YKK Stories

In writing about this behavior, a question arose in my mind about the meaning or significance of the word GIVE BACK, as I wondered: is it possible to give back without receiving? If I had remained only in the meaning, it would sound somewhat selfish, since I would be conditioned to give something only in […]

On some occasions I have been asked by friends and colleagues from other companies in areas completely different from the industrial one if working in production or maintenance areas means that I should not be seriously concerned about appearance in order to be remarkable in the things that are done every day, that is to […]

For me, writing a message regarding the YKK Fundamental Behavior 21 “Be a lifelong learner” was a great challenge since I never have had the opportunity to express myself in something so big and seen by so many people. I take it as a way to learn as well. I think that in life one […]

This is one of the most important Fundamental Behaviors not only for manufacturing; you can apply it in many things.  You have heard about Apollo 13 , the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program and the third meant to land on the Moon in April 1970. After 2 days of travel one defective cable caused an explosion […]

Since we have already had nine rounds of Fundamental Behaviors messages and various people have written about Fundamental Behavior 19: “Be Proactive,” this time, I would like to take a different perspective and think about safety, which is very important in the YKK Group’s business activities as well as in our personal lives. What knowledge […]

When I was asked me to write something about this week’s Fundamental behavior, I couldn’t say no. This is one of the behaviors that is most dear to me. “Take ownership” has guided me throughout my entire life, or…almost. For me it’s hard to write about it…I just do things because they need to be […]

  At Erie Architectural Products, one of the things I love about the “project” side of our business, which also makes it challenging, is the fact that we get to work on a lot of exciting, unique projects.  Every project comes with a new set of challenges and obstacles that need to be overcome.  I […]

For me, this Fundamental Behavior is a major contributor to keeping our companies strong, successful, and remaining a great place to work.  If we all can focus on providing truly meaningful appreciation throughout our companies, all other Fundamental Behaviors will be easier to attain. As I thought about this, I realized that we all can […]

  “Make the chili.” This seems like an odd thing to start out the discussion of Fundamental # 15 “Listen to Understand,” but hear me out.  I ran across a post on Facebook recently with a simple sentence: “Make the chili.” The headline caught my attention, so I continued reading.  Here is the story I […]

As I sat down and started typing this message, I was overwhelmed by examples that I could use for this week’s behavior regarding personal relationships. Of course, I could discuss those of my grandfather, parents, or spouse, but I chose an example of my early work-related experiences. 38 years ago, I graduated from vocational-technical school […]