Japaneseness

From the Japanese perspective, the experience and improvement in spirit gained through the effort are more important than results.

Let’s say you wish to be considerate of another’s circumstances, but you do so in a rather obvious way: paying for their meal, for example. The result may be that the other person feels a sense of obligation and perhaps some emotional discomfort. If you are a truly considerate person, you might instead excuse yourself to go to the restroom and on the way catch the waiter to tell him you will settle the check separately and not to bring it to the table. Your goal is to make sure that there is a continuous feeling of well-being on the part of your guest and that nothing will disrupt the mood of the occasion. It is this type of unobtrusive consideration that lies at the heart of hospitality (omotenashi).

From the perspective of Westerners, who place a heavy emphasis on results in their business culture, the spirit of gudō, which places importance on process, must seem impractical.

truth-seeking
What is truth-seeking? Follow where your teacher leads and remain quiet. Never worry about how you may look foolish as you study and devote yourself to the Way. Finally, develop heart.

In today’s business world, many aspects of gyō are also used in the mental or spiritual training of workers, such as task repetition, section rotation, group exercises, and even sloganeering.

Whiting points out that Japanese players do not simply practice baseball; they also place emphasis on the spiritual side in their training—paying respect to the ball field by keeping it clean, being properly deferential to their seniors, and even going so far as to sit in meditation in Zen temples. It must have been very clear to Whiting that the players were employing a particularly Japanese form of training, gyō, in order to reach the top of their game.

training
What is training? You adopt an attitude of self-denial, refine your spirit, work on your skills. Now and then you must clean and purify yourself as you continue forward, eyes firmly on the Way.

Japan’s business culture, more so than in other countries, there is still more emphasis on and recognition of the value of effort for effort’s sake.

They tend to more highly value the effort put into the process than the result itself

The Japanese have traditionally liked the word doryoku (“effort”).