The CYCLE OF GOODNESS® is the philosophy established by YKK’s founder, Tadao Yoshida, who believed that “no one prospers without rendering benefit to others.” It expresses the basic belief of the YKK Group. Tadao Yoshida firmly believed that business belongs to society. As an important member of society, a company survives through coexistence. When the benefits are shared, the value of the company’s existence will be recognized by society. When pursuing his business, Mr. Yoshida was most concerned with that aspect and would find a path leading to mutual prosperity. He believed that using ingenuity and inventiveness in business activities and constantly creating new value would lead to the success of clients and business partners and make it possible to contribute to society. This type of reasoning is referred to as the CYCLE OF GOODNESS and has always served as the foundation of our business activities. We have inherited this way of thinking and have established it as the YKK corporate philosophy.
Our Philosophy
CYCLE OF GOODNESS®: No one prospers without rendering benefit to others.
Management Principle
When Tadahiro Yoshida became president of YKK in 1993, he expanded upon the CYCLE OF GOODNESS in a way that would resonate in an increasingly globalized society. Building on YKK’s fundamental concept of creating value, he adopted “YKK seeks corporate value of higher significance” as the YKK Management Principle.
The CYCLE OF GOODNESS and the Management Principle complement each other – while the CYCLE OF GOODNESS asks us to create value and share the benefits, the Management Principle gives us a clear set of rules on how to do so. By continually striving for innovation in our products, technology, and the management of our company, we can deliver value to our customers, employees and society.
Fairness is the anchor between those with whom we share benefits and our way of delivering those benefits. We use “fairness” in a broader sense – one that goes beyond simply abiding by the law. “Fairness” at YKK means cultivating the knowledge and wisdom within our company to make just decisions in every community around the world where we do business.
YKK's Core Values
“Do not fear failure, experience builds success. Create opportunities for employees."
We do not believe in setting low targets just so everyone can achieve them. Instead, we see value in striving to achieve high goals. It is important to seek ambitious goals, to be unafraid of making mistakes on the way up, and stick to the job to the very end. That’s where the saying “Do not fear failure, experience builds success” comes in. And behind that is the custom of “Create opportunities for employees.” Managers give the members of their team enjoy the opportunity to overcome challenges and achieve success. They “create opportunities for employees” in the members of their team, and support them on their way to success.
“Insist on quality in everything.”
We continue to emphasize the quality of the services and products we offer our customers. This has brought us growth. Therefore, “insistence on quality” is the way each of us uncompromisingly demands our own quality. “Job Quality” does not end with you. It means understanding your customer’s standpoint and doing all you can offer that customer higher quality than expected through innovative ideas and inventions. This requires a severely ambitious spirit, to do just a little bit more, only a tiny bit more, to boost our jobs’ quality and our customers’ satisfaction.
“Build trust, transparency, and respect.”
We put a great deal of weight on doing business in such a way that we build credit and trust from customers and business partners, from the community and society, and from the state and the nation. We build invaluable trust by always making fair and truthful decisions and by an accumulation of efforts with a very high degree of transparency, which is “Build trust, transparency and respect.” We are proud of what we have achieved so far, and feel that the trust we have earned is vital to our long-term growth.
YKK Americas Group Fundamental Behaviors
At the YKK Americas Group, we believe in the CYCLE OF GOODNESS – the idea that “no one prospers without rendering benefit to others.” We’re committed to creating value for our customers, employees, and society in all that we do. Our three Core Values provide the framework for carrying out these objectives. But what do these values mean on a daily basis? The 25 Fundamental Behaviors describe the daily practices that bring our culture to life.
Manga Series on the YKK Core Values
