Unexpected business trip to Europe – 10

We faced several challenges during the stand preparations for the EMV (Electromagnetic Compatibility exhibition and conference) int’l trade exhibition in Cologne, Germany.
As a result, however, we were fortunate to welcome lots of visitors from all over the world to our stand.

Sonora needed to raise its profile locally in order to expand into Europe. While I was in the stand during the exhibition, several representatives from local subsidiaries of major Japanese companies offered words of encouragement.

Furthermore, the branch manager from the trading company, who has always been extremely helpful, also took time out of his busy schedule to visit our stand.

On the final day of our business trip, when our train to the airport was cancelled due to a strike, he generously offered to drive us to Frankfurt International Airport. Without his support, we wouldn’t have made it.

This “unexpected business trip to Europe” prompted us to start planning how to establish the Sonora’s outer branding and our products on a global scale. This helped us to develop a clear vision of the milestones we needed to reach to achieve our objectives.

During this business trip, we encountered various problems, the most serious of which was the loss of the senior sales manager, Mr. K’s laptop<Unexpected business trip to Europe #7 ｜ Sonora Technology>.

Driven by my determination to “absolutely get it back to Japan”, I finally found it at Vienna Airport. Although there were some shipping costs, his laptop was flown back to Japan on the same day that we boarded our return flight, and was safely returned to Mr. K.

Unfounded confidence can sometimes be valuable when it comes to executing business plans.

In today’s world, where everything is systematized, we tend to become overly reliant on following manuals to the letter.

Take management theory, for example. Can every company really achieve decades of consecutive revenue and profit growth simply by acting on theories learned from textbooks?

Observing founders who have forged their own paths makes me realize that the drive for action born of transcendent thinking surpasses mere theory. Wherever a path exists, they forge ahead with single-minded determination. As Konosuke Matsushita, the founder of Panasonic, known as Japan’s “god of management”, said, founders know that they must forge their own unique path. They advance step by step without hesitation, making swift decisions as they go.

I titled this series of articles an “Unexpected business trip to Europe”. However, I now realize that everything that happened unexpectedly there was meant to happen.

Rather than being a series of setbacks, it provided an opportunity to develop the skills needed to overcome them.

I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to the Founder & Chairman of Sonora Technology, who always offered precise and insightful advice whenever I was upset at the onset of trouble, despite the eight-hour time difference.

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