何をやるかより、誰と働くか。It's not what you do, it's who you do it with.(English is below.)

この言葉ってよく目にすると思います。

「何をするかより、誰とやるか。」

僕はこの言葉に大いに賛成です。

「起業しよう！」っと言って、何かを生み出そうともがいてた大学時代。
(僕らはそれを迷走時期と呼んでいます。)
起業が目的となり、何をやろうとしてもうまくいかない。そんな時期が半年以上続いていました。

何をやるかだけに重点を置いて、何の目的も持たずにただただ走り続けていました。

しかし、不思議にも、そんな時期が続いたのにもかかわらず、僕らの心は擦り切れることはなかったのです。

もちろん「辛いな。。」と思うときは何度もありました。

何もやってもうまくいかず、周りの友達も就職が決まり始める。

「やばいな。」

そう感じざるを得ない状況でした。

もし僕が一人で起業に挑戦していたら、間違いなく挫折して、諦めていたでしょう。

僕は基本的に弱い人間なので。

それでも、僕が諦めずに起業へ挑戦し続けることができた理由は、目標に向かって進むことができる、志を同じくする仲間がいたからです。

隣を見たときに、明らかに苦しい状況なのに、それを楽しんでいる様子を見ると、「俺も負けてられないな。」って思えるわけです。

本当に迷走時期を共有した、河嶋と木村には感謝しています。

そんな迷走時期を仲間と乗り越え、3名+6名の9名でゲストハウスを運営しています。

語弊があるかもしれませんが、僕はこの仲間と一緒に何かできるなら、ゲストハウスではなくてもいいと思っています。

この仲間とだったら、ラーメン屋でも、アパレルでも、ごみ収集の仕事でも面白くできるはずです。

幸い、僕は一緒に働きたいと思える仲間と、やりたいと思える仕事をできています。

恵まれた環境にいます。

一緒に面白いことができる人は、それなりに多くいると思います。

ただ、仕事として考えると、長く一緒に働く、関わり続ける人ってそんなに多くはないはずです。

僕が採用の時に意識しているのは、

「友人として、これからの人生で起こることを、この人と共有し続けたいと思えるか。」

このことを大事にしています。

細かくいうと、他にも大切なことはありますが、一番大事なのはこれです。

起業するというのは、結婚して子どもを産むくらいの気持ちが必要です。

会社という子どもを、痛みや苦しみを分かち合いながら産み出し、会社がしっかりと成長するように、365日24時間考え続ける。

何か問題があったら、すぐに駆けつける。

プライベートも仕事も関係ない、だって会社は自分たちの子どもだから。

創業メンバーじゃなくとも、会社の仲間には同じ気持ちを持ってもらう必要があります。

感覚的には、「この人に俺の子どもを任せられるか。」です。

一大決心に近いですよね。

でも、一緒に働く仲間を決めるときは、それくらい真剣に考え、時間を使っていいと思っています。

もし、今から誰かと何か新しいことを始めたい、起業したいという人がいるなら、僕は何で起業するかを話すより、お互いのことをまずはとことん理解することから始めるのをお勧めします。

お酒を飲んで、朝まで語り明かすのもいいと思います。

さらに追求すると、人生で一番嬉しかった・悲しかった瞬間、トラウマ、誇りに思ってる出来事、影響を与えた人・映画・本、家族との関係性など、普段共有しないようなことを、共有して、お互いを理解してから、進み始める。

この作業を怠ると、そのチームはすぐに解散するでしょう。

会社を良くするのも、悪くするのも、必ず人は関わってきます。

あなたの人生をいい方向へ導くのも、悪い方向へ導くのも人次第です。

何をするかを真剣に考える時代から、誰とやるかを真剣に考える時代に移行してもいいんじゃないかな？

何をするかより、誰と働くか？あなたは誰とやるかに重点を置いてますか？もし、大学生でこのブログを見てくれたら、就活時に、会社の名前で選ぶのではなく、働きたい人がいるかどうかで、会社を選んで見てもいいかもしれないよ。

I’m sure you’ve heard this sentence, or sentiments that resemble it, at some point before; rather than what you do for work, it’s who you do it with that truly matters.

I have an unwavering belief in this concept.

Back in university, I was trying to create a new company with my nakama *(see bottom for definition of “nakama”)*, and we were struggling greatly. (We call this “the time that we lost our way.”) More so than progress, our purpose became simply staying afloat. This lasted for over half a year, until we realized that it was due to not having a clear reason for having started a company. We put emphasis on the “what to do”, and kept going without any clear cut goals.

Curiously, we never reached that point of exhaustion, where we felt we’d worn ourselves out completely. There were of course times when we felt we were out of our league and were on the borderline of giving up. We weren’t getting anything done, while our peers were getting jobs left and right. We were getting impatient.

I realize now that If I’d tried to make a company on my own, I would have fallen by the wayside long ago. If I’m being honest, I am, in essence, a weak person. With such seemingly insurmountable circumstances, someone like myself could only have managed to keep pushing forward with the help of friends who had the same ambition - who were willing to pursue our goal together.

I knew that our harsh situation was affecting them in the same way, but when I looked at them, all they showed me was their optimism and positive energy. It inspired me to the point that I had no thought other than “I’ve gotta do my best.”

I will always appreciate Taka and Shun having gone through this particularly bleak period of time with me.

We got past that point, and the amount of nakama in our company has increased to 9. With them, we run 2 hostels in Sapporo, Hokkaido. I could enjoy doing anything with them - it wouldn’t have to be hostels. Don’t get me wrong, I love our hostels, but with these nakama, I could enjoy running ramen restaurants, clothing shops, garbage collection, etc, the point being that it doesn’t matter. Fortunately, I’m working with nakama who I want to work with while actually doing what I want to do at the same time.

I feel blessed.

I’m sure there are many people that I can create something new and interesting with. However, if searching for people I want to create new memories with, who I want to be a part of my achievements and failures and everything in between, the number of viable people is significantly smaller.

This is what is important to me. There are many things I’m conscious of when I hire people, but this is the condition I consider most important.

When you make a company with someone, it’s essentially like getting married and having a child. To give birth to a baby (the company) is to share in someones pain and suffering and think of them 24/7 in order to raise them properly. If there are in trouble, you have to hasten to be there.

It does not matter if you have to make sacrifices in a business sense or on a more personal level, because the company is your baby. When it comes to who you work with, even if they were’t part of it all from the start, they must feel the same way towards the company as you. Ask yourself “Can I leave my baby to this person?”

It is big decision.

We really take our time when deciding who we want to work with.

If you want to start a company, or simply do something new with someone, first of all I recommend you talk with your nakama to make sure you understand each other from bottom of your hearts, rather than discussing what you will do.

Perhaps you can do this over a drink while you talk the night away. If you’re going to call someone your nakama, you should know their happiest and saddest moments, their traumatic experiences and the thing they are most proud of, what people have influenced them the most, their favorite books and movies, and how their relationship with their family is. If you neglect details like these, your foundation will not be strong enough to withstand the coming challenges ahead.

Whether your company does well or not, it is your nakama who you will experience that with.

Your life, along the same lines, will mostly be impacted by those who are a part of it.

What I’m suggesting is a change in mentality, from “what kind of company do I want to work for?” to “what kind of people do I want to work with?”

It’s not what you do, but who you do it with that matters.

Where do you place your emphasis? If you are a student reading this blog, I want to suggest that when considering your future options, you choose a company based on the presence of people you’d like to work with.

*Nakama is a Japanese word that has no exact equivalent in English. It is something along the lines of mates or comrades - people you can call your close friends, but with the added condition that you are working towards a common goal together. I consider the members of my company my nakama - more than co-workers or employees, they are the people that I’m chasing dreams with.

Rio