What is The Harada Method?
Impact of the Harada Method on Ohtani
Shohei Ohtani's Success Story
The designated hitter and pitcher was Rookie of the Year in 2018, followed by being selected as unanimous MVP of the American League last year. His rise to stardom can be attributed to his organized approach to the sport and the coaching he was exposed to along the way.
Ohtani used the Harada Method to achieve baseball superstardom. The Harada Method is a personal-growth system created by a former middle school teacher, Takashi Harada. As a junior high school track and field coach at the worst school in Osaka, Japan, Harada was determined to create an environment of success for his students and athletes. After many years of studying the world’s best coaches, he created a new methodology to uplift his students. The school went from the lowest rated to the highest rated out of 380 schools. His track team won 13 gold medals, achieving the number one ranking in Japan.
The matrix below, termed a 64 Chart, demonstrates the organization of Ohtani’s development. At the center is the ultimate goal of being the top draft pick in the MLB draft. The ultimate goal is surrounded by eight essential keys for accomplishing the ultimate goal. Then, these eight keys are sub-divided into eight areas of focus for his personal development.
Ohtani’s 64 Chart
In essence, at the core of the Harada Method of personal growth is a checklist of behavio
Checklist
After his initial one, Ohtani has filled out about 15 more “64 Charts” to reflect his updated goals.
Long Term Goal Form
At the age of 28, Shohei Ohtani signed a 10 year / $700,000,000 contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
What system did he use to achieve such huge goals?
He used the Harada method which is very successful and popular in Japan. How did this come about?
Meet Takashi Harada.
He was a high school track & field coach at the worst school in Osaka, Japan. After years studying the world's best coaches, he created his own system. His school went from being dead last to the #1 school in Japan producing 13 gold medal winners during his span.
Shohei Ohtani studied under Mr. Suzuki who was a student of Harada's.
Now Here is Shohei Otani's list of goals as well as his map of how to get there.
What he has accomplished seems surreal & almost magical but it was planned all along.
The Harada Method, developed by Takashi Harada, is a system focused on fostering self-reliance and personal development. This method emphasizes individuals becoming highly skilled in a particular discipline, enabling them to make responsible decisions for themselves and the organizations they work for. The core principle of the Harada Method is to empower individuals to envision their future success through their own efforts, thereby instilling excitement and motivation for work.
The Harada Method has been successfully applied in various contexts, including sports coaching and business management. It has been recognized as an effective tool for developing highly skilled workers essential for the future of industries. By instilling self-reliance and providing individuals with the tools to achieve their goals, the Harada Method aims to drive personal and professional success.
The method has been widely adopted in Japan and is now being introduced to English-speaking businesses worldwide through certification programs and coaching services.
Overall, the Harada Method offers a structured approach to personal growth and goal achievement by empowering individuals to take ownership of their lives, develop essential skills, and strive for excellence in both personal and professional endeavors.
What are the Key Principles of the Harada Method?
The key principles of the Harada Method, a management and self-development approach, include:
1. Self-Management: Individuals are encouraged to take responsibility for their own work and personal development. They set their own goals and are accountable for achieving them.
2. Visualizing Goals: People are taught to visualize their goals clearly, making them more tangible and achievable. Visualization is a key aspect of the method, helping individuals to stay focused on their objectives.
3. Breaking Down Goals: Goals are broken down into smaller, manageable tasks to facilitate progress incrementally.
4. Daily Practice: Emphasizes the importance of daily routines and habits that contribute to the achievement of long-term goals.
5. Measuring Progress: Progress is measured and tracked regularly to provide feedback and guide adjustments in efforts.
6. Continuous Improvement: Promotes the idea of continuous improvement (kaizen), encouraging individuals to evaluate their performance constantly and seek ways to enhance their processes and achieve success.
These principles aim to help individuals to become self-reliant, set clear goals aligned with personal and organizational success, and foster a culture of accountability, productivity, and continuous improvement within organizations.
How to Start the Harada Method for Yourself Today.
Step 1: Answer questions based on self reliance. It's a gauge to see how self reliant you are and gives you a baseline with which to work with. Once you find your baseline your goal is to improve upon them. The questions can be accessed at the images below:
and here's the others...
Now that you've got those questions answered you can use those as a benchmark for your progress.
Step 2: Create your long term goal. This is your north star where your actions will be directed towards. It will organize your goals, purposes, self analysis, and action plan.
Step 3: Analyze your obstacles to success. Once you do that you then create countermeasures to solve those obstacles before they happen. This helps you plan tasks and routines to achieve the goal when the going gets rough.
Step 4. Create an Open 64 chart. The Open 64 is a framework for coming up with tasks and routines you need to accomplish the goal. You create 8 pillars that will serve as principles to your achievement. Around those fill in the tasks needed to achieve them.
As an example, here is Shohei Otani's Open 64 chart from high school. While his main goal was to get drafted 1st overall in the MLB he achieved something even greater than that. He got signed to a $30 million contract by the Anaheim Angels.
Step 5: Create a checklist of routines. It's not enough to set a goal. You must set a system of habits that will make the goal an inevitability. Have a list you check daily to ensure you're hitting the actions you need to make your vision a reality.
Step 6: Keep a daily performance journal. The journal is broken down into tasks to be completed & a reflection on your performance at the end of the day. The journal is meant as a way to build self awareness while keeping you in line with your target.
