创业与商业kalzumeus.com编辑精选
在日本做生意
Doing Business in Japan
2014 — 2016，它一次次回到首页
黑点是上首页（≥ 50 分）的那次投稿，空心点是没冲上去的投稿，点越大分数越高。
导读
Patrick McKenzie（kalzumeus）基于多年在日经商与工作经历，系统介绍日本商业文化的运作方式：终身雇佣、年功序列、担保人制度、企业间互锁关系，以及外国人在日本做生意和求职会遇到的种种摩擦。文章也解释了为什么日本高生产力大公司与低生产力小企业并存，以及外国人如何利用这些结构性差异找到机会。
为什么经久不衰：它以亲历者视角把一个陌生经济体的制度逻辑讲得具体而透彻，多年后仍是理解日本职场与商业文化的经典入门读物。
HN 评论精选
日本商业体系的本质是全社会互相规避风险，与美国的风险文化形成两极对照。
整体主题（作为一个从未去过日本的美国人）似乎是风险厌恶与风险不敏感的对比。美国文化拥抱风险和冒险者，尽管我们大多数人并未真正践行这些理想。日本的员工不想冒失业的风险，公司不想冒失去员工的风险，房东则不想给任何没有知名公司工作的人授信。美国或许在信贷和风险上过于放纵，但过去一个世纪的经济增长很可能正源于我们能够获得信贷、敢于冒险。这篇文章描述的听起来像另一个极端。
dkrich查看英文原文
The overall theme (as an American who has never visited Japan) seems to be one of risk-aversion vs. risk-insensitivity. In the U.S., the culture embraces risk and risk-takers, if most of us don't actually live out these ideals ourselves. It seems employees in Japan don't want to risk unemployment, while companies don't want to risk losing employees, while apartments don't want to risk extending credit to anybody who doesn't have a job with a recognized company. In the U.S. it could certainly be argued that we're way too credit and risk embracing. However, it's also very likely that most of our economic growth in the last century is because we've been able to get credit and that we're a society that takes risks. Americans can be irresponsible, but this description sounds like the other extreme.
亲历者证实文章描述属实，并指出跳脱日本雇佣体制反而能大幅提高收入。
我在日本生活和工作过几年，可以证实作者说的一切。我在日本游戏行业工作，薪水很糟，只有加州的一半甚至更少，而东京的生活成本相当。后来我辞职在家做面向日本和海外客户的咨询，收入翻了一倍多。不过海外生活是很棒的体验，学习一门新语言并在日常生活中成功运用让人非常有成就感。
shinymark查看英文原文
I lived and worked in Japan for a few years and can vouch for everything the author said. I worked in the game industry in Japan and the salaries were terrible. Salaries were half or less compared to California, while the cost of living in Tokyo was similar (at least back then, it could easily be more expensive in the Bay Area now). I ended up leaving my job to do consulting from home for clients both in Japan and abroad and more than doubled my income. Living abroad was a a great experience though. The process of studying a new language and using it in day to day life successfully was incredibly satisfying. I'd love to do that again in another country.
日本的雇佣体制扼杀个性与创造力，这正是其软件行业平庸的原因。
这听起来很像美国工会化的公共部门：资历和忠诚最重要，能力和产出是别人的事，职位被当作政治工具，低效不断被引入。这种结构让我感到恐惧，我会觉得被困住、无力。我想这也解释了这类公司在软件方面为何给出如此平庸的产品。美国文化里那种叛逆和野性带来了足够的怪人，而他们恰恰做出了成果——很难想象这样的个性能在那种环境中生存。
drzaiusapelord查看英文原文
This really does sound like working in a union shop in the US, especially as a public sector worker. Seniority, loyalty, etc matter and things like competence and productivity are someone else's problem. Jobs are wielded as political weapons (The Democratic Party leader in Illinois, Mike Madigan famously has a list of every union job he's gifted and calls on favors from that list), etc. Inefficiencies are continually introduced. I find the far-left often bemoans a lack of paternal aspects in US society, by my god, this blog posting horrified me. I would feel to trapped and powerless in that structure. I think it also explains the milquetoast offers, especially in regards to software, these types of companies deliver. There's something wonderfully rebellious and wild about US culture, in general, that leads to enough weirdness that somehow gets results. All the early pioneers of the things I love were pretty out there and let their freak flag fly. I can't imagine personalities like these thriving in that type of environment.
质疑：文中描述的种种低效之下，日本经济为何依然能维持运转。
「最厉害的日本低接触 SaaS 创业者想出了在东京挨门挨户推销 SaaS 的办法。」——认真说，鉴于文中指出的种种低效，日本经济怎么还没崩溃？花几小时决定按钮文案、学到三十岁才被信任、长时间加班、劳动力规划提前几十年、决策集中在巨头手中、还要面对 iPhone 这类来自更高效经济体的竞争……日本怎么还能拥有大公司并持续卖出产品？
aragot查看英文原文
> No, really, the most formidable Japanese low-touch SaaS entrepreneur I know figured out how to sell SaaS door-to-door in Tokyo.” Seriously, from all the inefficiencies pointed out in this article, how is the economy of Japan not in the verge of collapse? - They spend hours choosing the text of buttons, - they're expected to learn the Way We Do Things In This Company until their 30s, - they attend work for extended hours, - the workforce capacities are planned dozens of years in advance, - decision-making is centralized in the hands of the major companies, investments are interlocked between company-arranged rents, company-arranged investments and company-arranged paperwork, - and they have competition from foreign products which were produced by more officient economies, e.g. the iPhone I guess there are other employment markets like France and Russia which have friction too, and others like China which may lack the special salt of SV to be exactly as dominating, but how come Japan still succeeds to have major companies and keep selling products?
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