The Mindset that Builds Nations: Lessons in Discipline from Japan’s Micro-Units
By NV Paulose, Chairman, Global TV +91 98441 82044
In our first conversation, Rev. Dr. Melwyn D’Cunha spoke of trust built on small things. This philosophy finds its ultimate expression not just in individuals, but in entire societies. During our discussion, he pointed to a nation that has turned this principle into a cultural engine: Japan.
We in India often find ourselves paralyzed by our surroundings. We walk into our classrooms, our hospitals, our offices, and we see the evidence of a systemic breakdown. As Rev. Dr. DCunha observed with a sigh, “You see our classrooms maybe. Or you see our hospitals maybe. As we are working, they will throw.” Litter accumulates, a fan stops working, a light goes out, and our immediate reaction is a resigned shrug. “The fan is a problem, I can’t work.” We wait for someone else; the “system,” a worker, a superior, to fix it. This is what he termed “systemic tolerance,” a state where we become conditioned to accept dysfunction, rendering us passive and, ultimately, paralyzed.
The Japanese Antidote: Humility and Self-Ownership
Japan, he explained, offers a powerful antidote. “Japan, with microunits, they create a ton of things.” Their advantage isn’t a secret resource or superior intellect. It is a deeply ingrained mindset, born “from the ashes,” cultivated from a young age. “They have that humility,” he said, a quality so profound that “even the plants and the animals, they will bow.” This is not mere poetic flourish; it is an observation of a deep-seated respect for one’s environment and one’s role within it. This humility fuels a powerful sense of self-ownership. There is no task too small or menial. “When the children come to the college, they feel, no cleaning washing is not our children. But it should be exercised.” In Japan, it is. There is no notion that “water has to be brought by somebody else.” Every individual is an active participant in the maintenance and cleanliness of their shared space.
I illustrated this with a powerful example from an office in Belgaum called Polyhydrone. The Managing Director, Mr. Hundre, had instilled a simple yet radical rule: “There is no one named cleanness, sweepers or attenders.” The place was immaculate not because of an army of cleaners, but because of a collective mindset. “They will not throw anything. You take your own garbage.” The system was in place because the people’s mindset made the system work.
Breaking the Cycle of “Systemic Tolerance”
This stands in stark contrast to our own challenges. He noted how even foreigners who visit us soon adapt to our lower standards. “They will say, ‘Hey, guys, whole is a garbage only now.’ I said, you can maybe garbage, sir. But you, I am used to dustbins. Everywhere is a dustbin only.” We become part of the problem, throwing a piece of paper because “that is the part of the system.”
The solution, then, is a conscious, personal rebellion against this paralysis. “As soon as you say, ‘no, you do your work,’ you become self-sufficient.” If the worker is not there, you open the door, you close the door, you fix the small problem. You don’t wait for attention. You take ownership. The lesson from Japan and from Polyhydrone is that national excellence is not built on grand, top-down initiatives alone. It is built in the microunits of individual responsibility. It is built when a million small acts of ownership; picking up a piece of trash, fixing a minor fault, taking your garbage with you, create a chain reaction of order and efficiency. It is the mindset that transforms a nation from the ashes of dependency into a global benchmark of discipline and quality.
