Master of Success: The Key Logger.  Masato Ikko was a most unlikely logger. At 5’ 7” and 137 pounds soaking wet, which he was quite often, his is not the image that comes to mind when most people envision a lumberjack.

As a third generation Japanese-American whose family settled in a small logging community northeast of Vancouver, British Columbia, Masato was an even more unlikely example of a corporate executive. While he seldom wore a suit – weddings, funerals or four times a year at his temple – Mas was every inch the powerful corporate officer, with the significant responsibility for the day-to-day success of a very large international business. Masato Ikko was a master key logger.

The talent and experience for his particular abilities were developed over 35 years working in and around Canada’s dynamic forests. These skills were worth millions to his company and his country. To fully appreciate the importance of Masato’s contribution to the success of the logging industry, it is necessary to understand the logging process, how felled trees become premium lumber.

The most cost-efficient way to move logs from isolated mountainsides or naturally protected valleys is by getting them into water – streams, rivers and lakes moving with the force of quickly melting mountain snow. The effectiveness of this fluid transportation system is challenged at almost every turn and bend in the river by logjams, when the logs are so tangled up as to be locked in place.

Everything stops as a result of a logjam. The industry itself can come to a complete standstill 10 or 20 times before the logs travel from where they were felled to the mills where they are processed. Without the key logger, nothing moves.

The job of key logger is three-fold. First, he must identify which log or logs are restricting the movement of the log flow. Second, he must choose and apply an appropriate and effective method for breaking up the jam. Often, Mas would have to jockey across a carpet of knotted logs to physically untangle them. And third – Masato’s specialty – he has to decide how best to get out of the way when the logs start to move.

Masato Ikko is an example of a talented individual adding value to an existing internal process with impressive results.

Most problems of communication are as obvious as a logjam. The constriction can be seen by those in the water, on the shore and from miles away. What is less obvious is which log is causing the jam and what should be done to alleviate the congestion and free the process.

The principals of Essex Two have been stimulating and energizing the communication process for many corporate and entrepreneurial organizations for over three decades with dramatic and sustainable results. Like Mas Ikko, once we identify what needs to be done, we physically implement a solution and then help prepare everyone for the results.

Our website presents case studies that demonstrate how our ability to rearrange, reinterpret and redirect current information into a productive direction has made a difference for many companies and their customers.

Worth your time: Cooks Illustrated is a magazine without advertising that was created by publisher and editor Christopher Kimball in 1992. The publication works in tandem with the public television show, America’s Test Kitchen. The magazine and the TV show – think The New Yankee Workshop meets Bon Appetit Magazine – have several things in common. Even if you have little or no interest in cooking they make it interesting. The charm and talent of both communication vehicles is their ability to take what could be a complicated, boring or intimidating process and make it engaging and entertaining. CooksIllustrated.com or americastestkitchen.com for more information.