What are the secrets to business success learned from world history?

This time, we introduce the new book "Business Models That Shaped World History" (Shinchosha) by Professor Emeritus Yukio Noguchi of Hitotsubashi University, renowned for works like "The 'Super' Organization Method."

Interpreting world-historical events through a "business" lens!?

 

This book examines three pivotal eras of profound change in human history: the rise and fall of the "Ancient Roman Empire," the unfolding of the "Age of Exploration" as European nations competed from the Renaissance to the modern era, and the "Exponential Advancement of the Information Industry" occurring over the past 20-30 years. (As the title suggests) it examines these periods from a "business model" perspective, unraveling the causes and effects: what brought change and prosperity to each era, and what subsequently led to their decline.

What if we viewed heroic tales coolly through a business lens...?

The book's unique approach lies in its cool depiction of the rise and fall of empires and nations through the lens of management and marketing. While history often focuses on heroic tales and human drama, Mr. Noguchi dispassionately analyzes the prosperity of empires and the emergence of industries using business terms and metaphors (while still capturing the appeal of historical figures). Unraveling history through this lens sometimes reveals a "paradox": events or episodes highly praised or popular with people throughout history might actually have been "bad moves" from a business perspective. For example, the defensive foreign policy implemented by Emperor Hadrian, one of the Five Good Emperors of the Roman Empire, is credited with bringing peace to Rome. But was it truly "wise" from a "business model" perspective? The book raises such questions. It is precisely this provision of paradoxical perspectives that makes this book compelling.

Two Conditions for Human Prosperity

To avoid spoilers, I'll refrain from details, but I should mention here that the book proposes a perspective emphasizing two crucial factors for bringing prosperity to people: "ensuring diversity" and "expanding frontiers."

According to the author, projects that generate new wealth, create culture, and leave a lasting impact for future generations—whether founding an empire or creating a new industry—always involve recognizing human diversity and aiming to expand frontiers.
Neither alone suffices; only when both necessary and sufficient conditions—ensuring diversity and expanding frontiers—are met can sustainable prosperity be achieved. In other words, while acknowledging people's distinct individualities, rulers and leaders must provide a future frontier that everyone aspires to and considers important.

This is precisely the same as what we hear today: that companies need vision and innovation (frontiers), while employees must embrace diversity (diversity).

Let's consider this era of change at the level of human history and world history.

Incidentally, books examining "the present" and "the future" from the perspective of social, economic, and technological history spanning centuries—such as Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens, Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century, or Kevin Kelly's The Technium—have recently become massive bestsellers.

The reason these seemingly difficult, even intimidating "history books" become bestsellers might be that many people feel the overwhelming changes we humans are experiencing now demand a calm, centuries-spanning historical perspective to grasp their meaning (without this weighty historical viewpoint, the very essence of these changes remains elusive). Perhaps more people are seeking to look toward the future from the perspective of human history, rather than being swayed by immediate technological shifts.

Viewed from another angle, we may be entering an era where businesses lacking vision, focused only on the immediate, will quickly be swept away by the waves of change. Precisely now, amid this transformation, what is needed is a "grand vision, a grand perspective" grounded in human history.

This book, too, draws universal principles and insights necessary for humanity to increase wealth, create culture, and achieve long-term prosperity, viewed from a macro perspective spanning centuries. Reading it makes one realize anew that the more humans and society change, the more certain aspects remain unchanged. Simultaneously, it compels the thought that to grasp the essence of this change, one must actively pursue learning and embrace change oneself. For those of us living in the modern age, navigating this "era of transformation," this book is highly recommended—whether you're a world history enthusiast or someone seeking to build a vision with a grand perspective.

 

【Dentsu Inc. Modern Communication Lab】