National Tide 1980.

Chapter 1266 Awakening

Probably because he is an extrovert and graduated from Keio University.

Although they entered Nomura Securities together, Kento Kanai's career opportunities were much smoother than Kenichi Sagawa's.

He was promoted to section chief after working for a few years. Five years later, he was transferred by his senior in the company, Keio. Two years ago, he became the head of the sales department of the Jiangdong Sales Department.

However, even so, Jin Jing could not escape the pressure and devastation brought by the showdown performance.

You should know that the business of securities companies includes not only stock trading, but also trust investment in public bonds such as treasury bonds, local bonds, power bonds, and medium-term treasury bond funds, as well as a variety of financial products as numerous as stars. Even the company's employees cannot remember them all.

For all these products, the head office assigns sales targets to each business department every day.

Then the heads of each sales department will continue to lay their cards on the table and assign sales targets to each customer and each person responsible for sales.

The company sets higher goals every year, and the sales staff, called "stockbrokers," must exceed the company's goals every year.

Under this system, no matter how hard you work as a salesperson at a securities company, there will never be a day of relief.

What makes these sales people most painful is that each sales target has its own deadline.

The sales target is achieved only when the sales proceeds are in place before the deadline.

There are more and more product types. After finally completing the sales target of one product within the specified time limit, the sales target of another product is imminent.

Salespeople at securities companies are overwhelmed by targets all the time.

This is the biggest difference between this industry and other industries.

For sales staff in the securities industry, even if they barely make it through this month's difficulties, before they can even catch their breath, they will be faced with the next month's assignment targets.

Even if this month's sales performance exceeds that of last month, the burden of next month will not be reduced, but will become heavier.

In particular, two years ago, Japan's securities industry was the first to achieve computerization.

For major securities firms, as long as they operate the terminal, they can have a clear view of the performance of all branches, all sales outlets, and all sales across the country.

To put it nicely, it is simple and straightforward. To put it bluntly, a person's value is measured entirely by sales performance figures.

From then on, the way the Japanese securities industry evaluated employees became very simple and crude.

People who don't do well in school are either incompetent or lazy.

Therefore, in various business departments of securities companies, the "7-11" work schedule of people starting work at a.m. and leaving get off work at p.m. is simply the most common norm.

Thank goodness the stock market is closed on weekends, otherwise the employees of these securities companies would have no chance to recuperate.

Logically speaking, as a cadre at the same level as the director of the sales department, the next level up is the manager of the sales department, the pressure they feel should be far less than that of ordinary employees.

After all, the principle in any industry in Japan is that subordinates are meant to be exploited, and most of the pressure from the superiors should be transferred to their subordinates.

But people are different. Perhaps due to his upright character, as a kind-hearted and ambitious young man, Jin Jing cannot stand slaughtering customers and exploiting employees against his conscience.

He chose another working model, trying his best, working together with his subordinates, leading everyone to work hard and bear the pressure of performance.

In fact, in order to achieve performance goals, he is not only the most diligent person in the sales department, but also bears many additional responsibilities and burdens due to his position.

And I'm afraid no one knows these things better than Sagawa, not even Kanai's wife.

You know, Kanai and Sagawa have always been in contact.

Because they both like fishing and have similar attitudes towards work and life, they established a friendship with similar interests from the day they both became new employees of Nomura Securities.

So even though they were no longer in the same sales department and their positions were different, they would still find a weekend to go fishing together every once in a while.

And this is often when they complain to each other.

After Kanai was promoted to minister, Sagawa once heard Kanai tell this story.

Once, the deadline for the sales task of an investment trust product assigned by the company was approaching.

Until the deadline, we were still looking for buyers.

Just when all sales in the Jiangdong Sales Department were at their wits' end, a "regular customer" of Jinjing happened to come to him and buy an investment product worth 3 million yen.

This order was a timely help and directly saved the sales department's performance target.

However, just as the salesmen breathed a sigh of relief and Kenichi was preparing to help the customers with the transfer procedures.

But the customer suddenly called and wanted to cancel the order.

The customer said, "I'm sorry, I need money urgently, so let's cancel this order for now."

If we follow the normal procedures, at this time, we only need to apply to the leader to cancel the transaction...

However, as the backbone of the entire sales department, Jin Jing not only did not report the matter to his superiors, but even concealed the matter without discussing it with anyone.

At that time, he felt that his transaction had been counted as sales performance of the sales department and included in the sales data of the head office.

If I cancel it now, not only will my work management be deducted points, but it will also affect the performance of the entire sales department.

Especially around him, everyone was immersed in the sense of accomplishment of completing the performance. If the customer canceled the order at this time, all of this would come to nothing.

But if he does not cancel the order according to normal procedures, he will have to pay for the client's transaction principal and handling fees out of his own pocket.

"But in the final analysis, this is all because the customer regretted and canceled the order. No matter what, you don't need to be responsible for it personally, right? This is the responsibility of the sales department?"

Kenichi Sagawa could not understand Kanai's final choice and tried to persuade him again and again.

But Jin Jing said, "That's true... But, my subordinates and I work together all year round, and we spend more time together than with my wife and children. Moreover, although we can meet the targets every month by patching together, only we know how much sweat we have put in to achieve the targets. We are a community with a shared destiny. Especially as a leader, if I fail, it will seriously undermine their confidence. On the other hand, if they believe that I can lead them to digest the monthly targets together every month, they will be full of energy. What's more, on the deadline, as long as we can complete the monthly targets, we can go home early! When we take on a big order on the deadline, everyone will applaud involuntarily. The relationship between us is different from that of other sales departments. I really couldn't bear to see everyone disappointed..."

"So what are you going to do with the money?"

"I was really desperate, so I had to go to a loan company to borrow money..."

Jin Jing's words were full of the sadness of a man who was overwhelmed by sales targets.

It reveals the helplessness of a responsible leader and an idealist.

Therefore, because of this, the two of them tacitly did not mention the fact that Kanai might be able to transfer Sagawa's job, and could bring Sagawa under his command and give him a hand.

Sagawa certainly didn't want to put his good friend in a difficult position, and felt that it wasn't easy for Kanai to be the minister.

Going by yourself will make it more difficult for the other party.

Jin Jing also didn't want his good friend to come and suffer.

He is unwilling to exploit even ordinary subordinates, so how can he pass the pressure on to his good friends?

In particular, they are all afraid that once they become superiors and subordinates, there will be no one with whom they can speak their true feelings.

In this way, the two of them remained in this situation even though they belonged to different sales departments and had different positions. And Sagawa watched Kanai lose his most precious health day by day.

It is said that no other country in the world has men who would walk arm in arm and drink on their way home from get off work like Japanese men do.

People in securities companies are of course no exception.

For those who are worn out by sales targets, the best way to relieve stress is to drink.

Whenever I work overtime until midnight, my mind becomes a mess. As long as someone invites me, I can immediately get a group of people to go drinking.

Because of the heavy responsibility he shouldered, Jin Jing refused to go along with the crowd and insisted on his ideals. He was always in a state of anxiety and his alcohol tolerance was like a bottomless pit.

Just like that, gradually, I lost my appetite and didn't go to eat lunch.

On the contrary, the amount of cigarettes smoked increased greatly, sometimes even more than 80 cigarettes a day.

In the end, I started to lose weight and couldn't sleep at night after drinking.

The indicators for the next day will always haunt me, and I can never forget them...

It was this kind of work that ruined Kanai's future and cost him his life.

However, his goal - "to become the manager of the sales department and no longer have to worry about sales performance every day" - has not yet come true.

So, in his last moments, Kanai, lying on the hospital bed, said these words to Sagawa who came to visit him.

"We are so stupid. We really shouldn't have chosen this career, and we shouldn't have believed what the company said. Do you remember when we first came to Nomura Securities to report, someone told us that the reason for setting work goals is to improve employee enthusiasm, and it is by no means a "performance indicator" that must be achieved. Work goals are not assigned by the company to employees, but are determined and set by each employee based on his or her ability to complete the work. In the process of setting goals, superiors and old employees will give new employees advice and help. Set a challenging goal for yourself and do your best to achieve it. In this process, employees will naturally make continuous progress and keep moving forward on the road to becoming business elites.

Go in. What nice words sound, but in fact, performance indicators are just performance indicators. Securities companies only care about this, and everything else is fake! All fake! Even if I really become the general manager of the sales department, I will not be able to escape. Mr. Sagawa, I'm sorry, the river beach we often go to is so nice, it's a pity that I can't go fishing with you. My last advice to you is, don't have any illusions about Nomura Securities, and don't have any hope for this industry. If you can change your career, do it as soon as possible, otherwise, if you keep working so hard and rushing for performance every day, sooner or later you will become like me. I am so confused, wasting too much time on things that are completely meaningless. I could obviously do more important things with those good times. The most important thing is to spend more time with my family. I feel so sorry for them. If..."

In this way, Kento Kanai left this world with reluctance and regret.

After the New Year, Kenichi Sagawa witnessed with his own eyes the tragedy of the elderly seeing their loved ones die.

From then on, Kento Kanai's wife lost her stable livelihood security.

Moreover, the two children Jin Jing left her are not yet adults.

Looking back at myself, I also have elderly parents and young children to take care of.

Moreover, he himself has "three highs" due to long-term staying up late and working overtime...

Yes! Kenichi Sagawa finally realized that Kanai was using his life to warn him.

  Hard work can also become a source of disaster!

He doesn't want to die, he wants to live!

  So are Nomura Securities’ rules and sales department requirements still important?

No, life is more important than anything else!

Sagawa wanted to survive and grow up with his children. He didn't want his wife, children and parents to cry in front of his coffin, so he had to break free from the shackles of the world and learn to lie down and let it go.

What makes him even luckier than Jin Jing is that he has a client like Ning Weimin who comes to him on his own initiative and gives him the confidence and power to choose.

In fact, Ning Weimin's suggestions to Sagawa were far more important than his colleagues and superiors imagined.

Because the huge volume of capital transactions means that Kenichi Sagawa no longer has to worry about performance like others, and is free from criticism from his superiors and colleagues.

Ning Weimin himself is more like a huge treasure trove.

Only through long-term and continuous contact can you know that Ning Weimin is an investment genius who never makes mistakes.

Although Sagawa, a securities practitioner, could not trade stocks himself, he borrowed the account of his wife's distant relative and followed in Ning Weimin's footsteps, and still made considerable profits.

The 10 million invested has already turned into 80 million without much effort or energy.

  How big a benefit is this?

In addition, Ning Weimin has good character.

Although they were a privileged class, they would neither humiliate Sagawa nor make any excessive demands.

On the contrary, he was approachable and respectful, very fair and generous, and always gave appropriate rewards for Sagawa's services.

For example, after understanding Ning Weimin's preferences.

During the holidays, Sagawa always tried his best to help Ning Weimin exchange the gifts and coupons from the sales department for taxi coupons or cash that he needed, or he would use the sales department's money to buy the goods in Ning Weimin's hands and then "give" them to him.

And Ning Weimin never let him work in vain, always taking out 10% or 20% to "share the spoils" so that he could also "wet his lips".

After all this time, in just half a year, Sagawa actually earned more than 10 million yen.

This is a real benefit. For him, it is like an extra salary out of thin air.

Moreover, he no longer had to develop and flatter other clients, and the social expenses became Sagawa's personal money.

It’s not a good idea to take your wife and children out to restaurants and entertainment venues every day.

It would be nice to buy a few brand-name bags for your wife. You can save almost all of your salary.

So what can we say when we encounter such a customer?

Anyway, Kenichi Sagawa has become more stable and he doesn't want to be promoted at all.

What kind of minister is this? Seeing what happened to Jin Jing, he has no appeal at all.

As for the strange looks and verbal ridicule from other colleagues, he doesn't care.

My heart says, sooner or later, there will be a day when you will cry.

He just wants to live in peace and security, and get by day by day. He lives one day at a time, and every extra day's salary is considered a profit for him.

Anyway, it's quite comfortable to just keep going like this.

Even if things don't turn out well, at least in one or two years, he will probably have assets worth 200 million yen.

This amount of money is enough for early retirement.

At that time, he could go to the river beach to fish every day, doing what Jin Jing wanted to do but couldn't, and maybe he could even open a small shop selling fishing tackle.

All this was thanks to Ning Weimin. He was full of gratitude to Ning Weimin. He was also very clear that Ning Weimin's orders and needs were tasks that he had to complete.

At this moment, he must ensure the safety of Ning Weimin's funds and transfer them out without any loss, otherwise he would be unworthy of this kindness.

  As for the interests of the sales department?

Damn it! You cheated me, who had been a social animal for many years, and even killed a healthy Jin Jing. Should I be grateful to you?

Damn Nomura! Damn the stock market! Damn those who set performance indicators!

This is a perverted country and a deformed society!

For the sake of money and profit, there is no moral bottom line.

It always takes away lives without people noticing!