Foundation backs positive feedback at school, work

Vision and background

‘Through Ho-Me-I-Ku, I would like to nurture children who can contribute to society.’

According to Hara, the major vision of Ho-Me-I-Ku is to “incorporate the method in the education policy of the people on earth.”

“I would like to teach the Ho-Me-I-Ku method to people with jobs related to child-rearing. Through Ho-Me-I-Ku, I would like to nurture children who can contribute to society,” said Hara.

Hara was born into a Christian family in Hyogo Prefecture, where many of his ancestors and family members have run various businesses. “If you go to a church, you will notice that what people say to each other is basically words of praise and goodness,” said Hara.

Ho-Me-I-Ku can also be read as Home-Iku, a combination of the English word “home” and the Japanese word “iku,” which means “to go.”

“Together it means ‘to go home.’ It fits perfectly with the message that my parents, Michihiko and Motoko, have passed to me over the years; value your family,” Hara said. “Good family relationships are always the key to the healthy growth of children,” he added.

Hara strongly believes that it is the trust and confidence that his parents have had for him and their words of praise and encouragement that made him what he is today.

His grandfather on his maternal side was a scientist. “Everyone is valuable” was his belief. “He gave the credit he received for his achievements to his subordinates to give them an advantage in their careers,” Hara said. “So the spirit of dedication runs in the family. I feel that I received the baton, and now it is my turn.”

Negative to positive

However, Hara was the same as most new recruits when he entered the workforce after graduating from university. As a new sales representative, he was scolded every day for the first two years about his manners and behavior.

The culture of being hard on newcomers continued in his second workplace. After he became a top salesperson at the first company he worked for, he became a consultant at a major consulting firm, but was struggling to accomplish anything.
He thought that he needed to have a field in which he could be No. 1.

To experience something that other consultants had not experienced and to have a specific area of expertise, he decided to dive into an entirely different field — working at a ramen shop. The owner and other staff members scolded him while he got used to the job. He did the same to his workers when he became the manager of a branch.

“I had no doubt that being harsh was the right way to train my staff, for the sake of our customers and for the sales of the shop,” said Hara. However, scolding did not do any good. His employees left one after another, making him frustrated and upset. Then, one day, one of the workers asked him who he thought the MVP of the month was.

“I was stuck for an answer, because I was always looking for faults. There was no MVP from my perspective. But then, I remembered that my parents raised me with a lot of praise, which helped me nurture my self-esteem and allowed me to try new things with confidence,” Hara said.

He started to praise his workers. “At a monthly meeting, I praised each person for their specific action that lead to a sales increase,” he said.

Hara also focused on the larger picture instead of exclusively favoring an employee’s results or their process. He praised the process that led to the desired outcome. As a result of this shift, sales improved and turnover decreased.

Creation and application

Hara tried to systematize the method of praising, convinced that this experience could help many people. “We need to see the virtues and we need to make the standard for praising. Praise five good points and scold once. Here, scolding means having an expectation,” he said.

He explained why the standard is necessary and how it should be determined: “In education, you need a policy about who you want your students to be. In business, you also need a policy to realize your mission and philosophy. To act in line with the policy, you need to set a certain standard to follow.”

A standard is a collection of clearly defined things on a checklist that one is expected to fulfill to achieve the collective goal of the organization. It should be designed in a way that helps evaluate a person’s performance and clarify what exactly is worth praising.

He went on to point out that the standards naturally vary depending on the type of organization — whether it is an educational institute or a company — and the level of each person. For example, in the case of a company, new recruits and board members should have different standards because their responsibilities and expectations differ.

“Also, each company should have a customized standard that matches its policy and philosophy. Make sure that you praise the actions that are in line with the standard to ensure the growth of the company,” Hara said.

From Japan to the world

‘I remembered that my parents raised me with a lot of praise, which helped me nurture my self-esteem and allowed me to try new things with confidence.’

In 2016, Hara traveled to Cambodia with a friend and saw children being born and dying young at a dump site. “I was shocked to know that there are such children; I decided to join a donation project to build a school in Cambodia,” he said. The opening ceremony for the school was held in August 2017.

He had originally been interested in working on a global stage since he spent some of his time during college in Montebello, California, as an exchange student, but this experience in Cambodia fueled his passion to reach out to the world.

So far, the Ho-Me-I-Ku Foundation has conducted lectures and workshops in more than 10 countries and regions, including Australia, China, India, Israel, Malaysia, Norway, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

He explained that it is important to learn the background and the situation of each country to customize the standard of Ho-Me-I-Ku in a suitable way. “Each country is different, so the standard should also be designed differently.

For example, praise seems to be part of the educational process in Australia already, but self-affirmation should not be baseless, he said. “Singapore excels in diligence but the suicide rate is high. China places importance on manner and order, but those who are not good at it tend to hop between jobs. I take these things into consideration when I propose the standard for each country’s case.”

In November, Hara attended the World Innovation Summit for Education 2019, an annual international conference dedicated to education, in Qatar.

“It was such a fruitful experience to talk about the future of education with educators from around the world,” he said.

Future of Ho-Me-I-Ku

To realize Ho-Me-I-Ku’s vision of including Ho-Me-I-Ku into global education policies, Hara needs more peers and partners.

“Currently, people who learned Ho-Me-I-Ku from me are promoting the method in various places. To increase the number of such partners, we are enhancing our e-learning programs, including streaming video content on YouTube,” Hara said.

He also plans to make a speech titled “People were born to be praised” at a TEDx event next year to attract a more international audience.

“It is said that human beings have five major concerns: work, money, human relationships, health and a sense of accomplishment,” Hara said. He suggests that if people can solve many of the problems through Ho-Me-I-Ku and maximize their potential and work toward who and how they want to help becoming their only concern, the world would be a better and more interesting place.

“Wouldn’t it be better if we are constantly discussing who to make donations to instead of complaining about the current situation?” he said.