HORENSO - The Secret Recipe of Effective Communication

The secret to leading a positive life depends on who you are surrounded by. So I am back again with my new blog. Today I will be sharing with you all what I attained during my 3 days class on HORENSO – a complex word for me to even pronounce then. So the words which I will be putting in my blog will be my own experience and it’s copyrightJ. The word as it goes by is a Japanese practice of maintaining discipline and staying organized keeping in mind the cost, quality and efficiency factor while working in an organization. The word HORENSO is formed from 3 Japanese words itself namely – ‘Ho”, “Ren” & “So”. From “Ho” we get the word “Hokoku” which means transparency at work, from “Ren” we get the term “Renraku” meaning sharing information/knowledge, teamwork and from “So” we get the word “Sodan” which means consultation and trust. These words are related to each other and have their own set of principles.

I am pretty sure most of you all who will be reading my blog would have gone through a phase when you didn’t know but yet you did not want to accept. Have you ever thought why Japanese are successful? They are superior in everything starting from technology to where we stand today. It is because of the fact that they are involved in the activity and not just participate in the activity. It’s always ok to admit “I don’t know but I will find out”. Our brain is like a bottle. When the bottle is full it is equivalent to filing our brain with information. If the bottle is kept filling with water then it will just be overflowing. Same way, accumulating too much knowledge and information beyond the capacity of the brain is also not good. So the water in the bottle will have to be poured out before pouring in another quantity of water. In the same way for us humans, knowledge can be optimized by sharing information and thus creating a space for new ideas/information to be filled in. This process gets followed throughout the life so that’s why we LEARN – from the information we get from others, UNLEARN – by sharing what you have learnt and RE-LEARN – with a willingness or hunger for more knowledge. So in my following paragraphs I will summarize about the 3 different words and its principles namely Hokoku, Renraku and Sodan. I am really not going to write much because I personally feel this is something which needs to be practiced more and then feel the difference.

So the first journey in Horenso is “Hokoku” which is an interaction between a boss and the subordinate. Its principle tells us that when there is a verbal communication, it should always be two ways between the boss and the subordinate. It’s true if we analyze this line because maximum percentage of the employees hesitates to ask or discuss with their bosses and this only leads to half of the information being conveyed. News when it is being shared, we, the humans have the tendency to wanting to always hear good news and we don’t want to listen to bad news. Often we tend to ignore the bad news but when actually good news is just for celebration whereas bad news calls to take action on issues which could hamper the progress of an organization. So the lesson also says to us to report bad news first and then good news accordingly. Reports are very important in the sense that it gives a real picture scenario to a person who is looking at an issue for the first time. If we are not able to give a clear picture of the issue then it mostly leads to the person sitting on the other side not taking much interest in it because he won’t be able to understand much on it. Being not able to explain the issue well to the person sitting on the other side of the table just leads to no solution turning up. So that is why whenever we are preparing a report or if we want to put up a good report then three facts should always be the content of the report namely facts, backgrounds and your own opinion on the issue. Just because I say that these three ingredients got to be there in the report does not mean that you go on writing. You’ve also got to make sure that the report is precise, concise, timely and accurate. I bet nobody wants to go about reading a report which just talks bluffs, out of topic, too lengthy. So make sure you follow these points when making a good report. Then the other thing which is noticed is paying attention. Definitely we are not small kids to be fidgeting around. We got to listen actively and carefully what our seniors, superiors or bosses are speaking to us. And also along with active listening we should make it a point to write down and take notes on what is being discussed so that later we are not filled with questions as to what the boss just talked about. The superior and subordinate should also realize that unlike a game, Horenso deals with team effort. No one can win by making the others loose. Only by working together, understanding and learning how to adjust yourself to the situation can your organization reach excellence. It so happens that once after submitting the report we tend to have the view that our part has been done. But this is just the initial stage whereby further editing of the report is required. So this editing process of the report will continue for a while up until the report is full and finalized.

Then the second journey towards Horenso is “Renraku”. Its principle says that never ever be selfish or greedy or small minded when it comes to information sharing. I personally feel from my experience and speak here that maximum people in the office are filled with such kind of people. While there are some people who are ever ready to share information but in today’s time we see maximum people who are filled with egoism and enjoys the fact of looking down upon subordinates. An output is never obtained by a single individual but it’s the collective effort from all the members of the group that makes the outcome fruitful. Saying these lines I know it might be easy for me to pour down these words as a blogger but Horenso also says that if there are people in the organization who are self obsessed, discourages, misguides and tend to show off and look down on others who don’t have much knowledge then this practice also says “Learn to love negative people from a distance”. So whenever a task is being assigned it’s always a positive way to work as a team and give credit to each and every member of the team. In this way they will be motivated to work further with efficiency.

The third and the last journey is “Sodan” which speaks about consulting with each other, a third party also if required. When a task is being assigned it is not necessary that the team leader has to know everything. We need to know just three words “Who knows what” and that is how the task will be assigned to the different members of the team. Everyone is capable in their own field and recognizing that is important. Solving the task is important but more important than this is the completion by the deadline. There are people we come across in our everyday life who tend to have the feeling that people should come to him/her to discuss. Why not it be the other way? I think that’s rare. So that’s why there is this term called Group Discussion where every member gets a chance to speak across the table and share their views. I think this is very important for the success of an organization. Sometimes it so happens that the members in the group might not know about some part of the task. In this case then it’s totally fine and can prove beneficial if a third party can be consulted. The views given by a third party can always work out. That’s why the habit of asking and trying should always be there. The owner of the Alibaba Group Mr. Jack Ma has rightly said about how to live our lives. I once watched his video somewhere in a social page so am not able to recollect much. He says that when we are in our 20s its okay to fall down and make mistakes. When we are in our 30s we should try to get hold of a good mentor, gaining experience working in any firms. He specifically says that it’s an advantage of working in a small firm but with a good mentor because in that way you will be able to learn more and vast. We can explore ideas and all. When we are in our 40s, I think we should forget about trying to upgrade our knowledge and rather focus on what to make use of the knowledge and the experience which is there with us up until now. We should try to get some business tactics in the mind, try to work it out and here you can bring the young generation in role. You listen to them because they are equipped with the latest technologies and with young blood. Their latest ideas along with your work experience can prove to work out best for what you have planned. And then in 50s its time to relax, right? So what he says does make sense to a lot of extent. We might have obtained knowledge through an excellent qualification but there has to be always a balance of knowledge and experience. And that’s why it’s important to listen, confirm and compile.

Though I completed this training a while back but the information shared along the Horenso journey is still fresh in my mind. Personally speaking, be it anything, any work the first thing which comes in my mind is Horenso and how I will be applying the concept of Horenso in the work. This has been going on for a while after I finished the short course. This practice can also be applied to at home amongst family members. I could keep writing here more and more and want to explain to you guys in details but it is better to try this journey yourselves when you get the time and opportunity. No one has time to sit down and read the full story. So that’s why I have written about it in brief here and hopefully it will be able to bring out the basic concept behind this journey. I completed the Level 1 course. I believe there are different levels in this practice. You can also Google and YouTube about this practice. I know and am sure that most of us have left the booklet on Horenso somewhere in the dark cupboard by now and must be lying there un-noticed when someday again you might get hold of it and may be able to recollect what was taught.