Great opportunities are oftentimes tucked behind seemingly difficult challenges.
Soichi (Steve) Oda, the senior vice president, business planning for Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America, had that point driven home to him by a college professor, who quoted an old Chinese proverb. It roughly translates as, “Don’t think you cannot draw water from a well just because the well rope is too short. Otherwise, the well will dry up.” Oda took from this the belief that one should always try to find a creative solution to a challenge as opposed to complaining about a difficult situation. Otherwise, a great opportunity could be lost.
Oda applies this philosophy to his everyday duties with Sharp. When the company embarks upon a project or makes a decision, he is tasked with deciding whether or not it makes sense financially. If it does, the project is then advanced to the desk of Sharp’s president. The weight of importance behind his role makes Oda feel like a vital member of the team.
Rejection, however, is not something considered lightly. “My approach is to always try to find a way to help move along the projects my colleagues bring me, rather than objecting the proposal from the beginning,” said Oda, a 2019 ENX Magazine Difference Maker. “I believe that attitude helps lead to trust among my colleagues, eventually leading to open and honest discussion.”
Upon joining Sharp, Oda was first assigned as a specialist to export office equipment such as typewriters and personal computers. From the experience, he decided to commit his career to B2B products as opposed to the consumer space. And through the 20-plus years, he has spent with the organization, Oda has learned the need to balance judicious decision making with the often break-neck speed of not only technology but its providers as well. One memorable exchange with one of the deans of technology helped drive that point home.
Memorable Experience
About 20 years ago, Sharp was working with Apple on certain projects. During a negotiation meeting, Oda came face-to-face with the legendary Steve Jobs, who explained that it was vitally important for Sharp to accept his proposals. Unfortunately, Oda and his team members were not in a position to give him a firm answer and needed to take Jobs’ request back to Japan.
That did not sit well with the father of the iPhone. According to Oda, Jobs replied, “I need to make the decision now and if Sharp cannot respond today, I will have to stop this line of business.”
The next day, a newspaper article confirmed Jobs’ decision to halt the line of business. “I learned from this event that we need to make quick decisions or else miss out on opportunities,” Oda observed.
Exceeding Expectations
The 2019 business campaign has been a successful one in Oda’s estimation. He notes revenue for Sharp’s MFP channel business far exceeded the first half of the budget, as well as year over year. Looking ahead to 2020, his personal and team objectives revolve around embracing Sharp’s new business model as a smart office solution provider, and beyond being a hardware manufacturer.
“Fortunately, I have been able to strengthen my relationship with many of our dealers/distributors through many activities, events and visits to our customers,” he said. “We have the greatest team, products and channel partners. With these advantages, we can change our mindset to embrace new business models/services, thereby bringing new value to our partners and customers, which I believe will create more stickiness and stronger relationships with each other.”
Oda has been married for nearly 27 years; his wife, Naomi, and two daughters (Risako and Akari) remain in Japan to allow them to continue their education. Risako is in law school, Akari is in college—both in Osaka, Japan. Naomi is a confectionary hygiene master and teaches the art and design of sweets at a cooking school. A sports fan in general, Oda especially loves baseball. On weekends, he treks to Harlem to sing gospel music with a Japanese choir, which enables him to relax and socialize with Japanese friends in New York and the surrounding areas.
