INSIGHTS

2020.12.15

R&D DISCUSSION Vol. 27

A work style that brings about innovation
How to Live in a New Era Vol.1 [Part 2]

Takahiro Sakamoto
Representative of SSIN LLC, Advisor of KOKUYO Co., Ltd.'s Work Style Reform Project

R&D DISCUSSION TOP

Q: What is the secret to creating innovation?

A: A common example of failure is trying to create innovation through a "system."

[Slide 1] Innovation does not occur just by creating a system

Companies create a system and then that's it. In many cases, they leave the rest up to the members. Just because you create a new business development department or an open innovation center and incorporate design thinking into the process doesn't mean innovation will happen. It's people who create innovation. It's the synergy between individual activities and the accidental connections between individuals.

So how do we develop innovators? There are many theories on human resource development, but I think the first step is for the individual to want to become an innovator. They want to change the world, even if just a little, and leave their own mark. It may be insensitive, but when society is in turmoil like it is now, or when something big happens, I think innovators have the characteristic of getting excited and thinking, "What can I do?"

Previously, we organized a study group called "TOKYO Innovators" and conducted in-depth interviews with employees who had actually created innovations at long-established manufacturers and employees who wanted to become innovators. We discovered a common characteristic shared by people who have created innovations. Seven out of ten had experience as union officials or in charge of unions in human resources. They were people who spoke on an equal footing with other departments and management from a young age, and had many acquaintances within the company. In addition, three out of nine had experienced life-threatening situations such as accidents or illness, and had a stance of "just being alive is a win." And lastly, what they all had in common was the stance of "If you don't know what's going to happen, let's give it a try."

Q: Is there anything you do to bring about innovation?

A: There have already been many studies on innovation theory, and one of the most well-known is "Effectuation," published in 2008 by management scholar Sarath Sarasvathy (Japanese translation: Sekigakusha, 2015). In this book, the common behavioral principles of 27 innovators are summarized into the following five points: 1) "Bird in Hand," 2) "Affordable Loss," 3) "Crazy-Quilt," 4) "Lemonade," and 5) "Pilot-in-the-plane." In my own words, 1) and 2) are a "trial" stance. They are happy to be able to "try" unknown things without being bound by precedent.

[Slide 2] Effectuation Theory ①②

③ and ④ are of the “use” stance. They are good at “hacking” existing methods and resources.

[Slide 3] Effectuation Theory ③④

⑤ is "ambition". It means that you have confidence in your own abilities and passion, and can observe the situation and even change direction at times, controlling it to achieve your goals.

[Slide 4] Effectuation Theory ⑤

Looking back at my life, for example, when I was a new salesman, I came up with the idea of a sales style where people "come to you" instead of "going to meet you," and I tried it out. I used all the money and time I had available and held seminars where I made problem-solving proposals. I sent out direct mail, gave speeches in front of train stations and in parks, repeatedly practicing my role as a presenter, and after the seminar, I even held a social gathering where I served my own home-cooked meals. Everyone was pleased, and I was able to attract a large number of attendees.

We often hear people say "don't be afraid of failure," but even so, we don't want to fail. When you want to do something in a company, you are often met with opposition from many quarters and urged to reconsider, as it is not possible to say with certainty that you will succeed, and you are unable to move forward. This means that there are very few opportunities to try new things. If you set "success" as your goal, then if you fail, it becomes a "failure," so if you set your goal as "I want to try this method to see if it will be successful (the purpose is to verify the effectiveness)," you will be surprised at how few people object.

Also, I used to be a skinny guy, weighing 60kg, but in my 30s, my weight went up to the 90kg range. I thought, "This is an opportunity to make use of it," so I took a photo of myself when I was fat, tried dieting, and also obtained a health management qualification. Around that time, interest in "health = well-being" was growing in corporate management. Thanks to my connection with Takayuki Hirai of DeNA, who was one of the first to work on "health management," I founded the Japan Healthy Enterprise Promoter Association together with them, and while sharing my own experiences of improving my health at lectures, I started a qualification business called the "Healthy Enterprise Instructor" training course. I also established the "Shibuya Wellness City Consortium" with companies and organizations in Shibuya, and promoted the spread of health management by involving various people.

Q: Collaboration with other people and organizations, in other words, innovation through "co-creation," is a key theme in office space design.

A: When I try to do something new, I try not to limit myself to ideas that can be realized within the company or with my own resources, but to think of ideas with the premise of working with outside parties. Just like running a company, to do something big, you can't just rely on your own capital, you have to use "other people's capital" as well. The important thing here is to take stock of your own capital. How much other people's capital can you pull with the capital (value) you have? It's difficult without daily trust, isn't it? That's why I'm conscious of building up my "own capital (trust)" every day, and I make it a habit to always give advice and help someone when something happens. Sometimes I'm disliked for being too nosy (lol), but I also keep my antenna up for daily information gathering from the perspective of "what can be useful to the people around me." As a result, I can become interested in fields that I'm not interested in from the perspective of "I'm sure it can be useful to someone," which also leads to expanding the scope of my experience and knowledge. By always being mindful of "GIVE" in this way, I can "TAKE" when the time comes.

Finally, I would like to introduce the "ki-sho-ten-ketsu" human resources theory advocated by Hajime Takebayashi, who has been working on innovation at Omron.

[Slide 5] Human resources needed to develop new businesses

To bring about innovation, it is not enough to have one person, but rather multiple people who can fulfill each of the roles of the beginning, development, turn, and conclusion, and their cooperation is required. The "initiative" person is someone who identifies issues and creates concepts. The "development" person is someone who creates business ideas and creates roadmaps. The "development" person is someone who meticulously plans and realizes commercialization. The "conclusion" person is someone who improves and expands while operating. I personally think that I am somewhere between the "initiative" and "development" roles, but what about you?

Back to Part 1

PROFILE

Representative of SSIN LLC, Work Style Innovation Department, Work Style Reform Project Advisor, Kokuyo Co., Ltd.

Takahiro Sakamoto

Takahiro Sakamoto

Born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1978. After graduating from the Faculty of Economics at Kobe University, he joined Kokuyo Co., Ltd., where he came up with ideas for improving meeting structures and advising on information management methods from the perspective of "efficiency," and launched these as new businesses. This service gained a good reputation, and in 2016 he founded Kokuyo & Partners Co., Ltd., which provides outsourcing services centered on general affairs work. Currently, he serves as an advisor for the Work Style Reform Project at Kokuyo Co., Ltd., while also giving lectures to local governments and other organizations as an advisor, mainly on weekends.

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R&D TOP

Update : 2018.09.21

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