As a child, you knew this state: completely absorbed in something. Losing track of time. Standards that came from within.
Personal excellence was natural. Then quality became something measured only from the outside. “Does it meet the norm?” “Can it be billed?” “Is it scalable?”
The Japanese have a word for what was lost: Kodawari – excellence as a personal attitude. The inner commitment that only the best is good enough. Not as an external demand but as a natural self-standard, like when you were a child. This attitude was preserved. We have forgotten it. Yet it is still within us, and the cost of losing it is enormous.
This article shows you five areas in which you can regain this attitude—for yourself and measurably for your company.
Because the costs of losing this attitude are real: products become more interchangeable, talent leaves despite good salaries, innovations fizzle out. The cause lies deeper than processes or strategies: it lies in the missing attitude toward the work itself.
1. Product Development: Deep Understanding Instead of Feature Inflation
You once knew this: as a child, you sensed when something was right. You didn’t think about whether it was “efficient.” You simply did it right, because everything else felt wrong. That inner certainty—that was your standard.
The problem
Teams must meet requirements, hit deadlines, satisfy stakeholders. That is reality. Yet the outcomes are sobering: high support costs. Fragile systems. Solutions that function technically but that people don’t enjoy using. Return rates increase, repeat purchases decline, customer loyalty erodes.
The Kodawari solution
What is missing is deep understanding of the thing being worked on. Not theoretical knowledge, but embodied skill—“knowing how” instead of merely “knowing that.” True mastery arises from patient dedication to the work itself.
Concretely, this means:
Develop a craftsman mindset: dedication to the work itself is the focus. Not “What can we implement quickly?” but “What is the right way?”—on the assembly line or when writing code
Patience as a method: resistance shows where understanding is lacking, whether it is material that does not cooperate or a system that is fragile. Patience means temporarily avoiding quick fixes in favor of true understanding
Knowledge as a communal asset: expertise is passed on through doing together. Teams develop through shared knowledge, dissolve thinking barriers, and make implicit skill explicit by tracing work steps
Practical example
The Japanese denim manufacturer Kaihara combines traditional Kasuri dyeing techniques with modern technology. Each batch is treated with the same care. The result is consistently superior quality and premium prices.
Benefits for companies
15–30% lower return rates due to thoughtful quality
40% higher repurchase rate—customers remain loyal
20–50% price premium—quality justifies higher prices
Unique market position—products are not easily copied
Risk of non-implementation
Your products become commodities. Customers switch for a 5% price difference. Your developers lose pride in their work and resign. You compete only on price and marketing—never on substantial superiority.
2. Employee Retention: Harmonious Passion Instead of Burnout Culture
Remember: as a child, you played and learned more than in many school years. Driven from within because you wanted to. That joy in the process itself—that was harmonious passion.
The problem
High turnover despite good salaries. Teams exhausted but not productive. Employees work out of pressure and obligation instead of inner motivation.
The Kodawari solution
Sustainable performance arises from harmonious passion, the joy in the process itself. Japanese companies practice this concretely: employees receive authority to stand up for quality, even when it costs. They are rewarded not only for results but for how they work. The pursuit of quality is understood as a fundamental human need, not a “nice-to-have.”
Concretely, this means:
Understand and enable the pursuit of quality as a fundamental human need—through time, resources, and authority
Give employees the feeling of being part of something larger, not just a cog in a system
Foster intrinsic motivation: value the process as much as the result, recognize mastery as a goal
Practical example
At Toyota, any employee can stop the production line if they detect a quality issue. This decision costs thousands of dollars per minute. It sends a clear message: quality is non-negotiable. Employees feel responsible and empowered.
Benefits for companies
50–70% lower turnover among skilled workers
30% higher engagement (measurable in engagement scores)
25% higher productivity through intrinsic motivation
Significantly fewer sick days and lower burnout rates
Employer attractiveness increases drastically
Risk of non-implementation
Your best talent—especially Gen Z and Millennials—leave for more meaningful work regardless of salary. You pay endlessly for recruiting and onboarding. Knowledge disappears. Innovation stagnates. Your culture becomes toxic.
3. Innovation: Tolerating Ambiguity Instead of Forcing Quick Answers
You know the feeling: as a child, you didn’t need to understand everything immediately. You could play with things without knowing where it would lead. You could tolerate contradictions. This ability to embrace ambiguity was the space where new things emerged.
The problem
Companies chase every trend and lose their identity. Innovation theater replaces real progress. Teams are pushed to deliver quick solutions instead of understanding deep problems.
The Kodawari solution
Real innovation emerges from the ability to tolerate ambiguity and not immediately optimize away resistance. Dedication lies in immersing oneself in the work, setting aside the ego in service of the task.
Concretely, this means:
Create spaces where new things can emerge—not schedule every minute
Replace “complete overfilling” with intentional pauses
Combine inner strength with external openness: loyalty to core values AND curiosity for the unfamiliar
Cultivate the ability to pause instead of reacting reflexively to every stimulus
Practical example
Japanese and Italian cuisine dominate worldwide (Tokyo has more Michelin stars than Paris) because they adapted without losing their soul. Quality of basic ingredients and simplicity of preparation remain non-negotiable; experimentation happens on this foundation.
Benefits for companies
Innovation that strengthens rather than dilutes your brand
Strategic clarity through conscious selection rather than feature chaos
Market differentiation—your innovation becomes authentic and unique
Long-term relevance instead of short-lived trends
Risk of non-implementation
You become a trend-hopper without identity. Customers lose trust in your direction. Your innovations fizzle out because they lack real understanding. You waste resources on projects with no substantial value.
4. Leadership and Collaboration: Bridge-Building Instead of Silo Thinking
You once knew how: as a child, you played with others without organizational charts. You truly listened. You could resolve conflicts without mediation workshops. This natural ability to connect—that was real collaboration.
The problem
Teams work in silos. Departments compete instead of cooperating. Leaders reinforce their egos instead of the mission. In a fragmented world, organizations suffer from isolation and lack of trust.
The Kodawari solution
When people trust each other, less control is needed. When teams know they can rely on each other, better solutions emerge. Japanese companies invest in real relationships—not as a “soft factor,” but because it pays off: less money for monitoring systems, less time spent on safeguarding, more room for innovation.
Concretely, this means:
Build bridges—create connections across departments, hierarchies, and silos
Cultivate listening as an ethical attitude—active and present
Promote leaders who can place ego behind the mission
Establish rituals in which people truly meet—not only digitally
Practical example
In companies with high trust, collective intelligence is measurably higher. Teams that can rely on each other to fulfil a mission achieve 35% better outcomes than fragmented teams.
Benefits for companies
25–40% shorter decision-making processes through trust instead of control
Higher innovation through interdisciplinary collaboration
Lower transaction costs—fewer resources wasted on oversight
Resilience in crises—networks carry better than hierarchies
Risk of non-implementation
Your organization becomes inefficient due to mistrust. Talent leaves for companies with better culture. Silos block innovation. In crises, your organization collapses because no real connections exist.
5. Long-Term Competitiveness: Generations Instead of Quarters
It used to be self-evident: as a child, you didn’t think in quarters. You built sandcastles that the next wave would wash away—with full dedication, fully aware of their impermanence. This attitude, doing something properly for its own sake, was excellence without calculation.
The problem
Quarterly pressure leads to short-term decisions. Cost reductions harm long-term innovation. The focus on quick results fragments workflows and eliminates stable structures. This creates insecurity in teams and prevents real value creation.
The Kodawari solution
In Berlin, success is measured by quarters; in Tokyo, by generations. Quality takes time. Durable value arises only through care and long-term commitment, not through acceleration.
Concretely, this means:
Value stability over speed—long-term resilience instead of short-term efficiency
Think in generations—make decisions that will still be right in ten years
Invest in community-building measures—even if ROI is not immediately measurable
Regain “own time”—create spaces free from production pressure
Practical example
German hidden champions and Japanese traditional companies dominate their niches for decades. A sushi master improves the rice every day after thirty years—out of inner conviction, because true mastery knows no boundaries.
Benefits for companies
Stability in volatile markets—better crisis endurance
Customer loyalty over decades—measurable in lifetime value
Employee retention—people stay for conviction and meaning
Brand substance—you become an institution, not a trend
Reputational capital—trust built over decades, not easily copied
Risk of non-implementation
You become a plaything of short-term market fluctuations. Investors dictate your strategy. You lose your identity. Crises become existential because you have no substance to rely on. Your brand is forgotten as soon as a competitor is cheaper.
Excellence as an Attitude: You Already Know the Way
The five use cases show: this is not a Japanese secret. This is something you already know. Kodawari simply reminds us of what we unlearned.
As a child, when you worked deeply absorbed in something, you didn’t think about ROI. You didn’t ask whether it was scalable. You did it because it felt right. That attitude—excellence as an inner standard—was natural.
Then we learned that only externally measured quality counts. That our inner standards are wrong. That “good enough” is fine when the deadline is tight.
The central insight
German engineering (precision, efficiency, clear structure) and Japanese attitude (dedication, patience, acceptance of imperfection) belong together. One without the other remains incomplete:
German engineering delivers precision and structure. The Japanese attitude reminds us of how we worked as children: with patient dedication to the work itself.
Precision without dedication remains technically correct but soulless. Dedication without precision remains well-intentioned but ineffective.
Companies that continue to rely solely on quarterly metrics, obsessive performance and fragmented workflows risk more than losing market share. They risk their employees forgetting why they started in the first place.
The Path Back to Your Attitude
Kodawari cannot be implemented like software. The key question is: What led me away from working the way I knew was right as a child?
Three reflection questions for you:
When was the last time you lost track of time because you were absorbed in work—without a deadline, without external evaluation?
Where do you accept “good enough” today, even though your inner standard says more is possible—and what is stopping you?
Which of your decisions would you make differently if you didn’t measure in quarters but by whether you’d be ashamed of them in ten years?
The answers to these questions are not found in Japan. They are found within you. Kodawari is simply the word for it.
Excellence as an attitude is not a goal you must achieve. It is something you can rediscover within yourself. The five use cases in this article show you where to begin.
Michael Okada is a German-Japanese entrepreneur, keynote speaker and author of the book “Kodawari: Japanese Excellence – Culture and Humanity as a Competitive Advantage” (Springer Gabler, 2025). After positions at Daimler Benz IT-Services and T-Systems, he founded formcraft GmbH. He combines German engineering with Japanese attitude and shows leaders how attitude becomes a measurable competitive advantage.
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