But what these explanations share is the same core idea: Shiwasu has long been understood not as “just December,” but as a special period devoted to closing out the year. In other words, the term is more than a seasonal label. For many Japanese people, December is consciously felt as a time to “finish the year.”

I didn’t grasp the full impact of this until I realized my company had survived 18 years not only because of strategy, funding, or corporate theory, but because of goen — the Japanese belief that people are connected by fate. A friend recently told me, “You should share your business stories.” So here I am, starting my writing life.