The case presented a powerful leadership challenge:
How do you transform an organization when traditional control and supervision are no longer working?
From Operational Problems to Cultural Transformation
Tessei was facing serious challenges, including operational errors, customer complaints, security issues and high employee turnover.
Previous leadership approaches had focused heavily on control and supervision.
But the pressure continued to grow.
The new general manager, Teruo Yabe, chose a fundamentally different approach.
Instead of simply increasing control, he focused on transparency and human-centered leadership.
But transparency was not treated as simply making information available.
It became a way to help employees understand why their work mattered.
Making Invisible Work Meaningful
One of the most powerful lessons from the case was the transformation of cleaning work.
Rather than allowing employees to see their work as something invisible or undervalued, the organization worked to create pride and meaning around it.
The objective was not simply to improve cleaning operations.
It was to change how employees experienced the value of their own work.
This human-centered approach helped Tessei address operational problems while strengthening employee motivation and creating a stronger sense of organizational identity.
When “Dirty Work” Becomes Meaningful
The case raises a powerful question for leaders:
How can work that is often invisible, repetitive or undervalued become meaningful?
The answer is not necessarily another financial incentive.
Sometimes the transformation begins when people can see:
Why their work matters.
Who benefits from it.
How their contribution creates value.
And why they should be proud of it.
This is where leadership moves beyond performance management and into meaning-making.
The Leadership Lesson
The Tessei case challenged me to think about four important questions:
How do you manage cultural transformation?
When does transparency empower people—and when can it become destructive?
How can leaders turn “dirty work” into meaningful work?
How do you increase motivation through intrinsic meaning rather than simply through external rewards?
These questions are increasingly relevant to organizations navigating AI, automation and rapid workplace transformation.
Technology can change what people do.
But leadership determines how people feel about what they do—and why they do it.
My HBS Online CONNEXT 2025 Experience
Participating in this case discussion with Professor Ryan Buell was one of the memorable learning experiences of HBS Online CONNEXT 2025.
The Harvard case method once again demonstrated its power: instead of simply presenting a leadership formula, it places leaders inside a complex organizational problem and challenges them to think, question and make decisions.
For me, the most important takeaway was simple:
Leadership is not only about improving performance.
It is about helping people discover value and meaning in the work they perform.
MAX ENERGY GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
In the age of AI, organizations will increasingly automate tasks, redesign jobs and optimize processes.
But the leaders who create lasting performance will be those who can answer a deeper question:
How do we make people feel that their contribution matters?
Because when people find meaning in their work, performance becomes more than a target. It becomes a source of energy.
Mustafa Gül
CEO, MAX ENERGY
Harvard Business School Association of Boston Member
NEW YORK BUSINESS EXCELLENCE
