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16 July 2015
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Leaders wear cardigans

By Stuart Crainer

This article is part of the Contemporary leadership series

The world’s biggest supercomputer is a big deal. In 2012 we talked to members of the Japanese team involved in developing a computer nicknamed K.

The name was a play on the Japanese word ‘kei’ for the number 10 to the power of 16. It is a big number and it was a big build with a $1 billion development budget and over 1,000 people involved. Development began in 2007 and ended in 2012 with the K being celebrated as the fastest of the fastest.

We met the managers and leaders from the Japanese company Fujitsu involved in this huge project. It was striking how down-to-earth they were. The Fujitsu team were not classic Silicon Valley material. They were neither hip nor cool. There were no jeans, not even chinos. No casual wear; nothing casual at all. Indeed, when we met the project manager he looked like a typical middle-aged Japanese corporate man wearing a suit with a cardigan to stave off the Tokyo winter chill. Ordinary people involved in an extraordinary project.

Stuart Crainer is editor of the award-winning magazine Business Strategy Review and co-founder of the Thinkers50. According to Personnel Today he is one of the most influential people in British people management. His book credits include The Management Century and a biography of the management guru Tom Peters. His work with Des Dearlove in business thought leadership led Management Today to describe them as “market makers par excellence.” Stuart is an adjunct professor at IE Business School.

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