Hitachi
お問い合わせお問い合わせ
Masakatsu Mori and Yukinobu Maruyama, Research & Development Group, Hitachi, Ltd./Mr. Kunitake Saso, CEO/Chief Strategic Designer, BIOTOPE co., ltd.
In this series of articles, we think about "questions" through dialogues between members of Research & Development Group, Hitachi and experts such as researchers and designers. For the second webinar live streamed on July 9, 2021, we welcomed Mr. Kunitake Saso as our guest. Mr. Saso has been advocating for "Vision-Driven," a concept that seeks to create new businesses with visions as the starting point. In this first part, Mr. Saso explains the role of visions as they differ from "plans," and the methodology for creating them. This series consists of three parts.

Japanese

Putting design thinking into action through corporate vision creation

Maruyama
My name is Yukinobu Maruyama, Head of Design at Research & Development Group, Hitachi. I will be the host of this webinar. During our previous dialogue (link: Innovation Starting with a Question — Vol. 1), we brought you an interview focusing on the "purpose" of companies and Social Innovation Business from the perspective of Purpose Engineering. In today's dialogue, we would like to think about the question of how to create a "vision" — the "driving objective" of Social Innovation Businesses — and how to put it into action. Our guest is Mr. Kunitake Saso, CEO/Chief Strategic Designer of the co-creative strategic design firm, BIOTOPE.

画像: (from left) Masakatsu Mori and Yukinobu Maruyama (host), Research & Development Group, Hitachi, Ltd. / Mr. Kunitake Saso, CEO/Chief Strategic Designer, BIOTOPE co., ltd. .

(from left) Masakatsu Mori and Yukinobu Maruyama (host), Research & Development Group, Hitachi, Ltd. / Mr. Kunitake Saso, CEO/Chief Strategic Designer, BIOTOPE co., ltd. .

Mr. Saso
Nice to meet you. I consider design thinking to be the "art of coming up with in your own unique way, a new solution for a certain problem and putting it into action." After studying this concept at graduate school in the US, I had the opportunity to put design thinking into action when I took part in the creation of new businesses and service concepts at companies such as Sony. Then, I became independent. I am currently engaged in helping companies create visions and design new intangible values generated by corporate management, such as systems for breaking down visions into a company's management philosophy and culture. In this way, I have always kept a close eye on Hitachi's "Vision Design (*)" initiative.

*In order to explore the ideal form of systems that support society and Hitachi's role within that, Hitachi's design initiatives provide a future vision as a basis for discussion.

Mori
My name is Masakatsu Mori of Research & Development Group, Hitachi, Ltd. I am the moderator of this webinar. Mr. Saso, thank you for being with us today. With regard to the concept of "Vision Design" that you just mentioned, Hitachi is involved in this in two ways. First, there is an in-house team called the Vision Design Project. The Vision Design Project is engaged in the realization of social innovations through activities such as sharing visions, supported by Hitachi's individual business unit, with society. The second way concerns myself, as the person in charge of the organization, the Global Center for Social Innovation (CSI). At CSI, the leaders of different organizations create visions and unite their employees. Today, I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts about these two different points.

The era of "visions," rather than "plans"

Maruyama
Let's start with the first question. "How can we create a mid to long-term corporate vision?" Mr. Saso, could you give us your answer, please?

Mr. Saso
Recently, there has been a shift in the business world in regards to the utilization of visions. For example, I often hear people talk about new projects where the initial vision was great, but as the project took shape, the vision became increasingly dull. The same situation can always happen, especially in larger companies, when a vision is incorporated into business practices. However, on the other hand, startups that continue to create new values do well at utilizing visions. To begin with, I think it is essential to understand the role of visions and how they generate new values.

画像1: The era of "visions," rather than "plans"

Please take a look at this chart. Plans such as mid-term business plans and mid-term management plans that cover the next 3 to 5 years are what large companies create as they think about the future. From there, they look at current market conditions and predict how things will change over the next 3 to 5 years. Then, they create a profit model accordingly. This is how plans are generally devised.

In contrast, in recent years, more emphasis has been placed on long-term plans that span the next 10 or 20 years. However, though, it's obviously impossible to correctly predict changes in the market 10 years from now. An increasing number of companies are using the so-called "backcasting" method of planning by predicting changes they are relatively confident will occur first, then imagining the world that they aim to create. In order to realize this, they devise plans to proactively tackle the possible changes in the market.

画像2: The era of "visions," rather than "plans"

In other words, what companies create with the future in mind has shifted from traditional "plans" to "visions." And companies that succeed in creating visions will be the ones to connect to people. The person who best represents this idea is Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk. By explaining each event that may occur in the ideal future and by adding a narrative, he makes the image of his ideal future more visible. In today's uncertain world, creating these "visions" has become exceedingly effective. Such are the changes in how we think about management over these several years.

Imagining a "vision" that emerges from within, before looking for an "issue"

Mr. Saso
In recent years, the approach of creating new businesses based on "issues" that need to be solved, as exemplified by the "Issue-Driven" concept, has been garnering attention. This is certainly important, but I have this idea that what you need is a "vision," rather than an "issue." In short, I think what's truly needed in management is the "Vision-Driven" approach.

画像: Imagining a "vision" that emerges from within, before looking for an "issue"

There is such thing as the "1→∞" aspect, which further enhances the efficiency of existing businesses. This states that when the market is growing and can be predicted to some extent, it is rational to use "Strategic Thinking" to improve business by repeating the cycle of selection, concentration, and verification of resources toward strategically set goals, and "Improvement Thinking" to improve business efficiency by implementing the PDCA (Plan/Do/Check/Action) cycle.

Contrary to this, in the "0→1" aspect, which centers around creating something that doesn't currently exist, the market does not necessarily grow or even become visible. This is where "Design Thinking," which repeats the cycle of setting an implicit challenge the world faces as an issue, empathizing with it, inventing, and prototyping, is applied.

In addition, it is the "vision" that is the premise for all of this. In short, we need to give shape to a future that emerges from within ourselves, a future that we want to believe in. I advocate for "Vision Thinking" as a methodology for creating business through the cycle of dream, perceive, reclassify, and express. In this concept, you create new values by proposing the "future we long for" or the "things we want" that currently don't exist.

画像1: Innovation Starting with a Question - Vol.2 "Vision-Driven"
[Part 1] How can we create a vision? (First half)

Kunitake Saso
CEO/Chief Strategic Designer, BIOTOPE co., ltd.

Graduate of the University of Tokyo Faculty of Law.
Master of Design Methods from the Illinois Institute of Technology Institute of Design.
Mr. Kunitake Saso worked at P&G, marketing hit products such as Febreze and Lenor, before becoming the brand manager of Gillette. He joined Human Value, Inc. and took part in the launch of Sony Corporation’s Sony Seed Acceleration Program, before becoming independent. He specializes in the brand design of B to C consumer goods, and in the concept design and service design of high-tech R&D projects. He is the author of various publications including “Lesson in Design Thinking Taught at the World’s Top Design Schools” (Nikkei BP Publishing, 2020), “Vision Driven” (Diamond Publishing, 2019), “Vision Driven Innovation” (Nikkei BP Publishing, 2019).

画像2: Innovation Starting with a Question - Vol.2 "Vision-Driven"
[Part 1] How can we create a vision? (First half)

Masakatsu Mori
General Manager, Global Center for Social Innovation
Research & Development Group, Hitachi, Ltd.

Masakatsu Mori joined Hitachi, Ltd. after obtaining his master’s degree from the Graduate School of Engineering at Kyoto University in 1994. As a researcher in the Systems Development Laboratory, he worked on new services and solutions using cutting-edge digital technologies. He was also a visiting scholar at University of California, San Diego from 2003 to 2004. After leading the Planning Office at the Yokohama Research Laboratory and Production Engineering R&D, he was appointed to lead European R&D as Corporate CTO as well as General Manager of the European R&D Centre of Hitachi Europe, Ltd. in 2018. He was appointed to his current position in April 2020. He has a PhD in Information Science and Technology.

画像3: Innovation Starting with a Question - Vol.2 "Vision-Driven"
[Part 1] How can we create a vision? (First half)

Yukinobu Maruyama, host
Head of Design, Global Center for Social Innovation – Tokyo
Research & Development Group, Hitachi, Ltd.

After joining Hitachi, Yukinobu Maruyama built his career as a product designer. He was involved in the foundation of Hitachi Human Interaction Laboratory in 2001 and launched the field of vision design research in 2010 before becoming laboratory manager of the Experience Design Lab UK Office in 2016. After returning to Japan, he worked in robotics, AI, and digital city service design before being dispatched to Hitachi Global Life Solutions, Inc. to promote a vision-driven product development strategy. He is also involved in developing design methodology and human resource education plan. He took up his current position in 2020.

Click here for "[Part 2] How can we create a vision? (Second half)"

シリーズ紹介

楠木建の「EFOビジネスレビュー」

一橋ビジネススクール一橋ビジネススクールPDS寄付講座特任教授の楠木建氏の思考の一端を、切れ味鋭い論理を、毎週月曜日に配信。

山口周の「経営の足元を築くリベラルアーツ」

山口周氏をナビゲーターに迎え、経営者・リーダーが、自身の価値基準を持つための「リベラルアーツ」について考える。

協創の森から

社会課題の解決に向けたビジョンの共有を図る研究開発拠点『協創の森』。ここから発信される対話に耳を傾けてください。

新たな企業経営のかたち

パーパス、CSV、ESG、カスタマーサクセス、M&A、ブロックチェーン、アジャイルなど、経営戦略のキーワードをテーマに取り上げ、第一人者に話を聞く。

Key Leader's Voice

各界のビジネスリーダーに未来を創造する戦略を聞く。

経営戦略としての「働き方改革」

今後企業が持続的に成長していくために経営戦略として取り組むべき「働き方改革」。その本質に迫る。

ニューリーダーが開拓する新しい未来

新たな価値創造に挑む気鋭のニューリーダーに、その原動力と開拓する新しい未来を聞く。

日本発の経営戦略「J-CSV」の可能性

日本的経営の良さを活かしながら利益を生み出す「J-CSV」。その先進的な取り組みに迫る。

ベンチマーク・ニッポン

日本を元気にするイノベーターの、ビジョンと取り組みに迫る。

デジタル時代のマーケティング戦略

マーケティングにおける「デジタルシフト」を、いかに進めるべきか、第一人者の声や企業事例を紹介する。

私の仕事術

私たちの仕事や働き方の発想を変える、膨らませるヒントに満ちた偉才たちの仕事術を学ぶ。

EFO Salon

さまざまな分野で活躍する方からビジネスや生活における新しい気づきや価値を見出すための話を聞く。

禅のこころ

全生庵七世 平井正修住職に、こころを調え、自己と向き合う『禅のこころ』について話を聞く。

岩倉使節団が遺したもの—日本近代化への懸け橋

明治期に始まる産業振興と文明開化、日本社会の近代化に多大な影響を及ぼした岩倉使節団。産業史的な観点から、いま一度この偉業を見つめ直す。

八尋俊英の「創造者たち」~次世代ビジネスへの視点~

新世代のイノベーターをゲストに社会課題の解決策や新たな社会価値のつくり方を探る。

This article is a sponsored article by
''.