Three Essential Articles That Help Leaders Develop a Broader, Strategic Perspective（DIAMOND Harvard Business Review） | Insights

Series: "The Origins of Professional Thinking—Essays That Shaped My Thinking " Vol. 1

Summary
DIAMOND Harvard Business Review (DHBR) publishes many articles that continue to be read even as times change. But which papers and articles have actually influenced DHBR readers and been applied in their work? In this series, professionals active across a wide range of fields introduce DHBR papers and articles they recommend. In this inaugural installment, Keiji Horie, who serves as Southeast Asia Regional Head and Chairman of Thailand at ABeam Consulting, introduces three articles that are helpful for developing the high-level perspective required of leaders.

When I Felt Lonely as a Leader Organizing My Thoughts and Gaining Courage

To be honest, DIAMOND Harvard Business Review (DHBR) used to be nothing more than a subscription magazine delivered to the office that I would occasionally pick up. The turning point came about five years ago. At the time, I was designated as a "next-generation leader" by the president at the time and was encouraged to read it with the words, "You should read this—it will help elevate your perspective." That recommendation prompted me to start using the DHBR digital edition.
At that time, I had just taken on the role of the Materials Chemistry Business Unit leader. I had served as a departmental leader before, but that was the first time I bore full responsibility for a business, and I began to experience a different kind of loneliness. When people fall into isolation, their perspective inevitably narrows. However, as a leader, you must think independently, arrive at your own answers, and continue to lead your team forward. While coaching and mentoring support from the company was helpful, DHBR also played a significant role in helping me step back and regain a broader perspective.
At the time, I often found it difficult to organize my thoughts. However, DHBR articles take a broad, bird’s-eye view of issues, and reading them helped me make sense of my thinking and put the challenges I was facing into words. It also gave me courage to see that other leaders were moving forward while grappling with similar concerns. Looking back, the DHBR articles that left a strong impression on me all share something in common: they helped me clarify my thinking and gave me the push I needed to move forward.

Broadening Perspective and Encouraging Future-Oriented Thinking Jim Collins on "the Words from Drucker That Shaped My Life"

More recently, I was particularly struck by the interview with Jim Collins published in the December 2025 special issue on Peter Drucker, titled “Useful, Not Successful: The Question That Changed My Life.”

Having taken on responsibility for a business area different from those I had led before, I had become acutely aware of the limits of my own perspective and the breadth of my leadership experience. For me, this interview helped broaden my viewpoint.
Collins’s reflection on what he learned from Drucker—"not whether you can succeed, but how you can be useful"—highlighted, in my view, the importance of looking at the world from the perspective of others and of society, thinking 50 or even 100 years ahead, and backcasting from the future.
The idea of "investing energy not in ego but in something larger than yourself" also left a deep impression on me. It made me realize that leaders elevate their perspective and broaden their field of vision through humility.
As people grow older, they tend to become more conservative. I had always recognized this as a personal challenge and was determined not to fall into that pattern. Against that backdrop, Collins’s words—"The question 'How can I be useful?' is a gift that will guide you toward what you must do until the very end"—resonated deeply with me.

Useful, Not Successful: The Question That Changed My Life
Jim Collins, Consultant
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Highlighting the Challenges Facing Japanese Companies The Message Left by Professor Ikujiro Nonaka

Another article that left a strong impression on me was "The Trajectory of Knowledge Creation Built Through the Practice of 'Dynamic Duality,'" written by Hirotaka Takeuchi, former Harvard Business School professor, published in the memorial feature for the late Professor Ikujiro Nonaka, Professor Emeritus at Hitotsubashi University. The themes strongly resonated with the challenges I have experienced while working in Japanese companies and society.

Having also worked in the United States, I deeply empathized with Professor Nonaka’s message: "Globalize or Die"—that there is no future without competing on a global stage. I also felt that his observation that Japan suffers from “overplanning, overanalysis, and overcompliance" precisely reflected my own experience. Of course, planning and quality are essential. However, in Japan they are often taken to excess, with expectations for 100 percent—or even 200 percent—completeness. As a result, speed is lost and progress stalls. I have long seen this as a fundamental issue.

Today, many of the companies creating new products, services, and innovations are based outside Japan, in countries such as the United States, China, and Israel. Japan places excessive emphasis on planning, while neglecting trial and error and execution. This article points directly to the essential issues Japanese companies are facing. We see similar tendencies within our own organization, and it reaffirmed for me the importance of accelerating cycles of trial and error.

The Trajectory of Knowledge Creation Built Through the Practice of "Dynamic Duality"
Hirotaka Takeuchi, Chair of the Board, International Christian University
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An Article That Taught Me the Importance of Moving Forward with Hypothesis-Driven Thinking and Speed

Another article that left a strong impression on me was "Leaders, It’s Time to Build Your Tolerance for Uncertainty." iIt reinforced the importance of maintaining a high-level, future-looking perspective. In times of high uncertainty, if we focus solely on logically organizing everything before taking action, time simply passes without generating momentum. The article’s observation that "leaders under stress tend to cling to fixed plans" reflects the very challenge that is particularly evident in Japanese companies. It reminded me of the importance of how boldly we can act based on hypothesis-driven thinking and how quickly we can move forward through trial and error.

In the past, when I led an organization of around 1,000 young employees, we undertook initiatives to create new value both inside and outside the company by leveraging the perspectives of Generation Z. At that time, I emphasized the importance of "hyper-ownership" and "first-mover mindset." The key, I told them, was to identify what they wanted to pursue and take action decisively—to move early on ideas no one else had tried, and to bring them to life ahead of others. Even if something was only 50 percent complete, I encouraged them to put it out into the world first.

Today, more companies have clearly defined purpose and mission. In times of uncertainty, everything begins by returning to these foundations. The article refers to these as "anchors"—unshakable core elements—and as organizational values. When these are clearly defined and widely embedded, organizations can move forward with confidence. This reinforced for me the importance of setting clear guiding principles—from a higher perspective—and acting with speed.

Leaders, It’s Time to Build Your Tolerance for Uncertainty
Simone Stolzoff, Former Design Lead at IDEO
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Insights from the United States and Europe for Building Globally Diverse Teams

The name of our company, ABeam, is derived from "Asian Beam"—a ray or force from Asia—which reflects our strong commitment to Asia. While our roots are in Japan, our aspiration is to contribute to Asian society by supporting both Japanese and Asian companies.
Today, across the Southeast Asia region under my oversight, approximately 1,400 people are active across five countries: Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. The largest office, in Thailand, has around 500 people and has grown into a leading position among full-service consulting firms in the country in terms of business scale, revenue, and number of consultants.
The Thailand office, where I have served as Managing Director, includes not only Thai nationals but also members of many different nationalities, including Belgians. Across Southeast Asia as a whole, the diversity is even more pronounced, with French, Indian, and Chinese professionals working alongside local members.
In building such diverse teams, I find DHBR to be an invaluable resource. We are currently working under the hypothesis that the diversity present in our Southeast Asian offices represents the model of global management we should aim for in the future. To realize this, it is essential to articulate a vision to diverse members, gain their empathy, and actively involve them. When Japanese way of thinking or communicating are not fully understood, DHBR —rich in perspectives from the United States and Europe— has proven particularly useful. By sharing and referencing these perspectives, I have found that we can gradually build shared understanding. In addition, DHBR offers a wealth of insights on diversity, including perspectives from Generation Z and women, making it an especially valuable source of viewpoints I do not naturally possess.
In Thailand, with the goal of "building teams capable of sustainable growth," we have pursued transformation by developing next-generation leaders and shifting the organization from being expatriate-centered to being led primarily by local members. Going forward, we will enter a phase of expanding the structural reforms implemented in Thailand to other Southeast Asian countries. What will be critical in doing so is maintaining a high-level perspective, while moving forward with a strong sense of ownership and personal conviction.
We aim to move beyond a model that have been centered on Japan, and I believe it is possible to create new services and concepts overseas and then bring them back to Japan, and scale them globally. While Japan’s tendency toward perfectionism can lead to hesitation, Southeast Asia offers an environment where people can act with agility and take on new challenges. I intend to continue driving further transformation with Southeast Asia going forward.

Originally published in DIAMOND Harvard Business Review on April 13, 2026, reproduced here with permission. Original article is available here .
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