For “Mad Men” wannabes in Japan, the way up the corporate ladder may start with climbing a mountain. Ad agency Dentsu has a very unusual orientation ritual—climbing Mount Fuji. And this isn’t some new “extreme onboarding” exercise; the company has been requiring newbies to climb since 1925.
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Being hired by the company is a coveted goal; the company reportedly had 10,000 applications for 132 recent openings.
Appropriately, Advertising Age reports that the “ritual” is required of new hires and those employees newly promoted, who must climb the 12,388 feet over volcanic rocks to the summit to watch the sun rise and to pray and reflect at a Shinto temple.
Another part of the ritual is to send postcards about the climb to clients from the mountaintop post office wishing them prosperity. The company custom must be working because Dentsu is now ranked the fifth-largest ad agency in the world by Advertising Age and has major clients, including car and electronics manufacturers.
According to the article, while the agency is now multinational, its business is primarily in Japan. However, foreign employees are expected to go along with Japanese business culture and traditions.
With over a hundred employees climbing Mount Fuji at a time, the trek, of course, takes on teambuilding aspects, with workers even bunking together on straw mats in the rest shelters.
The climb is “a symbol of ambition, one former participant tells Advertising Age, adding that once you do it, it signifies to upper management that you can do anything.
Wow–pretty cool! Hard to see that flying here, though.
Been there, done that – it’s a tough 6 hours up…3 1/2 hours down. Not sure how it will correspond to teamwork when you’re the one doing the climbing!