「写真は誕生日ケーキを持つ代表取締役2名」

うちの会社、代表取締役が2名なんだけれど2人とも12月生まれなんです。12月ある日の夕方、社員のみなさんから誕生日を祝っていただきました。照れくさいですが本当に嬉しい。社員のみなさん本当にありがとうございます。

とても自尊心が満たされる。社員の方々に愛されている私、ルンルン♪　って感じです。あと、社内にそういうイベントを段取りする統率力があるのが頼もしい。なにより社員みんなが笑って祝ってくれる温かい空気があるのってなんともいえなくありがたい。

でもね、やっててもらってなんなんだけれど、強い疑念を感じました。これ、親の誕生会やってもらっているけれど、逆じゃね？普通は子供の誕生日を親が祝うもんだろ。なんで親だけ祝ってもらっているんだろ。客観的にみたらすっげー嫌な親じゃないだろうか？

子供の中に「私の誕生日は？」って思う人が出てきたら、これはもう分け隔てなく全員の誕生日会をしないといけない。単純計算で月に2回はケーキを食べてバースデイソングを歌うことになってしまう。これは…大変だ…。

こういうのは公平にやらないといけないし、親がやらないといけない。でも人数が多いとどっかで格差ができちゃう。格差が生まれると傷つく人もでちゃう。あれ？私の誕生日にはCEOは参加してくれないんだ。とか私のはイチゴがないんだ。ってなるのすごく嫌だ。

ということで、本当に嬉しかったんだけれど来年から誕生会はなしにしてもらいました。でも、自慢したいぐらい嬉しい話だったからブログに永遠に残しておきます！

一筆啓上いたします。

「嬉しさより、人の悲しみを優先する人になりたい」

"Why This Will Be the Last CEO Birthday Party"

Photo: Two CEOs holding birthday cakes

At our company, we have two CEOs, and it so happens that both of us were born in December. One evening in December, our employees threw us a birthday celebration. It was a little embarrassing, but honestly, I was really happy. To all our employees, thank you so much!

It was a moment of pure joy and pride. I felt so loved by everyone—like I was walking on air! And on top of that, it was impressive to see the leadership and organization it took to arrange such an event within the company. Most of all, I was deeply grateful for the warm atmosphere created by everyone laughing and celebrating together.

But as I stood there enjoying the celebration, a strong sense of doubt crept in. Wait a minute… isn’t this backwards? It felt like I was a parent being celebrated on their birthday. But isn’t it usually the other way around? Shouldn’t parents be the ones celebrating their kids' birthdays? Why are the "parents" getting all the attention? From an outsider's perspective, wouldn't this seem like a really selfish parent?

What if, among our "kids," someone started thinking, "Hey, what about my birthday?" If that happened, we’d have no choice but to throw a birthday party for everyone, without exception. A quick calculation shows that would mean two cakes and two rounds of singing "Happy Birthday" every month. Honestly… that would be exhausting.

Fairness is essential for these kinds of things, and it’s up to the "parents" to ensure it. But with so many people, inequalities are bound to arise at some point. And when there’s inequality, someone inevitably gets hurt. For example: "Why didn’t the CEO attend my birthday party?" or "Why didn’t my cake have strawberries on it?" That kind of thing is the last thing I want.

So, while I was truly grateful for the celebration, I decided to put an end to CEO birthday parties starting next year. It was an amazing moment that I’ll cherish forever, and because it was so meaningful, I wanted to immortalize it here in this blog.

Signing off with today’s final stroke of the brush:

I aspire to be the kind of person who prioritizes the sadness of others over my own joy.