As I mentioned in a reply below, Japanese business culture (the good side of it, anyway) was heavily influenced by Peter Drucker in the 60s, and carried it forw

As I mentioned in a reply below, Japanese business culture (the good side of it, anyway) was heavily influenced by Peter Drucker in the 60s, and carried it forward decades, long after he became a sort of side show in the U.S.-business-mogul ratrace. For example: http://www.economist.com/node/16481583 http://www.economist.com/node/16481583 A book like "The Toyota Way" or "Product Development for the Lean Enterprise" I'd recommend to understand Lean (which isn't pervasive in Japan, but of course is known to have originated in a couple of automakers).