What Japanese Train Conductors Have to Do with Overcoming Bad Habits
What’s the first thought that comes to mind when you think of train travel? Probably late, overcrowded, and dirty.
Japan is completely different—their rail network is considered one of the best in the world. Trains there run punctually, reliably, and immaculately. If you ever ride a train in Tokyo, you’ll notice a special habit of the train staff: Pointing and Calling.
A conductor points to the platform and then to signs showing the train number and destination. In the driver’s cab, the engineer points to the controls while operating them, as well as to important indicators and signs outside the train. On the platform, the attendant points to the train and then to the doors before opening them. With every gesture, staff members call out the name, purpose, or condition of the item they are pointing at—such as “Signal is green.”
To the uninitiated, this might seem puzzling, but a closer look reveals that Pointing and Calling (Shisa Kanko in Japanese) is a ritual that cuts errors by up to 85 percent and accidents by 30 percent. Why is it so effective? Because it forces awareness—what would normally be an unconscious habit is brought to the level of conscious action. And that’s the key: to successfully change or break a bad habit, we first have to be conscious of it.
The Origins of Pointing and Calling
The exact origin of this behavior is hard to trace. A widely repeated story dates back to around 1900: a train conductor named Yasoichi Hori was struggling with declining eyesight. To protect himself from mistakes, he began calling out signals, which colleagues then confirmed. By 1913, this practice had made its way into an early railway manual. Today’s Pointing and Calling protocol starts with looking directly at the target—anything critical to the task, such as controls, indicators, or positions—then stretching out a finger and calling out the name or status before acting.
Habit and Mindlessness
How often have you done something without really thinking about it?
A classic example: driving a familiar route and realizing at home you barely remember the trip. We switch to autopilot, letting muscle memory take over. The more often we repeat an action, the more automatic—and thoughtless—it becomes. To successfully change or eliminate a bad habit, we must first bring it to awareness. Pointing and Calling is perfect for this.
Making Habits Conscious
Here’s a simple exercise to reveal your patterns:
List your daily habits, for example:
- Wake up
- Hit snooze
- Check phone for messages and emails
- Go to the bathroom
- Step on the scale
- Shower
Next to each item, mark it with + if it’s a good habit, – if it’s bad, or = if it’s neutral.
Example:
- Wake up (=)
- Hit snooze (–)
- Check phone (–)
- Bathroom (=)
- Step on the scale (+)
- Shower (+)
How you rate each habit depends on your goals. Someone trying to lose weight might call a hearty breakfast a bad habit, while someone looking to gain muscle might call it good. A helpful guiding question is: “Does this behavior help me become the person I want to be?”
Everyday Applications
How can you use Pointing and Calling to break bad habits? Try these examples:
- Procrastination: Say out loud, “I’m putting off my important task in favor of distractions.”
- Impulse purchases: “I’m about to buy something I don’t really need.”
- Stress eating: “I’m eating because I’m stressed, not because I’m hungry.”
- Negative self-talk: “I’m speaking negatively about myself.”
- Multitasking during meetings: “I’m multitasking instead of listening.”
Leadership and Pointing and Calling
Leaders can benefit from this method too. If you’re often late to meetings or distracted in conversations, name the behavior out loud:
“I arrived late to this meeting again,” or “I wasn’t fully listening just now.”
This conscious naming helps bring unproductive habits to light and paves the way for change.
All of us have accumulated inefficient or harmful habits over time. Listing, rating, and naming them can make a big difference. Try Pointing and Calling yourself and see what you discover.
If you want to keep refining your leadership style, you’ll find practical guidance in my book The Hero’s Journey of a Leader – How to Become the Best Version of Yourself as a Leader.