Koukyou yoshi, fukyou nao yoshi
Prosperous times are good, but bad times are better
Times are tough. It seems that a day hardly goes by when we don't hear of another company going bankrupt or laying off workers. In times like these, many people complain about the way things are or lament about the way things used to be. Kounosuke Matsushita, the founder of Panasonic, had another way of looking at times like these and coined this famous saying.
Koukyou yoshi, fukyou nao yoshi means, “Good economic times are good, but bad economic times are even better.” The idea behind this is that, in good economic times everything is fine and people become complaisant and satisfied with the status quo. However, during a depression or recession we are forced to evaluate ourselves and our situation and take action to improve them. In doing so, greatness can be achieved. In tough economic times strong, well-managed businesses will take the opportunity to take stock of their weaknesses and improve those areas and try out new and innovative ideas that they may not have needed to try before. In doing so, the company becomes stronger and their customers benefit as well with better products and services.
This saying is used as words of encouragement in hard times. Thus, even though times may be hard right now, look at it as an opportunity to make yourself and your business or career stronger. Do your best! Ganbatte kudasai! Koukyou yoshi, fukyou nao yoshi desu.
Usage note: Most Japanese sayings can be turned into complete sentences just by adding “desu” to the end. To add emphasis, add “desu yo”. To ask for agreements (think, “yeah,” “right,” “you know”), add “desu ne”.
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