When it came to talking people into things, you first made alarming claims, then played on their fears. If you could quote some famous person and make it sound profound even if they did not understand it, then mix nine truths with one lie, you were basically set:
"Ms. Hiratsuka, Napoleon once said that a soldier who does not want to become a general is not a good soldier. However, how could a soldier who had spent his whole life as a soldier suddenly become a general? Forget becoming a general—even becoming a squad leader required a soldier to possess extensive knowledge and experience. Perhaps during wartime, soldiers could climb from the bottom to high positions through military merit...
But if they were not blessed by circumstance, then in peacetime, where would ordinary soldiers find so much merit to rely on to become generals? The market in this country has long been far removed from war. Calling it stagnant water would not be an exaggeration. Such an environment is like peacetime for corporate workers...
A corporate worker who does not want to become a CEO is not a good corporate worker. Yet in today's stagnant workplace, the only way to rise was to endure long enough to build seniority. Besides, how many people could master their work the moment they got promoted? Going from an ordinary employee to a team leader required time to learn and adjust, let alone going from an ordinary employee to CEO?
Taihei said he did not want to rely on his family and wanted to support himself, but had he considered what would happen even if he rose to the position of manager? If his old man had some accident and needed him to step up, could he, having done nothing but muddle through at