Q+A: Hideki Ozawa

Q: How do you spend your weekend?

A: I play golf and go shopping with my wife.

What are your hobbies?

Tennis, golf and guitar.

What is the saying that you like the most and why?

I like the Chinese saying "Ji feng zhi jin cao", which literally means that you can tell which grass is tough only during a strong wind. This was what Tang Tai Zong, an emperor of the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), said to Wei Zheng, a senior official at that time, expressing appreciation for his spirit of being outspoken despite the difficulties.

I went through many difficult times when I was the president of the Singapore office, the Hong Kong office, and the China office. But my growth has also benefited from these difficulties, so I like that sentence very much.

In addition, I also like these three terms: challenge, passion, and tomorrow will be better.

Who are your idols? Which living person do you most admire?

Ryouma Sakamoto, a Japanese reformer, and Chairman (of Canon) Fujio Mitarai.

What are you reading now?

Cai Gen Tan

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

It's the moment when I have accomplished something through my own efforts that was thought to be impossible, because at that point my abilities were dramatically improved in a short time.

What is your greatest fear?

It is not having a challenge - waking up in the morning and finding that there's nothing to do that day.

What is the quality you most admire in a man?

Having beliefs. And there's no disparity between men and women in the workplace.

What is the quality you most admire in a woman?

Having beliefs also.

What do you value the most in your friends?

Being open-minded and friendly.

What do you dislike most about your appearance?

Nothing.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

When Hong Kong was hit by the SARS crisis, I launched the Come on, Hong Kong event. Hong Kong residents were deeply touched and participated in the event; their favorable impression of Canon was also greatly improved. During that year (2003), instead of decreasing, Canon's sales in Hong Kong increased by up to 50 percent.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I wish that I could speak less.

What is your most treasured possession?

Family.

What kind of "green" lifestyle do you support?

I participate in the company's tree-planting activity each year.

Name places in China that have impressed you the most and places that you want to explore.

The place that impressed me the most is Jiuzhaigou (a mountainous site in Sichuan province.)

The place I want to go the most is Tibet.

What's the best way to break the ice with a Chinese businessman you've met for the first time?

First, proactively greet him. Second, meet him with a smiling face. Third, a sense of humor: for example, when people ask me, how many years have you been working for Canon China, I usually say seven years already, but I don't have "the seven-year itch". A small joke like that can help quickly break the ice.

Three words to describe your impression of Chinese businessmen?

Persistent, talkative, and generous.

What kind of experience has shaped your thoughts the most?

I began to play baseball in high school, which helped shape my never-give-up personality.

When I joined Canon, I started doing sales at the grassroots level. For five to six years, I had to promote cameras to various resellers one after another without stop. I was cold-shouldered and ignored, but also accumulated a rich life and sales experience. These experiences became valuable later in my life.

After doing sales for a while, I became very familiar with the job, and didn't feel challenged. So I spent half a month as a backpacker in India. One day, when I was waiting for a bus at a station in India's countryside, a legless little boy came to me, supporting himself with both hands on the ground, and greeted me warmly and chatted with me.

Although he was poor and handicapped, his eyes didn't show frustration, and instead, they were full of hope and enthusiasm. He aroused my passion for life.