before long, the whole accounting function runs differently.
Anshin: peace of mind
Anshin is the Japanese word for peace of mind, and it is what I want every client to feel. They open their reports, everything matches the bank, and they never have to think about what happened behind the scenes. That ease comes from great systems and from a bookkeeper who continues mastering their craft.
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