Even As a Part-Timer, If You Possess a Strong Sense of Responsibility, Then You Will Create the Right Opportunities

Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, and others are among the people who managed to become billionaires in America. These people all started out working hard for someone else, or doing odd jobs from their teenage years.

Ford became extremely wealthy, but there were times that were so hard that he didn’t have the materials to make steering wheels. He had to make them from pressed straw. All of these people worked their way up from the bottom.

But when these individuals were working their way up on an hourly wage, they always used their ingenuity and had the attitude of ‘how can I add value to what I’m doing?’

There was also their way of handling crises. As part-timers or casual workers, even when they thought they didn’t really have authority, they did what they thought was best, just as permanent employees would have done because it was ‘a big deal for the company’. Times when their strong senses of responsibility “even as part-timers” were visible, such as when they prevented a crisis or conveyed an important message without delay, really were opportunities. That was where they found the opportunities for their success .

What Made Andrew Carnegie Move Up the Ladder?

For a time, Andrew Carnegie helped with the telegraph at a railroad company. Once, when the supervisor was late, a big accident happened in his absence. As a result, the trains were delayed, and the freight trains all stopped on the sidings.

No-one was technically allowed to send telegrams without the supervisor being there, but Carnegie said, ‘On many occasions I have sent telegrams, so I know what to do. If I get it right, I can get the freight train drivers back on board.’ So, he sent telegrams in his supervisor’s name and got the trains moving again.

The supervisor apparently appeared before lunch, and Carnegie thought that he might get sacked, but instead he was eventually promoted to become the supervisor’s deputy. That was natural, I suppose, since Carnegie sent the telegrams in his supervisor’s name which was an advantage for his boss.

Carnegie had the job of simply tapping in messages as instructed, but through the above mentioned ingenious act and his bold, courageous moves, which he wasn’t really authorized to do, he, like others, managed to move up in the world.

You said that you’re ‘aiming to become a billionaire despite only having a part-time job’, but I think there is a chance. Just as I’ve said now, in part-time and casual work, you should do things that aren’t usually expected of you. If you feel there’s a crisis looming which would not impress the president of the company, then you should speak up. Even in the place of permanent employees or others with authority, you should speak up and take action to avoid a crisis for the benefit of the company.

Always Think About Ideas and ‘What’s Important’

If you have an idea that will be to the company’s advantage, you should put it forward. When it comes down to who had the good idea, the position of the person in the company doesn’t matter at all, and whether the employee was male or female makes no difference.

A long time ago, when the seasonings company Ajinomoto was undergoing changes, a big problem arose. What happened in the end was a lowly female employee said, “Why don’t you make the holes bigger (in the Ajinomoto bottle lid)?” (laughter in the audience). It may seem like a joke, but once Ajinomoto made the holes bigger, the company’s sales took off (laughter again in the audience). There was a time when you could shake the seasoning bottle, and the seasonings would get stuck in the holes and nothing would come out. So, she said, ‘It might be a good idea to make the holes a bit bigger,’ and they did. Then, their sales skyrocketed.

That kind of idea is actually not really something that someone higher up would have thought of, but it’s this kind of thinking that can give you the opportunity you need to succeed.

There’s a story about a secretary. She was not high up at all, but when the president of a client’s company came in sweating on a hot summer’s day, she’d make the decision to give him a small glass of something cold at first. Once she saw he had stopped sweating, she would then decide to give him something hot like tea. She thus showed effort somewhat reminiscent of the samurai Mitsunari Ishida. She then gained a good reputation from the company’s clients, and it’s said that she gradually made her way up into management. I have heard of several similar cases where people have gone out on their own initiative, and they’ve become company presidents as a result of their efforts.

Yes, indeed, it’s ingenious acts and the management of crises, and always thinking about ‘what’s important’. Those are the kinds of things that are important. This is the secret of gaining opportunities. And I really think that supervisors are always watching, so keep in mind that things won’t stay the same forever.

I think it’s important to wait for opportunities while putting forth effort and applying yourself. Opportunities often come faster than you think.