No longer looking at financial reports — President Hachiyabei: If you're too obsessed with numbers, they'll get worse

▲ President Hachishima Kiyonori founded the main Hachiyabei store in 1983. (Photo / Reporter Xu Wenbin)

Reporter Huang Shiyuan / Taipei Report

When you visit Hakata in Fukuoka, Japan, you must try the local famous yakitori (grilled skewers). Among them, the No.1 yakitori shop in Hakata is

The key figure behind Yabēbiyaki—President Yashima Kiyonori—was, at first glance during our initial meeting, a very stylish Japanese "ojiisan" (elderly man), warm and approachable. President Yashima’s family ran a butcher shop, but during his university years, he realized that the meat market was a tough business. In 1983, to help transform the family enterprise, he opened the first “Yabēbi Hakata Yakiniku” right at home.


▲ Yabēbi Maebara Honkan, which has been in business for over 30 years, is still open for business. (Photo by reporter Xu Wenbin)

After 17 years of operation, in pursuit of greater growth, President Yashima expanded to Fukuoka City. With an uncompromising dedication to flavor, ingredients, and service—striving to convey Yabēbi’s commitment through every skewer—this philosophy became what the president calls “one skewer, one soul.” In 2005, Yabēbi Yakiniku topped both the yakiniku category and the overall gourmet rankings in the Kyushu WALKER guide. In 2008, it entered Roppongi, Tokyo. By 2010, it was selected as the “foreigners’ favorite yakiniku restaurant.”

To date, Yabēbi Yakiniku has expanded to eight branches, but surprisingly, President Yashima no longer looks at financial statements or numbers, leaving such matters to professional accountants. He explained that in the past, when he focused solely on the numbers, he noticed that his staff weren’t happy—and consequently, neither were the customers. He realized that being too fixated on figures would actually cause those figures to worsen. Strangely enough, once he let go of the numbers, the store’s performance began to improve.


▲ A representative of Hakata yakiniku and a signature dish of Yabēbi—pork belly skewers. (Photo by reporter Xu Wenbin)

President Yashima pointed out that numbers are indeed important, but he leaves them to the professionals because he understands that if one is overly fixated on numbers and minor details, the scale of the business will only shrink. When asked how he knows the status of the stores without looking at the numbers, President Yashima smiled and said that all it takes is walking into a store and seeing no customers to know the numbers aren’t good.

Beyond his indifference to numbers, President Yashima also rarely holds meetings with branch managers or executives, trusting them to run their respective stores. During a visit to Yabēbi Maebara Honkan with reporters, he was seen discussing not the store's condition, but rather plans for barbecues and outings with the manager and staff. He cares deeply about whether employees are happy at work, believing that only happy employees can create a cheerful atmosphere for customers.


▲ The teppan grill at BUTABARA TO THE WORLD (Note: graphic altered by reporter, please refer to strong text).