木村：「今度僕の会社では、ヘリコプターを買うことにしたそうだよ」
加藤：「君の会社の社長は先を読む人だからね。何か考えがあってのことなのだろう」
Kimura: Kondo bofeu no featsha de wa, herifeoputaa wo kau koto ni shita soo da yo.
Kato: Kimi no kaisha no shacho wa saki wo yomu hito dakara ne. Nani ka kangae ga atte no koto na no daroo.
Kimura: I heard that my company is going to buy a helicopter.
Kato: That's because your president is the kind of person who's always planning ahead. I wonder if he has some specific plans?
* * *
Saki wo yomu means to plan ahead.
It is said that the companies which form the foundation of the Japanese economy are not in fact the well-known Sony's and Toyota's but rather the medium-siz- ed companies that make up over 90 percent of all companies in Japan. And whether such medium-sized Companies increase in size or simply continue to be subcontractors is up to the executives of the company, especially the president.
The company mentioned in the conversation is a typical medium-sized company with about 100 employees. Since shacho ga saki wo yomu noga umai (the president has a real talent for planning ahead), however, the company has steadily increased in size and market share. The president's purchase of a large piece of land for the company in the Tokyo Suburbs before prices skyrocketed is just one exam- ple of his ability to read the signs of the times (jidai no saki wo yomu.) And now he's planning to buy a helicopter. Why? The president explains :
"Most of our business is conducted in the suburbs of Tokyo-Chiba, Saitama, Kanagawa. If we send an employee out it takes an entire day to get there, do the work, and get back. With a helicopter, however, a two-hour, one-way trip can be covered in 10 minutes. The employee can then visit at least three different Customers in one day. For us, the time saved is critical. " Upon hearing this I couldn't help but be impressed: "Saki wo yomu hito wa sugoi" ("Someone able to plan ;ahead is really special. " ) According to the president, business will definitely improve if he's able to send out one or two top employees by helicopter instead of 0 few average salesmen by car. Since there are ap- .parently some 1,000 helicopters now in service in Japan, there must be many other companies thinking along the same lines.
The president continues: "The problem we face now is a shortage of pilots. And with more and more companies using helicopters, the shortage is going to get worse down the road." My feeling was that, "Saki wo yomu hito wa sugoi."
("People who can plan ahead are incredible.")