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Lessons from Great Business Leaders: “Your Mindset Defines Your Life” (Tempu Nakamura)

  • Media
2026.05.13

To foster a thriving startup ecosystem, we must look back and learn with humility from the legendary leaders who built global enterprises from the ground up.

In this series of “Lessons from Great Business Leaders”, we will share the words of the visionaries and thinkers who have influenced us most, reflecting on how their philosophies have shaped our own experiences in business and life.

This third installment was written by our group’s advisor Sugihara.

1. “Your Mindset Defines Your Life” – Tempu Nakamura

“Whether your mind is positive or negative creates two polar opposite perspectives on life. If your mind is positive, life becomes filled with cheer, adventure, energy, and vigor regardless of the circumstances. Conversely, if your mind is negative, everything in life loses its spirit. If the mind that contemplates life is negative, does not everything end in a pitiful, dark, and miserable state?

Since you only have one chance at life, you must live it in the most perfect mental state possible, starting from this very moment.”

(Excerpt from Tempu Nakamura: One Thought a Day, edited by the Tempu Society. Published in 2005 by PHP Institute.)

2. Reason for Selecting This Passage

On a personal note, I have spent my career since 1990 working consistently within companies that were considered startups in their respective eras. Among these experiences, my time at Daini Denden (the predecessor to what is now KDDI) was particularly formative. It built the foundation of my professional life and forged the entrepreneurial spirit that has served as the emotional bedrock for my continued challenges over the years. I remain deeply grateful for that experience today.

Daini Denden’s co-founder, Kazuo Inamori, is a world-renowned leader respected by executives not only in Japan but also in China and across the globe. One of the thinkers who most profoundly influenced Inamori was Tempu Nakamura. While I was there, my superiors and division heads encouraged me to read books on MBA studies or the then-popular “Lanchester Strategy”, but above all else, the very first thing they told me to read were Tempu’s works.

While Tempu’s most famous longtime bestsellers are Sharpening Your Soul and Open Your Destiny, I have chosen the compilation Tempu Nakamura: One Thought a Day. It distills his essence into short, concise daily entries that are incredibly easy to read. I highly recommend it to anyone who has heard the name “Tempu Nakamura” but doesn’t have any of his works yet, or for those looking for the right book to revisit his teachings.

By the way, it recently became a hot topic that the world-renowned baseball superstar and source of great Japanese pride, Shohei Ohtani, was a devoted reader of Tempu’s books before he moved to the Major Leagues.

3. My Own Experiences and Thoughts on This Philosophy

Between the 1990s and 2000s, while I was in my 20s and still learning the fundamentals of being a professional, I was suddenly assigned to a new business division, the office preparing to launch DDI Pocket, which would later become their PHS* business. As a member of a launch team with just six people responsible for sales strategy, I worked with such intensity that there was no distinction between day, night, or weekends. Looking back now, I can say it was a workplace that reflected an era when terms like “power harassment” or “work-life balance” did not yet exist. Our supervisor’s orders were absolute, and unreasonable requests were common.

*Note: PHS (Personal Handy-phone System) was a Japanese-developed precursor to modern cellphone technology that was popular in Japan in the 1990s, and expanded to various degrees in Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

Even though I was thrown into an environment where it would have been easy to harbor discontent or want to run away, I made a conscious effort to look at the bright side of things. I did not avoid difficulties, maintained a proactive stance, and continued to put in effort even when no one was watching. It is no exaggeration to say this was entirely because I treated Tempu’s books as my bible, so to speak.

Tempu Nakamura frequently mentioned something in his writings that became representative of his philosophy: “Always keep a positive mindset”, and by making this my habit, I gained a strength that influenced not only that period of my life but my entire subsequent career. It gave me the power to overcome hardships, seize opportunities, and attain numerous priceless experiences.

There are a number of recurring themes within the pages of One Thought a Day, and though they’re expressed differently in different places, they all preach the importance of maintaining positivity in one’s thinking and mental state.

Here are a few passages that reflect those themes.

One’s thoughts create one’s life

“Humans’ health and destiny depend solely on where they put their minds.” The difference between a mind moving in a positive direction and one moving in a negative direction is as vast as that between heaven and earth.

The power of determination

Taken to the extreme, one could even say that having a happy or an unhappy life depends entirely on one’s control over one’s mind. Willpower—in other words, absolute control over one’s mind—could widely be called the driving force that allows one to become a better person.

Noble, strong, righteous, and pure

The first step in conducting oneself according to the laws of nature is to keep a positive mindset at all times, no matter what happens. A positive mindset means to live nobly, strongly, righteously, and purely. There is almost nothing more important to life and existence than this.

Do not voice dissatisfaction or complaints

Under no circumstances should you let yourself vocalize dissatisfaction or complaints. If those feelings exist within your heart, your words will never be truly positive. People who complain are constantly looking only upward and never downward. They think everyone else is happy and that they are the most miserable person in the world.

(Excerpts from Tempu Nakamura: One Thought a Day.)

Encouraged by these words, I was able to spur myself on and approach my work with a forward-looking attitude, which allowed me to deal with situations calmly and read the trends of the times. Subsequently, I was involved in the launch of the mobile internet services of PHS, the launch of broadband at AOL, the music distribution business at Napster, and the creation of mechanisms to improve search engine share at Google. I have walked alongside the history of the internet industry itself.

Modern business professionals are tossed back and forth by a flood of information that changes daily. We must chase not only the knowledge required for our daily tasks but also the world’s latest technical information, such as Generative AI, AI agents, and AI robotics. Furthermore, we find ourselves in an environment where we cannot help but feel anxious that our own job might become another profession replaced by AI.

It is important to fill oneself with knowledge and information and to possess technical skills. However, what humans possess that is fundamentally different from AI is not information or knowledge, but rather, the mind. Technology and knowledge change with the times and can be acquired later. However, I believe that a forward-facing mind and a proactive way of thinking form a foundation and become a personal wealth that accumulates within oneself, regardless of how the era changes.

Right now, I have a small scrap of paper in my wallet that has been there for about 20 years, like a lucky charm. On it, I wrote down my own “Seven Principles for Living”. The first three of these are:
1. Always think about things positively.
2. Always stay hungry to improve and strive for diligence.
3. Do not complain about things out of your control.
These have completely become my own words and convictions. Looking back now, I recall that these were simplified expressions I had quoted from Tempu’s books (and Carl Hilty’s Happiness).

For sharing this method of proactive thinking with the world, I am grateful to the businessman and philosopher Tempu Nakamura.

4. A Message to Our Readers

For this installment, I chose the writings of a figure from a somewhat older era. I also selected him from the perspective of being a thinker who influenced famous business leaders, rather than being a famous leader himself.

At first, I wondered if this might be an unconventional choice for this series. However, when I heard that the world-famous Shohei Ohtani read his work, it made me happy to realize that this philosophy is universal, so I decided to introduce it because I felt his words could resonate with both athletes and business leaders alike.

We live in an era where the future is increasingly difficult to predict (although this could have been said in every era of human history). I hope that by picking up Tempu Nakamura’s works, you can find the driving force to maintain a positive state of mind and approach new businesses or entrepreneurial ventures with vigor and enthusiasm.

May your work, your business, and your life itself be bright and overflowing with happiness!

At D-POPS GROUP, we hold the vision of “realizing a Venture Ecosystem”. We are working on building mechanisms that allow groups of companies within our Ecosystem to grow sustainably, as well as providing hands-on support through our team of advisors.
※For more details, please read: “Venture Ecosystem: A Platform for Growth and Sustainability”

I hope this article will be of some help to startup founders and business managers.

D-POPS GROUP Advisor

Genta Sugihara

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  • Media
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Lessons from Great Business Leaders: “Cash-Based Management” (Kazuo Inamori)
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D-POPS GROUP Executive Officer, President’s Office Head Yoshihiro Yoneya
  • Media
2026.03.04
Cross-selling: Specific Measures and Success Stories of Dramatically Improving Gross Profit
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This graphic is a visual representation of the assorted examples of cross-selling offered in the previous paragraph. Even without making such suggestions verbally, creating an environment where customers can purchase items later (e.g., carrying a wide assortment of peripherals for PCs or cameras) could be considered cross-selling in a broad sense. Whether recommending products through a sales clerk’s dialogue in a physical store or on a website, cross-selling is practiced to some degree by essentially every company involved in selling products or services. While cross-selling may seem simple at first glance, it has a massive impact on gross profit. In the next section, we will look at just how effective it can be. 3. Why is Cross-selling Important? Understanding Its Effectiveness I would like to show the efficacy of cross-selling using several examples. First, let’s look at the profits of a company selling PCs during a specific period. (This model company is fictional but based on the numbers from an actual business.) Model Case: PCs ・The PC units themselves generate a gross profit of ¥2.8 billion, a profit margin of 20%, and total sales of ¥140 billion. ・PC peripherals, accessories, and related products* earn a gross profit of ¥4.4 billion, a profit margin of 40%, and total sales of ¥110 billion. (*Includes printers, routers, and storage devices; accessories such as mice, keyboards, and bags; consumables like ink and paper; broadband sign-up fees; and related software or books.) These charts show the comparison between the total sales and gross profits of PC units (blue bars) versus the peripherals, accessories, and related products (orange bars). The key points to observe in this example are the profit amounts and total sales. The profit from the PC units—which the customers originally intended to buy—is ¥2.8 billion. Meanwhile, the profit from all of the PC-related products (the cross-sell items needed at the time of purchase or afterward) is ¥4.4 billion. There is a difference in profit of ¥1.6 billion, or 157% in relative terms. This is true despite the fact that the total sales for PC-related products (¥110 billion) are ¥30 billion lower than the sales for the units themselves (¥140 billion). This is not unique to PCs; for many products that customers intend to buy, competition between products and stores is fierce, meaning they are not very profitable. While not true for every item, many cross-sell products have high profit margins. You can see that working hard to pitch these cross-sell items, either at the time of the initial sale or through subsequent repeat business, has a tremendous effect on increasing gross profit, both in terms of total profit amount and efficient profit margins. Next, let’s look at an example involving smartphones. The following example shows the breakdown of one month of profit from smartphone sales for a certain company. (Again, these numbers are based on actual business results.) Model Case: Smartphones ・Total gross profit from smartphone sales: ¥90 million ・Profit from the smartphone devices themselves: ¥50 million ・Profit from related products other than smartphones: ¥40 million In the case of smartphones, the profit from selling the devices themselves is higher than the profit from selling PC units, and as a result, it’s also higher than the profit from smartphone-related products. However, related products still account for nearly 45% of the total profit. This example also demonstrates that diligently selling cross-sell items at the time a customer purchases their intended product has a significant effect on raising gross profit. As these two examples show, cross-selling is highly effective for increasing gross profit, but more than that, its greatest merit is that it incurs almost no additional expenses. This means that the increase in gross profit leads directly to an increase in operating profit. For example, if a store wants to increase sales, it might open a new location, but this requires additional expenses such as rent and labor. In B2B sales, increasing revenue usually involves hiring more salespeople, adding advertising costs, or opening new branch office space; all of these incur extra expenses. While these actions will likely increase sales and gross profit to some extent, there is no guarantee the increase will make up for the added costs. There are likely many cases where those expenses are not covered, leading to a deficit on an operating profit basis. On the other hand, the added cost of cross-selling is relatively little. When sales and gross profit rise through cross-selling, that gross profit essentially has a direct effect on operating profit because there are no new overhead costs. For this reason, cross-selling contributes to net income quite effectively. This is not only true for the examples mentioned earlier. Making full use of cross-selling enables earning profits equal to or greater than those earned from the customer’s intended purchase no matter the industry, from restaurant to apparel. Boosting the overall gross profit margin by roughly 10% becomes a realistic goal, and as mentioned previously, because cross-selling adds almost no additional expenses, that also boosts operating profit. For this reason, if you wish to increase your profits, start by raising the average transaction value through cross-selling rather than searching for new customers through opening additional stores, hiring more workers, or increasing advertising. In a competitive environment where companies handle similar products, achieving cross-selling that significantly outperforms your rivals gives you a major advantage not just in gross profit, but in operating profit as well. I believe you can now see just how big an effect cross-selling has on business management. 4. Key Points for Increasing Sales Through Cross-selling Now that you recognize the importance of cross-selling, I would like to introduce several key methods for successfully implementing it to increase sales. ① Selection of products and accessories The starting place is to carry products conducive to cross-selling and ensure a solid assortment of related items. For instance, appliances like refrigerators or washing machines offer limited cross-selling opportunities beyond extended warranties. However, the examples we discussed (suits, smartphones, cameras, cars, and PCs) are gold mines for cross-selling. With suits, beyond the obvious shirts and ties, you can facilitate cross-selling by carrying an assortment of matching bags, belts, and shoes. Even items like tie pins or shirt garters can contribute to cross-selling. By selecting products that naturally invite add-ons and maintaining a robust inventory of related items, your cross-selling revenue will grow. ② Human education and ingenuity This involves ensuring that employees are educated on the importance of cross-selling. Both the company and its staff must constantly brush up on their product knowledge, sales scripts, and customer service techniques, while figuring out creative ways to look after customers, display products, and procure goods. Companies that can innovate in this way—learning how to explain why a suggested product is necessary from the customer’s perspective, determining the optimal order and timing for multiple suggestions, and identifying the most effective placement for displays—will see an overwhelming difference compared to companies that cannot. Furthermore, a cross-sell item shouldn’t be chosen simply because it is profitable. If it has no relevance or benefit to the customer, it simply becomes forced, which lowers customer satisfaction and leads to negative long-term results for the business. You must put yourself in the customer’s perspective and devise a narrative that explains the relevance and benefits of each specific item. It goes without saying that deep product knowledge and constant ingenuity are essential to achieving this. ③ Utilization of technology When shopping online, recommendations appear based on past purchase history. In the telecommunications industry, systems have begun suggesting recommended products to staff in real-time while they are interacting with customers. Naturally, enlisting technology to visualize data is also vital, such as which salespeople are achieving what levels of cross-selling. While these are just a few examples, it is clear that mastering technology is an indispensable element for boosting sales through cross-selling. While there are other aspects involved in increasing sales through cross-selling, the key factor is employees who are educated in the importance of cross-selling and in the full use of technology. Ultimately, driving up sales through cross-selling and achieving a dramatic leap in management efficiency rests upon the intersection of People × Technology. This graphic contains a broad summary of the three sub-points and the key factor of section 4. 5. Summary In this article, we discussed the concept of cross-selling. We explained that cross-selling is a method that yields immense results not only for gross profit but also for operating profit, without requiring additional expenses or time. By maximizing the sales of products and services related to the customer’s intended purchase, a company can maximize both gross and operating profit, creating a significant competitive advantage over rivals. I have intentionally addressed cross-selling following our previous discussions on “Inventory Turnover”, “Sales per Employee”, and “Sales per Tsubo”, which focused on cash flow and expenses related to inventory, labor, and rent. If you read these in order, starting with the first article on “Inventory Turnover”, the essential points of business management will become much clearer. For those who have not yet read them, I highly encourage you to do so. What we at D-POPS GROUP want to convey through this discussion on cross-selling is the same message as before: business is built by people. The customers who purchase products are people, the sales staff who sell the products are people, and those who utilize technology are all people. While I think it is impossible to win in competition and survive in business without commanding technologies like AI, I also think that technology alone is not enough to survive. At D-POPS GROUP, we believe that business success does not happen simply because the technology is good or the management strategy is sound; rather, the intersection of People × Technology × Management Strategies is what truly matters. In accordance with this line of thinking, D-POPS GROUP’s vision is “realizing a Venture Ecosystem”. Our goal is to support startups through investment to help people shine and solve social issues, providing value that goes beyond mere numbers and efficiency. We hope that you enjoyed this article and look forward to working with you in the future. D-POPS GROUP Managing Executive Officer Tetsuya Watanabe
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2026.02.12
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