LEADERSHIP CORNER
Japanese Chamber president want to expand beyond Hawai'i
Interviewed by Debbie Sokei
Advertiser Staff Writer
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Age: 59
Title: President
Organization: The Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce, which promotes business and economic opportunities for its members in Japan.
High School: Mid-Pacific Institute
College: University of Hawai'i-Manoa
Breakthrough job: "It was when I was the director of the Office of Community Services at Kapiolani Community College from 1987 to 1992. I had to operate that branch of the college as if it was a small business. We had to generate our own funding to pay for our salaries, furniture and supplies. It gave me a better understanding of the challenges small companies go through when they have to generate clients, provide a service and retain customers."
Little-known fact: "I'm such a couch potato that people don't know I held the 50-yard-dash record at Mid-Pacific Institute. This was before Title IX, when girls like me had some abilities but weren't encouraged to develop them.
Also, I love the Christmas holidays. I have six Christmas trees in my house and I decorate them with different themes every year. I also have 12 Christmas parties at my home and invite all the different people whom I've worked with at my various jobs. I even have a party for my elementary school classmates."
Life-changing experience: "It was when I was sent to Mid-Pacific Institute when I was 14. I went from what was a rural community on Moloka'i to the urban center of Hawai'i. I lived in a dormitory/ boarding school where I had to take care of all of my needs. I did my own laundry, cleaned my room and made my own doctor's appointments. I had to be responsible from a very young age. At that time, I had to do a complete mind shift, and my view on the world changed. By the time I graduated, I knew I could take care of myself."
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Q. Most of your members are Japanese Americans, but the chamber also accepts other ethnic groups. What distinguishes the Japanese Chamber from the other chambers?
A. The reality is this is a multiethnic organization where both genders are welcomed. What differentiates us from the other chambers is our focus is on Japan and doing business with Japanese business communities on the Mainland, South America and Australia. Our ethnic heritage allows us to be a bridge between Hawai'i and these businesses, whereas the Chinese Chamber of Commerce has their connection to China; the Vietnamese-American Chamber of Commerce has their connection to Vietnam. (For example,) we will be going to Hiroshima and will match business people from Hawai'i with similar businesses there in retail, biotech, accounting, law and freight forwarding.
Q. Where does the Japanese Chamber get its funding?
A. We get our funding from our membership dues. We also do a number of fund-raising events and have some sponsors. We have a $300,000 operating budget, and I would like to see that grow. We can do that by increasing our membership.
Q. When you applied for your position, knowing you'd be the first woman president to the Japanese Chamber, did you think you'd get it?
A. No. I wasn't sure if a female would be accepted as president. I was extremely pleased when they gave me this job. I thought if they were open to the idea to hire a female, then this is where I would love to work. It also showed me this is a progressive organization and willing to take some risk.
Q. Every four or five years, you've changed jobs, including deputy director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism and provost for Leeward Community College. Why so many changes?
A. I'll share with you a funny story. My father, who worked for the plantation for over 40 years, thought I was highly unstable because I moved jobs every four or five years. For him, when you get a job, you stay with it for life. But I love new challenges, experiences and opportunities. I love building organizations and working together with people to accomplish that goal. That excites me. Once we have achieved our goals, then I'll move on and work for another organization.
Q. What are your plans for the chamber?
A. I want to build on what my predecessors have done. I'd like to focus on opportunities that lie beyond the borders of our state. I would love to do business in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Brazil, Argentina and Peru. There are other areas in Japan we may want to explore. We also want to increase our membership. We have 650 members and we want to increase it to 1,000 members in the next three years. This is not to say that all of the new members will be young. We also want a diverse group of individuals and ethnic groups.
Q. In your previous job as deputy director for the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, you had a large staff and a bigger budget. Was the transition to working for a smaller organization with four employees difficult?
A. It was a natural transition. At DBEDT, we're looking at the macro level of industries in Hawai'i and sectors within those industries like technology, agriculture and tourism. Here, I'm looking at the micro level — actual businesses in those sectors. I don't see it any more challenging to run a small operation than a large operation. You have your duties and responsibilities, mission and goals. Whether you have a large staff or a small staff, the activities are similar. You just do it on a different scale. Here, I'm answering the phones and I wash the coffee pot at night before I leave work.
Q. With only four employees, how do you motivate them?
A. By trusting them, giving them responsibilities, assisting them when they need help, praise them when they do good work and encourage them to grow on the job. I try to help them understand the mission of the organization and what their roles are to promote that mission.
I also try to lead by example, because no one likes to get lectured. I want to hold in-house retreats and talk about our different values so we can better understand each other.
Q. Could you describe your management style?
A. My approach to management is to empower people, provide them the tools for decision-making. I don't believe in micromanaging. I believe in assigning things and seeing that it gets done. I let people run with their ideas. Depending on the employee's skills, abilities and work style, I try to adapt to the individual. But I'm also the kind of manager that will roll up my sleeves and help out. I like to approach projects from a team perspective, and I'll assume some of the duties and responsibilities. I think my team approach goes back to my upbringing on Moloka'i. I grew up where boys and girls played together. It was never about gender; it was about ability. We made decisions as a group. Growing up in that kind of environment led me to my sense of egalitarianism, fairness and gender equity.
