Techniques of Imagination PDF

CONTENTS
Introduction4
Preface
The process of coming up with ideas

Chapter 1
Techniques of understanding
I. Understanding the objective the what technique
II. Understanding the cause the why technique
Chapter 2
Techniques of discovering
I. The techniques of observation and perception
II. The technique of creating a distance
III. Technique of scaling the viewpoint
IV. Finding enemies
V. Finding allies
Chapter 3
Techniques of conversion
I. Converting the issue agenda setting
II. Converting values
III. Converting action
IV. Converting presence
V. Converting the role
VI. Changing the layer of battle
VII. Marketing in a place where there is no marketing
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24
24
32
44
44
58
62
65
70
81
81
87
91
96
100
105
113
Chapter 4
Techniques of actualizing
I. Knowing the concept
II. Creating a vision
III. Communicating
IV. Changing the narration
V. Getting timing on your side
VI. Getting reality on your side
VII. Not making it your job
Epilogue
More on technologies of detail
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118
132
136
140
148
152
156
159
Introduction
Introduction

With so few natural resources at hand, the only way for
the Japanese to challenge world standards is with ideas. Ideas

are all we have to rely on to solve the problems in this world.

Having said that, we dont see or hear about the struc-
ture, techniques, or methods for creating ideas. Perhaps there

is no way to systematize this, but in Japan there is almost no
concept for relaying or learning to create ideas. While I recognize the enormity of the project, this is why I have decided to
take it on. I accept it as a challenge to see how far I can take an
expertise that is dependent on individuality and turn it in into
common knowledge.

This book is not particularly directed at people who
work for advertising agencies or at those aiming to join the

advertising industry, because the process of thinking practically about something or creating something new is obviously
not limited to the advertising industry. This book is for anyone
who is attempting to create new products and services, and for
any who already have products and services and are wondering
4
Introduction
how to attractively keep them alive. On a larger scale, it is for

people who are looking for a change in their current business
situation, looking to change things for improvement, and for
students who are looking for jobs that allow them to create
new things. Hopefully, this will be something that many of
those in a broad range of occupations and generations will
pick up and read. Hopefully, it will be beneficial.
First, lets look at the present.
The world is brimming with new activity.

In the future, this age will probably be looked back on as
a time when the world was remarkably active.

Every advanced nation is facing an economic crisis,
with the unavoidable question: What is advancement?

Rapid economic development is forcing emerging economies
to deal with political and social compromise. In other regions,
the people are promoting democratization without political
leadership. This may sound good, but it means that they must
choose self-led transition, without an answer to the question:
So, what do we do now?
5
Introduction
Transition to new nation building

Transition to new interstate cooperation
Transition to new energy
Transition to new urban development
Transition to new community development
Transition to a new social system
Transition to new roles of corporations
Transition to a new role of education

This is happening worldwide, all at once. Ever since the
nuclear accident, energy is being debated all over the world,

expanding to all sorts of debates regarding industrial structure.
For one, the debates have revealed that the energy problem
itself affects industrial structure. More importantly, people are
no longer sure that science can control nature an idea that has
dominated capitalism since the Industrial Revolution.
In other words
The whole world has noticed that all systems eventually
deteriorate.
6
Introduction
Now that the existing framework is going nowhere, the
entire world is in search of something new. In order to make

that new framework, we need some sort of action to create
change by directly facing the situation without being afraid of
controversy or regretting the effort.

When society changes its values, the economy changes.
This creates changes in companies, the engines of our economy. Accordingly, the people who make up the companies
change their views toward work and action. When the economy was good, emulating the formula for historical victories
was a shortcut. Emulation is not necessarily a bad thing. It has
been an effective methodology. However, times have changed
and we are now continually faced with a diversity of problems
that need to be solved. Completing a routine or simply passing something on to the next process has its own meaning.
However, this action alone no longer completes a job.
The whole world changed its outlook on work and
activities.
Their purpose became creation.
7
Introduction
Use your own mind and come up with new ways. Dont
take what someone else made, but find your own answer.
Dont pass it off for the time being, but imagine whats best
for you and make it real. Its all about using our own wisdom
and ideas as weapons so that we can go on fighting this battle.

Lately, new types of businesses, new job descriptions,
and new professionals have come to light. These are simply

results or phenomena of the new age. Definitions of the words
work and action have changed. They have both come to mean
creating something new.

Its all about coming up with an idea and moving ahead
while making it a reality. Of course that is a huge task, but

there has never been a time like now when so many opportunities have opened up in the entire world. You can bring about
so much change with an idea that is not tainted with something
that already exists. Not only can you make a clear change, but
you will find it fun and fulfilling to create something from zero
rather than having to protect an old framework.
Introduction
Let us move on, with ideas.
To begin with, things dont go well in the world today by
doing things in ways to which we have become accustomed.

The only way for those of us, who are going to be living in the
future, is to generate new methods and create a new economy.
We have no choice but to move on over the constraints, walls,
and boundaries of the past with ideas. Doing so will give
momentum to our society and create the dynamics to move on
to the future. Only by moving on will we be able to see things
that we werent able to notice before. Lets go as far as we can.

In this book, I define idea as:
The power to resolve problems and to keep society on the

9
Introduction
move.

I create advertisements on a daily basis. I also create
magazines and television programs. I produce movies, theme

parks, buildings, shops, artists, music, events, exhibitions,
products, projects, and companies. I make institutions that
improve the community. I am involved in an extremely wide
range of planning, and that is because there are a multitude of
problems in the various areas.
How can we get people to visit the zoo when they dont come
anymore?
What does this movie need in order to be loved?
How do we attract people to an area that young people are
moving out of?
How do we revive a sport that has lost its appeal?
How do we regain the popularity of an artist that people are
forgetting?
How do we direct peoples attention to a certain country?

All kinds of things come my way every day. While
solving these problems, I create situations where the outcome

10
Introduction
is not temporary. That doesnt mean that I force them ahead

aggressively. I try to create conditions for people to have a
change of heart and a change of action.
Each and every person has a history a story
To say youre going to move the world is actually quite
presumptuous. The world is really an illusion; it is a succession

and accumulation of each persons precious time. And each
and every person is overflowing with information and events,
memories and experiences, feelings and emotions. Therefore,
if you want to create something that will influence people, you
need to create something that will somehow become part of
their history and story. In order to do that, you need a deep
perception and understanding of people and a basic sense of
awe towards life. Once you do, the process of creating ideas
becomes an act where you can clearly think through questions
like, What will make everyone join hands together? or, Can
11
Introduction
we move together into a new future? More specifically, it is

an act of using practicality and passion to come up with an
answer on how to make the world a better place while hoping
the solution will benefit someone.

In that sense, I would first like to deny any self-righ-
teous conscience that often comes with the word idea. Any
nuance that suggests that I just thought of something good!
or Look at me, arent I great? limits the possibilities that
ideas really have.

Every year I have the opportunity to meet many stu-
dents. Most of the examples I get from those who claim to be

good at coming up with ideas are not solutions to anything.
They have no effect. Theyre only trying to make themselves
look good, or at best, presentable. This has to be changed.
A selfish idea cannot be called an idea.
It is wrong to think that something will happen by suggesting whatever comes to mind.

Someone suggests something off the top of his head.

12
Introduction
Then he thinks he made a difference. Oh, good. Now all sorts

of things are going to change, starting tomorrow. Does this
really happen? Wouldnt it be frightening if there were people
who actually thought like that?

Ive relayed this regions characteristics, so people are
bound to love it.

Ive relayed the selling factors of this product, so its
bound to sell.

I wrote a good song, so people are bound to talk about it.
I produced this event, so everyone is bound to participate.
Everyone is bound to share this through SNS.
This is completely wrong. People are not machines. Just
by throwing something at them does not mean that you are

communicating an idea. If you think you are, you have lost
the basic understanding and dignity for human beings and, in
a larger sense, the intelligence you need in order to live.

Sadly, often those who claim to be good at coming up
with ideas go overboard with things that look like presentations. Then they gloat about them. What makes or breaks a
13
Introduction
presentation is its content. People have to want to hear what you

have to say. Along with presentation methods and presentation
experts, there is another thing that is easily misunderstood.
Will changing the system make people change?
Will creating a framework make people move?

When discussing changes in society I often hear people
say, How about changing the system like this? or We should

make a new system like this. Lately I hear, If you make
some sort of framework, people will participate and the world
will move. People have this simple notion that its common
sense. But if, for example, a system is established by moving
a whole lot of money or a certain framework is forcibly built,
it will likely not last for very long. The reason is that although
there might be some sort of enforcement, it cannot encourage
intention or motivation to make people think positively about
it. When that happens, people will eventually drift away.
14
Introduction
Without laying the dynamics, the stage will remain empty.
Recently, I often hear this: People will participate and
this will become a popular topic through SNS. Sure enough,

with the development of technology, there are plenty of settings. However, unless people feel that they want to participate, it is the same as the saying, We have piped unto you, and
ye have not danced. (Matthew 11:17) The stage will never be
filled with people. People live each day with different feelings. Similar to my earlier point about the danger of thinking
you have communicated something, there is nothing scarier
than believing that this should attract people. There are many
people who think that companies and people can be connected
through a flat relationship, but in most cases this is not true.
There are big gaps between the infrastructure and actual activity, and the failure to notice that, or pretending not to notice,
is the same as believing that mechanisms and systems can
move people. For people to actively participate in something
15
Introduction
is a fantastic phenomenon. It can never happen by raising a

problem superficially and providing a superficial solution. You
must create the dynamics to move that many people, and in
order to do that, a significant value needs to be established and
a huge sentiment has to be designed.
So
How do we change the way people feel so that their behavior
will also change?
How do we create a great value that is different from what we
had?

How can we make it sustainable?

In other words
How do we come up with ideas?
Techniques of imagination. Lets begin.
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Introduction
Preface
The process of coming up with ideas

In the introduction, I defined idea as the power to
resolve problems and to keep society on the move. To do that,

first lets establish a goal.
Introduce a concept that did not exist before.
Then change the rules.

To begin with, how does one develop an idea? The pro-
cess is difficult to understand. People ask me: What is it that

you do? Well, I create advertising campaigns. I also make
plans for product development and the media. I start up all
kinds of projects. If I tried to explain every one of them, it
could be confusing. The simple answer is:
I create change.

I change something that already exists and make that
change big enough so that people will notice. Suggesting a difference to an existing value, a general value, or a value that has
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Preface - The process of coming up with ideas
lost its appeal can completely change the competitive environment and market in which that value was originally set. I
can solve problems that way, and can create activity in which
people are involved.
If you want to make change:
(1) Find out what the issue is.

(2) Define the real enemy and the real ally.

(3) Find the axis of value to be introduced.

(4) Understand how what you created is going to be communicated to the world and what it will look like.
In this book I will discuss the techniques necessary for each
of these steps as I lead you through the process of developing
ideas.
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(1) What is the issue to begin with?

When something isnt going the way you want it to,
in many cases you have lost sight of the essence of matter.

Perhaps you have not yet found the essence that people in
this day and age need. The first step, therefore, is to find the
essence of the issue.

To begin with, what is the issue? Why does it exist? It
could have disappeared through history, so why did it continue

to exist? There must be a reason. Which part of human feelings and what part of human activity did it target? If there is
a problem, what is the essence of that problem? These are the
things that need to be dug up. I will discuss the techniques of
understanding that are involved.
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(2) Define the real enemy and the real ally.

Next, we need to find the real enemy and the real ally.
Is the real enemy a company or a group with which you are in

competition? Having an opponent right in front of you actually
involves a fairly simple battle. However, most of the time, I
doubt this is the case. The competition is not at all who you
think it might be. It might be invisible. You cant battle an
enemy you cant see. Perhaps you have misjudged the ally.
Someone who you thought was on your side might be armed
with something you never imagined. They might have an
exceptional quality. On the other hand, they could be really
helpful in creating a wonderful world. This step is to explore
these things that I see as the buds of value.

Here, you need the eyes and ears necessary to feel out
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where value lies. I will discuss the techniques of discovering

including the basic acts of observing and perceiving that are
necessary in creating ideas.
(3) What is the axis of value to be introduced?
Techniques of converting
Based on steps one and two, the third step will involve
making conversions through a new axis of value in the competitive environment and market the most important aspect
when creating change.

What do we do with existing values? At what state
should existing values be, to provide the greatest opportunities? What is conversion in the first place? How do we
convert?

With this in mind, I will discuss the necessary tech-
niques of conversion.
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(4) How is what you created going to be communicated to

the world and what is it going to look like?
Finally, I will invite you to think about methods
of establishing and radicating a clear axis of competition as

something that is meaningful to people. Establishments (companies, foundations, associations whatever they may be)
conduct their activities logically, but the average consumer
does not behave that way. An individuals motivation can only
be triggered when confronted by a moving story. So, how do
we move people? How do we create and exhibit a vision that
makes someone want to share it with someone else? What do
we need to do, for people to interpret this as something that is
necessary for society? This means finding answers about how
to live in the present and how to live in the future.
This is what I will discuss in the last chapter, techniques of
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actualizing.

Ideas are interesting. You can go straight from step
one to step four without following them in order and still be

successful. Step two alone might be enough to make a plan. I
dont intend to tell you that you must follow the entire process.
Ive used the word steps but that doesnt mean that you should
follow each one like in a flowchart. In fact, its quite the opposite. Rather than the ideology that makes people prone to think
that following steps is the way to get by, it would be better
to perceive this as a base for you to really deepen and stretch
your imagination.

When you cant find a breakthrough, your imagina-
tion isnt growing, and you find yourself limited to something

superficial, being aware of these steps can possibly help to put
a shape to an idea as something that has meaning. Knowing
these ways to broaden or deepen something that you already
have can greatly increase your choices. When you need a cue
for an idea, if you get stuck in the middle, or when youre at a
loss for that final touch whatever the situation is, I hope you
find that these steps work for you.
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Chapter 1
This chapter will discuss the techniques involved in understanding what the issue is to begin with and exploring it more
deeply.
I. Understanding the objective the what technique
Something that simply comes to mind
is not the same as an idea.
Where does an idea come from? Is it like magic, where
something is created from nothing, or something that suddenly

falls out of the air one day? Is it something that accidently
appears after repeatedly deliberating things that come to mind?
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Chapter 1 - Techniques of understanding
None of the above. Just as worrying is not the same as
thinking, something that comes to mind is not the same as an

idea. The difference between worrying and thinking is whether
or not you make a target and grasp it structurally. Thinking
leads to progress and gives direction to an existence, but worrying does neither.

It is wrong to suggest that you are in a slump when it
comes to creating ideas. It shows a misunderstanding of the

mechanisms involved in creating ideas.

However, this is often the case with people who are
working with what comes to mind. There is a decisive difference between what comes to mind and an idea. An idea is
something that finds a solution to a problem. After establishing
what the problem is, you create the criteria to judge the solution. Creating an idea involves a process and criteria.
For an idea to be created, there is a necessity.

Being involved in communication, I play my hand with

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ideas when dealing with clients. What is needed is an idea

that moves a persons heart when it is at a standstill, creating
interest where there was no interest, and encouraging activity
where there was no activity. All of this begins with finding out
what the theme and the issue are.
To begin with, what is the issue?

When you are faced with an issue, start by asking what
it actually is. It is surprising how often we do not see things

clearly. We can be misled by common sense. Sometimes a
conception mold has been created because of an industry practice or culture that prevents us from adequately being able to
confront the target. When things are not going well, it is often
because the essence has been lost or it has not been found yet.
If you cannot properly confront your target, there is no way
you can begin searching for a solution.
Try to unravel the issue from its origin.

Dictionary-like definitions and history might suggest
the exact opposite of what an idea is. However, going back

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to look at the definition or history has greater meaning than

flaunting general theory that has been through a number of
hands. By unraveling history, you will find that it actually did
not take very long to create a number of events. What now
seem common actually used to be quite fragile. Values can
change in a short period of time. Keep this in mind when you
think about the event that you are targeting and excavate the
true meaning of its essence. In other words, respect the targeted event.

In the end, the person who created the idea must be
the biggest fan of that targeted event, so the first step is to

approach it with the greatest respect. Carefully excavate the
footprints of its existence. This action will not only function as
a process, but it will nurture readiness and disposition and play
a great role in creating the idea.
Find the entrance that captures the essence.

People often say the entire plan should be explained
on one page, and even specify the format: One A3 page for
Company X. In some places this has almost become part of
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the company culture. Of course it is important to be brief, but

the danger is when prioritizing the one-page boundary creates
a tendency for inadequate communication, typical when the
method becomes the purpose. The opening phrases of such
documents are often very weak. When you think that you
have to explain everything on one page, it is natural to think
that you must not get stuck at the beginning. The entrance to
the idea gets pushed aside and you end up with a perfunctory
description.

In other words, all you have is a preceding paragraph,
which is absolutely unnecessary. It has nothing to do with the

idea. Its only purpose is to set the table. That is why it is called
a preceding paragraph. No matter what kind of entrance you
have, it needs to function as a seedling for an idea to grow.
That is why it has to be an entrance that nobody has thought of.
It is attractive because it leads to content that nobody has seen
before. It is very rare to see attractive content when everything
has been redundantly squeezed onto one page.
Doubt everything about the issue.
That will become the foundation of your idea.
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Say the assignment is an idea to resurrect a rundown
hot springs resort two hours from Tokyo. In order to create

a superb idea, do not jump right into the solution. Create a
strong foundation that will bear rich fruit.

What does it mean to be two hours from Tokyo?
What do those two hours mean?
What does it mean to make it a day trip?
What does it mean to go by car?
What does it mean to go by train?
What makes a place rundown?
Is it really that way?
Who sees it as being rundown?
Is that a problem?
What is a hot spring?
What do hot springs mean to people?
In all truth, who wants it resurrected?
In all truth, should it be resurrected?
Is this theme something that is going to be appreciated?
Is it worth facing the subject?
29
These are the kinds of questions that must be worked out
carefully. Asking these questions might make you an incredibly bothersome person. I actually do this with every project,
so the people around me probably think that I am a real pain
in the neck. Sometimes, when I do this overseas, people look
at me as if to say, What is wrong with this person? If you do
this in a meeting, people might get anxious about when your
idea will start to take form. Still, probe as far as you can go
and do not forget to doubt the issue. This is a necessary step in
order to come up with a rich idea.
The more you dig into the issue, the larger your idea will
become.

If you take an assignment and look only at the surface,
your idea will become superficial. It will only be a general

theory based on a common understanding shallow, with
nothing new about it. It will not solve anything and will not
be worth taking the trouble to send out into the world. If you
cannot dig deep at this stage, your idea will not grow.

Working with the hot springs theme with just a health

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concept will not produce anything new. Starting there could

only subdivide health and grasp it as such, ending in a very
small-scaled proposition. Beauty would be much the same.
Suggesting relaxation or stress relief would take you into dj
vu territory that might even take away from the appeal that
was there to begin with. Superficial suggestions that cannot
even be considered ideas could have a negative impact.

On the other hand, as you are pondering over what it
means to be a rundown place, you will probably generate a

positive understanding. Then for the first time, you will have
the opportunity to think about the kind of being rundown that
people living in Tokyo are looking for. Being rundown means
that the place once flourished and that someone has a wonderful memory of it. Finding who that is and what of kind of a
memory it was can lead you to an idea.

As you excavate, you will start to see what the problem
is. This is very important in order to create an idea. It involves

addressing individual techniques.
31
II. Understanding the cause the why technique

Every idea is based on a cause.
The source of an idea is actually lingering in the issue.
More specifically, it is hiding in the cause of that issue. So,

obviously, your idea will change depending on how you grasp
the cause.

Say your assignment is to put a stop to the declining
number of people who send New Year greeting cards. This

is a big theme. It is easy to think that people are using email
instead, but that alone does not solve the issue. If awareness
and actions have drifted away, it is necessary to re-introduce a
new form based on some kind of recognition. To do that, you
need to acquire different viewpoints and establish the cause
that others have not noticed by exploring from a variety of
angles.
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For example, the cause could be in the fact that winter
does not feel like a special season anymore, or that greetings

do not mean as much as they used to. The value of sending
hand-written messages might not be what it used to be. There
are many ways to look at the cause.

Your strategy for finding a solution will be different
with each viewpoint. If the cause is in the lack of sensing the

season, your strategy might involve doing something in the
fruit or vegetable section at a supermarket to make people
more aware of winter, or thinking of a way to get people to
write New Year greeting cards on the day of winter solstice. If
you understand the cause to be the fading meaning of sending
greetings, you could attach a different role by linking it with
a community event and having it used as an invitation, or by
having people share their experiences like a reporter. These
could be solutions. If the value of sending handwritten messages has gone down, the solution might involve attaching a
flower or hand towel to the card, or sending it with chocolate
or some other food. The range of solutions is very broad.
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Establishing the cause is the root of everything.
Therefore, be especially creative in the way you read into

the issue and how you excavate the cause.

Just as there are various viewpoints for establishing the
cause of a single theme such as New Year greeting cards, there

are issues of all different varieties lingering in each theme.
That is why it is important to maintain the stance of exploring.
Maybe there is another more important cause hiding beneath
the surface that has been overlooked.

In fact, when you are at your limit of coming up with
ideas, it is often because you have not searched enough for the
cause. If your grasp of the cause is diverse and flowing with
creativity, your thinking process to create an idea should be
very smooth. When you can see the cause, the solution will
naturally come to light.

A good establishment of cause will produce a good
answer. However, in many cases, people only search briefly

for the cause and jump directly to finding a solution. Their
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imagination gets stuck and they panic because they cannot

come up with an idea. But that is inevitable because their
establishment of cause is too common. They get stuck because
they do not search deeply enough.

Imagine a training session where you must come up with
as many suggestions as possible on a certain topic. Naturally,

this would not simply require the number of suggestions, but
volume creates quality in many cases. Let us take a look at the
varieties.

When someone tells you to come up with as many sug-
gestions as you can, it feels like a huge project. But if you can
establish the cause of the subject by breaking it up into multiple sections, all you need is a few solutions for each section.
If you try to churn out a whole lot from the beginning, you are
going to have trouble; but if you have a number of interesting
causes, it can be quite easy. It is important to probe over and
over again, asking Why?
To begin with, the problem is not small.
When something looks solvable, dont trivialize it or look
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only at the surface.

Heres an interesting example.
A while ago, one of the wards in Tokyo was having
a problem with rising burglaries of empty houses. So what

should be done to prevent the problem? Make posters to promote anti-crime awareness like you often see across town? Are
those really effective?

I dont trust those things. By those things, I mean
anti-crime posters, the disposition that allows them, and the

mechanism that condones them. To begin with, in todays
environment people will not want to listen, so whatever you
say is useless. The poster could have a picture of a popular
celebrity or a clever copy, but people are not going to show
interest, and just seeing a poster will not likely change public
behavior.

So, what needs to be done? Lets look at the cause from
a number of angles.
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First of all, why do more burglaries occur here? Is it
because people are somehow careless? That would be the

same in any ward.

Why is the burglary rate rising only here? Perhaps the
ward is vulnerable because there are a lot of high-income

households. But there are many other places like that. Maybe
people do not associate much with their neighbors so nobody
would notice a stranger. Unless it is a small town, however, it
would not be very realistic to establish this as a cause.

We need to further examine the cause from yet another
angle. Look across the entire community. There is bound to be

a number of discoveries. As you observe very carefully, you
might notice that the residents lack interest in their surroundings and do not have a watchful eye. A burglar could see that
as an opportunity to take advantage of.

Once you notice this cause, the solution comes natu-
rally. All that is needed is to prepare something to get people

interested in and to notice. That particular ward chose to
plant flowers as a solution. The residents started noticing the
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flowers, at times watering and taking care of them. Then they

became concerned about their growth. Have they budded?
Have the flowers bloomed? In time the community had more
eyes, and as a result, burglaries in that ward decreased.

It is not at all easy to change peoples awareness and
actions. It is outrageous to think so. Perhaps the only thing you

can really do is set the environment so that people naturally
change, instead of forcing them to change, as told in Aesops
The North Wind and the Sun. In the long run, that method is
the shortcut to natural change.
People take off their coats because their body temperatures rise when the sun shines on them.
As in Aesops fable, the traveler does not take off his
coat because the north wind blows. It seems obvious, but this
38
means that it is most important to set up a causal relationship that functions effectively. Although it may not look like
an immediate solution, if the link functions, it will reach the
solution.

Meanwhile, forcing a solution might go in the complete
opposite direction and we do not want that to happen. We need

to savor the cause, excavate whatever is lurking deep inside,
and organize the relationship. Only then will an idea be created that can influence peoples actions.

The cause established in the former example the res-
idents might be lacking the attitude or awareness of showing

interest in their surroundings has now gone beyond the
break-in problem to become an issue that has to do with the
nature of the whole community. It is quite possible that the
burglaries were only part of the outcome. This is exactly what
I meant by the difficulty of jumping right into the search of a
solution. When the problem lies deep within, you will not find
a fundamental cure by examining only the surface.

Here is another example. This is about a zoo in New

39
York. A charming advertisement spread throughout the streets

of New York, when shapes of all kinds of animals were cut out
of white paper and pasted to walls displaying various forms
of street art, giving life to beautiful animals. This kind of idea
does not just happen. This was due to a superb establishment
of cause.

The theme was to attract people to the zoo that nobody
was going to. The first question was, Why? Perhaps another
zoo took away all of the customers. That would have been a
simple reason, easy to understand. However, it is not likely
that a zoo has an obvious competitor nearby.

Did another form of entertainment take visitors away?
If so, what took them away? Think about the regional characteristics of New York. When you look around the city, there
are art galleries everywhere, filled with more visitors than art
galleries in Tokyo. People treasure their time together with art.

That brings us to the cause. Perhaps the art-loving New
Yorkers have not noticed the great art created by Earth, called
animals. Once you get this far, the solution is simple. Show the
40
animals as art, in places around the city that can be seen by the
people. The solution to paste cutout pieces of paper as street
art came from that establishment of cause.

Both the solution to plant flowers and the solution that
took advantage of street art had an impact on the people and

left clear results. What the two have in common is the superb
viewpoint that established the cause.

When people try to resolve something, they tend to
switch over to an issue that they think they can resolve. But
that does not lead to a solution. What is the problem? What
is the cause behind that problem? You have to reach in to find
the real focus of that problem, as a device to generate all ideas.
With every problem, an essential part of what caused that
problem is visible on the surface, but that is only the tip of
the iceberg. If you think you have solved everything from that
point, you have not really solved anything.
41
The finger was already on the trigger.
There is a scene that you often see on TV or read in
mystery books: problems piled up, and the finger was already
on the trigger. From there it only took a cue to pull the trigger.
Examining only what happened the moment the trigger was
pulled does not reveal the cause or the solution.

This sort of situation has caused a great number of mis-
understandings. One sees only the moment the trigger was

pulled. Another knows all of the problems leading to that.
Even when two people see the same result, it is extremely difficult to fill the gap between them. One will ask, Why did you
pull the trigger? It couldnt have been that bad. But the other
has experienced situations time and again that could have
caused the trigger to be pulled. When it all piled up, the result
42
was that the trigger was pulled, not in anger over the last incident, but more through a feeling of giving up on everything
that happened until then.

Scenes like this that have existed through human his-
tory are no different from problem solving. In order to find a

solution, it is necessary to ask about all the things that piled up
before the trigger was pulled and to have an eye to investigate.
43
Chapter 2 - Techniques of discovering
Chapter 2
This chapter will discuss the techniques involved in discovering the seedling of an idea.
I. The techniques of observation and perception
Train your eyes and your ears to observe and perceive.
This may seem to have nothing to do with creating
ideas, but observation and perception, often simply referred

to as insight in the marketing world, are actually techniques.
What kind of techniques they are, however, is hardly ever
talked about. Since both of them are common concepts, it is
difficult to see them as special techniques.

Why do we observe and perceive? Simply speaking, we
do it to discover the source of an idea. Everything has a reason.

44
Deep within lies a history of human emotions, awareness, and

action or desire. For that reason precisely, people who want
to create something must respect, look hard and listen carefully to what it all means.

I once heard a story about Central Saint Martins College
of Art and Design, the worlds most prominent educational

institute for the fashion industry. When future fashion designers show their designs to their professor, they are persistently
asked, What did you discover in this world, and what inspired
you to create this design? If they cannot answer this question,
they are ridiculed with the question, Are you a genius? and
the professor never even looks at the design. Even in an industry where people seem to be natural artists creating things
from their inner sense pay close attention to observation and
perception of the world.

Lets say you are planning to open a restaurant. You will
probably start by researching similar establishments that have

a successful business. Meanwhile, everyone with the same plan
is bound to be checking out the same success stories. Copying
and simply following what others have been doing will not put
45
you ahead of them. Besides, someone in the same industry will

probably do something similar, based on research. You need to
do something different and be successful at it. There must be
a reason for a business to be successful. You have to find that
reason with your own unique viewpoint, then take the essence
and make it into another form, which is not an imitation. If you
can do that, you have a chance of competing in the industry.

Standing bars are popular now. Whatever the style --
Japanese, Spanish, or otherwise they are all filled with customers. They thrive in competitive areas such as in front of
train stations. Since you are planning a restaurant, you will
probably make a point of going to these to find out why they
are so popular. There are many conditions that make them
popular, including location, size, and pricing. Of course these
are all vital, and you need to obtain as much information as
possible. These conditions alone, however, are not why people
take action. The essence of service is that there are differences
even within the same conditions that help some places survive, while others go under. This is a fact of life. If there are
bars in similar locations with similar prices and somehow the
standing bars are more crowded, there is a reason why people
46
prefer to go to standing bars. Lets think about what the root of

that preference is. If we can unravel that, it might work as an
advantage to the new restaurant plan.

Focus on what makes a standing bar so special.
Naturally, the customers are standing. There is a counter. In

most cases, the doors and windows are open. Lets observe
more carefully.

There are no seats. There is a counter. The door is
open. From these three key points, what can you tell about
what people are here for? Always remember that there is an
inherent reason for everything for every detail, including the
three key points. The design is based on a particular reason
that attracts people.

How does not having any seating attract people? Not
having any seats means that the relationship between the

people are not fixed by their positions. People can stand facing
each other, or side-by-side. They can stand diagonally, or in a
circle. As time goes by, they can even change positions. This
use of space is closely related to the fact that the location is
in front of the station. At a standing bar, a businessman can
47
be relieved of his position within the organization and return

to being an individual. He can make new connections. If you
listen carefully, you might hear a relaxed conversation taking
form.

Meanwhile, in a particular type of pub, people often
carrying on conversations that sound much like a continuation of something discussed in the office. This is more likely
if they sit at a square table facing each other like in a meeting.
Something as basic as the positioning of the people can have
great impact if the positions dont change, neither will the
feelings or the conversation. When people run out of common
conversation topics, they resort to the only thing that ties them
together, which is work. This kind of shoptalk means complaining, but complaining has been treasured because it keeps
people together. Its easier to talk negatively than positively,
and shoptalk is something everyone can participate in. This
is what creates that sort of strange air in a pub. On the other
hand, this type of conversation is difficult in a standing bar
because the structure of the space there controls the quality of
conversation.

Lets observe the counter. A bar always has a counter,

48
which is used as a device for people to become intimate. The

reason why this device functions also has to do with peoples
positions. A counter creates a relationship where people are
facing the same direction. To battle different opinions, you
must confront your opponent so it would be best to sit across
from each other. However, when you are in agreement, or
when there is some sort of sympathy generated, there is no
need for confrontation. By facing the same direction, you can
have a peaceful conversation. People do not sit at the counter
in a standing bar, but they can get food or lean against the
counter while they position themselves, and these actions
intertwined can create an intimate air.

Now take a close look at the open door and windows.
Why are they open in a standing bar? Even if the place is

crowded, you can usually still get in a standing bar because
there are no tables and seating. In fact, a crowd creates a liveliness that directly adds to a positive atmosphere. One reason
for keeping the door and windows open is to advertise the
ambience.

Another factor is that the open environment likely has
a psychological effect. Having the door open connects to the

49
outdoors so that there is no clear boundary between in and

out. This means that if you arrive late, there is no hesitation
in going in. It also makes it easier to excuse yourself and leave
early.

When invited to go out, many people hesitate to make a
firm commitment of accepting or declining. Its not that they

cant go, but they wonder. More than often you hear people
use the response, Ill go if I can. The standing bar is perfect for such situations. With the emergence of mobile phones,
arranging a meeting time and place is not necessary any more.
When people go out drinking, they dont bother to wait for the
whole party to be there. A standing bar is the typical example
of such non-committal situations. You can come and go as you
please. If you dont find the party interesting, you can leave
without feeling guilty. Erasing the boundaries creates a value
that allows people to participate more easily and casually.

Those are my three interpretations of a standing bar. It
sets people free from the organization and lets them become
individuals. Facing the same direction encourages sympathy.
Because the threshold is low, people can go in casually. When
you can see these objectives through the features of a standing
50
bar there are no seats, there is a counter, and the door and
windows are always open at last you can go on to develop a
new plan.
Derive a human universality that can evolve
into a separate plan.
There will likely be demands for more spaces where people

can be freed from their connections to organizations. People
will still have to decide whether to say yes or no to an invitation. What can be done to satisfy those needs? Observation
and perception help you to draw out the essence and arrive at
human awareness and action. When you start to see the concept, you can finally apply that to something else.

Here is a story about womens magazines. A few years

51
ago, womens magazines that were geared toward younger

readers suddenly stopped growing. The industry was concerned. Why was this happening? Were womens magazines
taking business from each other? Was it because of growing
competition from magazines of other genres? The assumed
reasons varied, but concentrating only on magazines did not
lead to an answer. Some said that it was because of mobile
phones. However, although mobile phones are a big trend all
over the world, this does not provide an explanation to the
sudden drop in sales.

In the example of the standing bar, I pointed out that
there is a reason for everything. And as long as there is, the

problem can be solved. Here too, observe and perceive what
people do. Womens magazines cost 700 to 800 yen. If money
was no longer spent on womens magazines, the money was
obviously spent elsewhere. Young women used to spend 700
to 800 yen on magazines to obtain information on what was
popular. It is hard to believe that the desire suddenly went
away, so we should assume that something else took the place
of fulfilling this desire.
52
So the next thought is where else would they get
their information, if not from magazines? Their behavior suggests that they are spending a lot of time going to shops. A
few years ago, a new behavior emerged when fast fashion
became a big trend. It became easier to visit shops, and this
gave rise to an intermediate action that was neither buy nor
not buy. Merchandise in these fast fashion stores are replaced
every two weeks or so, motivating young women to frequent
them, where they could now see the latest trends. Their source
of information on what is in went from the magazines to
the storefront. So where did that 700 to 800 yen go? At fast
fashion stores, that amount of money could by a T-shirt or an
accessory. Instead of paying for a magazine, young women
would go to a shop to pick up the latest fashion trends and
purchase an item while they were there. This behavior created
confusion about the value of womens magazines.

After the fast fashion boom settled, magazines started
including small items with brand names engraved as presents, which brought back readership. What does that mean?
The counter value changed from information to commodity.
Readers who began to get their information from shops started
53
feeling that it was too expensive to pay 700 to 800 yen for a
magazine only to get information. Because of this challenge
toward value, the publishers had no choice but to add commodity to information. This was a result of watching the purchasers behavior and awareness.
Everything has a reason.
The two examples are on the premise that everything
has a reason. Lets review the points.

The first point is that behind everything, there are emo-
tions, awareness and behavior. You will find nothing that can
be applied elsewhere if you only look at the surface, so you
have to fully use all five senses, including conversation and
expression. They say that god lives in tiny places because
people react sensitively to small things and change their
54
feelings and actions accordingly. You have to look hard and

listen carefully in order to be able to read into that. From there,
you need to find the norm of peoples emotions and actions.

The second point is that desires that looked like they
had disappeared are hiding somewhere or have been replaced

by something else. Peoples desires and their actions based on
these desires dont change that quickly or easily. When you
are looking for that replacement, it is not enough to look just
at a point. You need to take time and carefully observe the
environment in which the people live. Then you will be able to
see clearly that something has changed.
Put form to strangeness. Strangeness is the awkward
power.

The feeling of strangeness is a vital cue that leads to
discovery.

When you drink beer at home, one 500ml can is often
enough. But if you go to a pub, you can drink many mugs

of beer. If you drink three mugs, you are drinking nearly two
55
liters. Perhaps there are people who drink that much beer at
home, but most people dont. The truth is that people drink
more at a pub. To think that this is strange is also a technique.
The base of discovery is the feeling of strangeness. Without
that feeling, you will not reach discovery.

In this case, the question is, Why do people drink so
much beer in a pub? If you can see that people drink beer
using conversations to nibble on, and that the power of beer
brings people together to generate discussion, then that is a big
discovery.

The feeling of strangeness is built on the awareness and
actions of people. When people do something out of the norm,

it feels strange. If you dont set that as your base and look
only at the marketing data, you probably wont get to discovery. When you feel a limit to quantitative data, you might ask
questions like, What is beer? or If there was no beer, what
would you drink? or even, Imagine beer as a person? This
is postmodern investigation. Getting these answers will only
get you the same results, because you are only lining up what
you already know. You are missing the plan to find a feeling of
56
strangeness.

The feeling of strangeness is the awkward power that
is not normally there. When you feel it, dont let it pass you
by. Focus and define it. It will give you a strong seedling for
an idea. When summer comes, maybe there is a song that you
really want to hear, or the cup noodles you eat at the beach
taste especially good. These things happen because there is
something in your memory that stimulates your emotions.
Finding what that is leads to discovery, and based on the discovery you expand your imagination to develop an idea.
Experience things yourself and find the awkward.

In Germany, a taxi driver will go 150km/h over the
speed limit on the autobahn. But its not scary. Actually, the
faster you go, the safer it feels. Experiencing that lets you
know for the first time that certain cars travel more smoothly
when they go faster.

It is difficult to come up with an idea based on some-
thing someone once said, or how several people responded in a

57
certain way. Unless it goes through your body once, you dont
know if there is a feeling of strangeness there. You have to
experience it yourself. When you get an assignment, go there
and get experience. Compare it with your prior experiences
and see what is different. Look for the awkward.

To give you an extreme argument, I dont think the
work-life balance exists in the idea profession. You are thinking 24 hours a day. Whether you are asleep or awake, or eating
a meal, somewhere in your head you are thinking about work.
It is because you have this awareness of problems that you are
able to notice the awkward.
II. The technique of creating a distance
An idea needs distance.
58
Students and young employees sometimes ask me how
to generate ideas. I tell them, Do all different types of jobs at

once. They ask if there any books I read in order to generate
ideas, and my answer is, Any book that has nothing to do
with work.

When making a communication plan for a fashion
brand, if you only think about fashion or only read about fashion, you will not have a breakthrough. While you are planning
something for fashion, also plan something for city construction, motor vehicles, beer, food, and mobile phones as well.
That would make the fashion plan broader and bring about a
breakthrough.

I once did a concept design for a certain compact car.
The plan was to sell it in Paris and Milan. The same type of
car was already marketed around the world, so I was initially
against adding yet another one. I couldnt see what feature or
characteristic that car had, that none of the others did. Still, if
they were going to release it anyway, what would the attraction
be? I thought about what it would be like if it became popular.
I envisioned the way it would be driven through the streets of
59
Paris or Milan, parked in a square in front of the shops, and

so on. Small cars could make up the city itself they could be
part of the city construction. So I decided to create a concept
design with the help of an architect.

As a result, the car was a hit. If I had focused only on
the car, there would probably not have been a breakthrough.

I wouldnt have gone into a different area like architecture,
which enabled me to move on to the thought that it was part
of the city design. Broadening the idea of what makes an
attractive city landscape led to the emergence of a brand new
approach.

That is the distance that an idea needs.
Let me introduce another example. There was a pillow
that became popular in Australia. Its a regular pillow with

only one difference it has a date printed on it. Pillows are
nests for bacteria so they should have a best before date. This
idea came about by applying the rules of the food industry to
the bedding industry, which is something that is commonly
done. Design is probably the key discussion, but the distance
60
here is too close and there is too much familiarity. You could
also try to apply sports apparatus rules to bedding. The key
discussion would be the movement of your backbone while
sleeping. It sounds like a new approach, but it is imaginable
and it will not generate a surprise.

Creative Director Takuma Takasaki from my company,
Dentsu, says in his book Techniques of Expression that

people are surprised before they laugh. He says that in order to
stir peoples emotions, you need to surprise them. I absolutely
agree. This also applies to product and marketing strategy.

When you surprise people, they notice the value. In
my opinion, the value of something without surprise or discovery is likely to be ignored. It may as well have no value.
Introducing something from a completely different category
makes people surprised because of the distance. It is important to think about products from all different categories at the
same time. That is why it is important to read something that
has nothing to do with work.
61
III. Technique of scaling the viewpoint

Change your scale of view in order to create distance.
Say the theme is to think about a new car. First you see
just one car, and you think it over and over again. You look at
all the different parts and you probably still wont come up
with an idea. Now zoom out and look at it from a distance.
Youll see the parking lot and the buildings nearby. Then you
start thinking about what house that car would suit, the family
that will drive the car, and when and how the car will be used.
Zoom out a little more, and you see the town. What is the town
like and through which route will the car be driven? Are the
streets narrow or wide? You can imagine which stores to visit
and who to meet. Or what kind of restaurant to go to, what
kind of clothes to buy, whose exhibition or concert to go to in
the car. Perhaps the car will be used to go to school or to the
62
hospital. Zoom out even more and see the region and the society. Where is it positioned in society? What kind of a society
will the car help to make? What role will the car play in the
community? If you zoom out further, you will reach a point
where you think about what the car means to the country, what
it means to Japan.

Compared to the beginning when you were only look-
ing at the car itself, you now are able to look at it from a great
many ways. You obtained the opportunity to think about the
house and the family; food; fashion; paintings and music; education and medicine; the community and the city; the country;
and much more. You have thought about different categories
that have nothing to do with cars.

In the video Powers of Ten by Charles Eames, the
famous architect and furniture designer, the camera filming a

person lying on the grass moves higher and higher. You see the
park, then the town, then the city, then the country, then Earth,
until finally you reach space. Then the camera comes back
down and goes inside the person, and you see cells and DNA.
That is my image of changing the scale of your viewpoint.
63
Move your viewpoint higher and higher and think about
its relationship with what you can see at each level. Then move
closer and closer and think about the relationship with what is
there. Of course there are some things you cant biologically
see, so try looking at it through the past, present and future.
When you look at something on an axis of time, you think
about its existence. By having multiple viewpoints, you will
be able to see it in a totally new perspective.
An idea is the diversity of how you look at things.
The more ways you look at something, the better.

People who are able to come up with ideas are people
who have diverse viewpoints. When you generate an idea that

is rich in discoveries, you consider the relationship with other
things completely differently. Of course there are other methods that I havent described here, but it is best not to recklessly
think of just everything you can. That will only generate confusion and lead to panic. Panic gets in the way of an ideas
depth and broadness, and is unlikely to lead you to a better
idea. Being able to switch your perspective at a certain pace
64
will broaden your viewpoint much more smoothly. Try this

method when you think you might be confused or coming to a
limit.

To be flowing with ideas and to be able to look at things
diversely means that you have that many happy experiences

and that many ways of enjoying things. Training to bring
about ideas can help you enjoy life in general.
IV. Finding enemies

Actually, enemies are everywhere.
Once you have mastered the basic idea of observation
and perception, go back to the flow of the plan.

First you need to understand what your enemies and
allies are. In the marketing framework, the closest to this is

65
threat and opportunity. At a glance, this may look like the

SWOT analysis, but in fact, its not even close. People are
forever governed by words. For example, when they hear the
word threat, they think about problems that already exist. But
is the real enemy that easy to identify? The same goes for the
word opportunity the word is associated with a list of information that has all these good points.

The scary thing about this framework is that people are
caught up in that word frame. The act of thinking is honorable

because of its broadness and depth. And the act of finding the
answer should not be theoretical, but practical. However, if
you get caught up in the framework, you end up satisfied only
with the theoretical aspect of the words threat or opportunity.

Where is the real enemy? One of the reasons a plan
gets stuck is because people do not take the enemy seriously enough. In the backdrop is the lack of understanding
people. Needless to say, people do not live only in one market.
However, planners sometimes get careless and think that
people do live in a certain market.
66
What planners need to be conscious of is that people
are all living in a time called their own life. That means that
planners are fighting to take bits and pieces of peoples time
and space from their lives. This isnt necessarily the market
discussed in business manuals.

How would you answer the question, What is the
enemy of e-books? Is it other existing e-book devices, tablet

PCs, or smartphones? These are ordinary enemy concepts, but
only an understanding from the spec viewpoint.

What happens when you look at it from the role it plays?
You might think of printed books and magazines as enemies.

What about the space aspect? Inside a train, email and SNS
are also enemies. Psychologically, the latest smartphones and
tablet PCs might be the enemy because new cutting-edge
models are constantly being released and the e-book is not
the most up-to-date. Another psychological enemy is using a
device with a single function over multi-functions. Look at it
culturally. People dont read as much as they used to, so here
again, you have an enemy.
67
What is the enemy of a robotic vacuum cleaner?
Move your thinking process along like you just did and
try identifying the enemy. Other existing vacuum cleaners or

a vacuum cleaner with added value and a competitive price?
These relate to the spec aspect. Now look at it from the role
aspect. You have an enemy called the housecleaning service.
Psychologically, there may be a feeling of reluctance that they
will not want to do the cleaning any more, and this could make
young women feel guilty to admit that they use a robovac.
On the cultural level, if housecleaning is considered a duty, it
would be considered very wrong to escape ones duty.

Changing your angle from the spec-oriented enemy will
help you discover other enemies that you should be looking

at. With these two examples, if you only looked at it from the
spec aspect, you wouldnt have been able to see the enemy
from the other angles. Discovering these enemies can bring
about an important social mission in the case of e-books,
the mission became motivating Japanese people to start reading books again. With the robovac, a pet-like nickname was
given, creating a cute image of having a pet in the house. That
68
overcame the psychological enemy. It became entertaining to

see how much the pet could accomplish that day, and the mission became to free the Japanese from their cultural sense of
duty to do housecleaning.
The way of grasping the enemy changes the grade of a
product or service.

Looking only at the spec-based enemy will not get you
far. It is quite obvious which moves people, something that

embodies a social mission or one that is merely competing
with existing devices or equipment. If you only attempt to
clear threats mentioned in the SWOT analysis, you will never
make it beyond the context of competing with other devices or
equipment.

People who see only small enemies are considered small
or insignificant themselves. People who deal with large enemies are viewed upon as being a person of significant caliber.

The obstacles created by this framework may be the
reason why it is difficult for Japanese products to escape being

69
just one of many existing devices or equipment competing

on the market, or to be stuck in the on-going competition of
making miniscule differences or changes to the product.

New products and new services are not originally
planned with such a narrow view. Somewhere, the intention

and direction get lost, and in the end the awareness is lost.
Perhaps the people who should be generating the ideas have
gone around to the side that is tying them down.
V. Finding allies
People who generate ideas are your biggest fans.
Now look for the ally. Here, the ally is the opposite of
the enemy described earlier. The ally is the good part. Think
about how to find the good in things.
70
This is often overlooked, but it is the most vital point
in generating an idea. In order to create an idea, you have to

become the targets biggest supporter and biggest fan.

However, here too, there is the framework trap. If you
try to fulfill only what the SWOT analysis calls strength and
opportunity, you will end up only with a list of good points that
everyone agrees with. As a result, you can only have a specbased view and will miss the good points from other aspects,
making you think that the target is not really that good, or that
the spec isnt good enough so you rush to make it better. Then
you will develop an attitude with the illusion that the target is
not what its supposed to be, but you could improve it if you
could only raise the specs. This is not a good approach.

A fan should always praise the target at its highest and
give it an overrating. Find everything good to say about it, and

more, and afterwards use your calm judgment and question if
it was really okay to praise it that much.

This is another obstacle in the framework mentioned
earlier looking at the target calmly and objectively, or even

71
too coolly, failing to go through the process of finding the

good about it passionately.

Overrating the target as much as you can and bringing
out its potentials to their fullest from all different angles is

actually very hard work. If you dont have a strong feeling
and love for the target, your pursuit will be weak. People who
come up with ideas are not analysts or commentators; they
should be a diehard fan and bring out all of the good parts
thoroughly.

Of course, objectivity is important; but in order to bring
out the good in something you must be subjective.

For example, lets take the idea I discussed in the first
chapter, about saving a rundown spa resort.

It is rundown, so obviously there are various bad points
about it. It is far from the city center. It seems outdated. It

doesnt have anything to attract people. But as its biggest fan,
the attitude you should have is: There are many issues, but
this spa resort has a potential to change the world.
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This rundown, quiet community could be the worlds
best place for people to retire. Or it could be the worlds best

place for expecting mothers to spend their time relaxing. The
surrounding untouched nature could be a wonderful place
where children who grew up in the sterile environment of the
city can recharge their power to live.

With such a broad approach, all kinds of ideas will start
to emerge. If you dont go that far, if you only think within

the framework of strengths and opportunities, ideas will not
expand. To plan something means the planner must love the
target to death and spread the goodness about it to the world
with determination.

I have worked with a lot of local municipalities across
Japan. Many of these assignments involved reviving the community, with the main task of making those places enticing to
tourists. However, most of the time, in the midst of discussions, someone would point out that there are no tourist attractions, there isnt an amusement park or a famous persons
house of birth or a memorial monument, or there is nothing
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particularly characteristic.

When the discussion goes there, you should never
believe in a person or a suggestion that says, So lets build

something new. There are too many should-not-have facilities that were built that way. Of course, not all of them are
should-not-haves if you look at them objectively as facilities,
but if you make something that does not suit the feeling of the
community, it is not going to be used. That is why suggestions
to build something new should be turned down.
I once planned and organized a music event as a means to
revive a rural town. It attracted a considerable number of
people and, being young as I was, I was satisfied with the fact
that I created an event there and lots of people came and had
fun. However, it did not last long. As if that event was a temporary state of mind, it eventually ceased to exist. Creating
something that isnt part of the DNA of that community
will not last long. If it isnt rooted in the local area, the local
people will find it difficult to love and understand. And if its
not embraced from within, it cannot be a drawing force that
attracts people from the outside.
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When I did a job for a certain apparel company, I made
a bossy suggestion that the brand had to be a certain way. At

the time, I thought that it was the correct suggestion based on
verification. The clients response was: This is a very attractive, nice proposal. However, this is not our brand. If our shop
staff cannot embody the concept, it will not work. Again, I
was reminded that pursuing something that is not in the DNA
will not generate an effect.

People on the planning side sometimes only think about
what happens at the time of that event. However, companies

go on. Communities carry on. The lives of the people who
live there go on. It is obvious, but that is precisely why it is
imperative to pursue something that can be accumulated as a
legacy, something that can live on without being a psychological burden.
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Dont look for something that is not here.

Shed a light on what already exists.
So what needs to be done? If you want to attract tourists,
you need something that the local people agree with, something that is in unison with what they are proud of. And that is
what will ultimately lead to hospitality. It has to be something
that the local people think is good. The fact that they have
lived there for a long time means there must be a good reason.
The answer is in the people who live there.

What people living in a rural area consider precious
could be something seemingly ordinary like carrying eggs

in the sunrise, or having a chat while walking on dark country roads. It might be nothing but daily routine, but still, it is
something they consider precious. These ordinary events in
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daily life are what draws people. That is where the light needs
to be shed.

The reason why certain local towns are becoming pop-
ular recently is because more people are seeing things this

way. Clearly communicating what the local people find precious will create a unique value that can only be found there.
Spending the same daily routine with the local people provides a special experience for visitors. Such hands-on tours are
emerging now, and they also contribute to rejuvenating rural
areas.

Anything can be an element to attract people. We should
carefully discover these things and shed light on them in an

appropriate way.

A suggestion to build something new is nothing but a
denial of the circumstance in which the target presently exists,

and it also denies the past. Therefore, it will never become
something that will have any impact on peoples future. You
must pay the greatest respects to the target and as its biggest
fan, continue to search for the good in it with an open heart. A
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mayor once said to me that his town is not attractive because

it is full of small alleys. I told him that these alleys are part
of Japanese culture and they make it fun to stroll around and
discover little things, and I suggested promoting the town as
Japans most fun place to stroll. If a town has many hills,
number each one and call them Health Hills. Create a storyline that suggests climbing a certain number of them is good
for your health. If an area gets a lot of rain, you can get the
whole town involved in thinking about how it is an ideal place
for reading.
Disadvantages actually have the power to attract.

A well-known architect once said to me that he looks
for places that have bad conditions. He said that it is difficult

to build something attractive on a perfectly square lot of land.
Land that is full of disadvantages is actually has character.
He said that he feels challenged to come up with ideas on how
to take advantage of the disadvantages, and eventually he
could create something good.

I completely agree with this idea. Having a disadvantage

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means that it has great potential and a unique character that

becomes an advantage if you look at it from a different point of
view. However, in the aforementioned SWOT analysis framework, advantages and disadvantages are listed on complete
opposite sides. Being rundown is only considered a weakness
and is not listed under strengths. But there is an attraction to
being rundown too, and that is where the planning should start.
The SWOT analysis, however, provides no room to find the
potential that a disadvantage could have.

Going off the topic, taking advantage of disadvantages
also works for people. You can see a person as being lazy or
easy-going it depends on the circumstances or, more specifically, how you look at it. If you only look at a characteristic
as being bad, you will not be able to notice the real attractions.
If someone says there are no attractive people around, it is
because that person does not have the ability to find the good
things in people. If a person has the ability, then that person
will feel surrounded by attractive people, even under the same
circumstances, and life becomes richer.

In this section, I used local municipalities and

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architecture as examples, but the same things apply to goods

and services as well. The answer lies within the target. The
challenge is how much of an eye do you have to make it as
positive as it can be? So if you are going to plan something,
think about how you can become the biggest fan of the target
and overrate it to the fullest, and how you are going to shed
light on that target so you can lift it up as something that will
change the world.
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Chapter 3 - Techniques of conversion
Chapter 3
Techniques of conversion
This chapter will discuss the techniques that illustrate the axis
of new values.
I. Converting the issue agenda setting
Take charge.
Chapters 1 and 2 discussed how to find the seedlings of
an idea. Chapter 3 and 4 will be about how to give form to an

idea.

Agenda setting is a term used in American politics.
If you are a party member or a candidate discussing issues,

agenda setting is a method that makes the debate most
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beneficial for you. If you find that your theory is losing clarity
during a debate, you can use this method to divert the discussion to a field about which you are more knowledgeable.

Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was
extremely good at this, as we saw when he coined the phrase

postal election. The world of politics is filled with complicated
problems. In foreign affairs, education, welfare, and medical
issues, for example, politicians tell voters how they intend to
tackle problems based on their views. Candidates seek the
publics response and in turn the public decides who to support. There are so many things that we as voters must consider.

However, not all voters are knowledgeable about poli-
tics. Not all of the detailed information in every field is available. Sensing that a clear criterion would make it easier to
choose a candidate, Mr. Koizumi created the phrase postal
election.

Of course, elections are not that easy. There are many
issues. However, he was very clever at establishing a point of

focus, bringing attention to a certain axis. In time, the phrase
penetrated throughout the country and set the mood for voters
to make their choices based on the single theme of postal
reform. As a result, Mr. Koizumi created a situation that was
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advantageous to him and he won by a landslide.

The more complicated the situation is, the more effective
agenda setting becomes.

Usually, a simple phrase like postal election would only
make people say, What is he saying? It doesnt work that

way. Suggesting something that people are not asking for
often has no meaning. But this time, that wasnt the case.

The more complicated a situation is and the more con-
fused people are, a clearer criterion is required and works

effectively. In that sense, Mr. Koizumi created a win-win relationship with the voters. Coining the phrase was indeed very
clever, but if he observed and understood that the people were
confused and needed a clear direction, he was exceptionally
good in strategizing.

This methodology is not limited to the world of politics.
In any world today, the lack of a clear criterion is due to the

over-abundance of information and interests. This method is
effective in sending out something meaningful to the world
and communicating its value to the people.
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A perfect example is the beer industry. When the entire
beer industry was leaning too far towards the subjective value,
depth and flavor, and the consumers became confused, they
introduced another criterion freshness. It was easy for consumers to choose a beer based on how well its freshness was
controlled, rather than trying to base their decision on intricate
flavors that had become difficult to tell apart. The fact that
freshness is a word used for the food industry and was not
originally a concept in the beer industry also showed an excellent example of creating distance as discussed in Chapter 2.

Another example is in the automobile industry. There
were so many values that were difficult to understand unless

you were interested in information such as flexibility or
maneuverability. Adding safety features as a selection criteria
made choosing a car a whole lot easier.

You must determine what decision criteria should be
presented in order to move people, but first you need to ascertain the existing competition axis. If the axis is still effective,
you will likely find yourself in a head-on battle to differentiate
what you have from others. If the axis is unclear, the method
explained above would be effective.
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The axis of competition is determined by your perspective

on people.

The axis is not clear when, as mentioned in the two
earlier examples, the competition becomes fierce and moves

into an expert area. Thinking only about the competition will
cause you to neglect the general public, which is something
you must sincerely come to terms with. You need to regain the
perspective of an average person.

When a senior colleague of mine made a presentation
to a bank, he asked the bankers to listen to him not as bankers, but as fathers and husbands as individual human beings.
Because the bank was caught up in competing over details,
it became difficult for the average person to understand the
services offered. The bankers needed to go back and rethink
things by looking at the situation through the average persons
eyes. This applies to everybody. If you get too wrapped up in
your work, you start thinking that your business is moving the
whole world, but that is an illusion. No matter how fierce you
have to compete to increase your market share, you will lose
sight of what is important if you only look at your competition.

Not everyone in the world knows your business well, is

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interested, or is even paying attention. That is precisely why it

is important to admit that what you are presenting has reached
a point where it is no longer comprehensible to the average
person, and to re-create a competition axis, or a selection axis
for the consumer, that is simple and easy to understand.

This selection axis becomes the new criterion after dif-
ferences have been eliminated, and here you need the sympathy of the people. This means that if you say, Lets talk about
this today, people will follow you. Before Mr. Koizumi came
up with the phrase postal election, he told the public that he
would smash the LDP and rebuild Japan. So people associated and accepted his postal reform proposal as a symbol of
rebuilding this country that had come to a standstill.

In the course of agenda setting, we must be careful that
we dont end up just singing our own praises. That will not
encourage a change in the point in question. Look through the
average persons eyes and perceive their view on life, and find
what people are seeking as the symbol of the new age. That
could be your selection axis.
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II. Converting values

When a new age comes,
the significance of existence changes.
When times change, the values of people who live in
those times change. When peoples values change, the meaning of existence of goods people demand changes. We all
know very well that trends change all the time. For something
to continue being popular, the significance of its existence
must change with the times. Still, something that once went
well is remembered for its success. Changing the meaning of
an existence means denying it. While it is very difficult, it is a
necessary process in order to capture the hearts of the people.

Take the example of Japanese zoos.
In Chapter 1 I discussed the revitalization of the zoo in

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New York. Today, zoos all over the world are struggling to find
how to revitalize, and zoos in Japan are no exception. People
do not visit anymore because television and DVDs offer excellent coverage and quality content that are lowering the value
of direct interaction with animals at zoos. This is a serious
problem.

If a zoo is a place just to look at animals, it cannot com-
pete against TV shows and DVDs. The challenge for zoos

today is to move away from just being a showcase.

Some zoos have succeeded in attracting people. So what
have they done?

When an animal in a zoo gets sick or injured, it is taken
away and replaced by a sign that says, This animal is sick, or

This animal is injured. Everyone must have experienced disappointment when you go to the zoo and your favorite animal
is not there. This is symbolic of how animals are regarded only
as something to look at so they always have to be 100%
healthy.

However, it is natural for animals to get sick or injured.
They heal with the help of their family and friends and go on
living. Then they get sick or hurt again and in the end become
weak and die. That is the law of nature.
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Successful zoos accepted this law of nature and realized
that zoos should provide an educational opportunity for people

to see animals growing old or sick and to learn about death.
Rather than maintaining iconic perfection, the zoos decided
to show everything about life without disturbing the law of
nature to the best of their ability. The staged show house was
transformed into a documentary site.

The age of nuclear families has made this even more
valuable. In the past, it was common for families to have

elderly members, such as grandparents, living together under
the same roof. Children learned about people growing old and
weak, about helping each other, and they learned to respect life
as they saw the elderly live out a full and happy life to the end.
This opportunity is now declining at an overwhelming rate.

Compared to the age when information was not readily
available, the significance of having a zoo is obviously different now. Dwelling on how it was in the past will not help zoos
overcome recession. Focusing on the present will bring about
change and transform zoos as an attractive destination. The
zoos that successfully transformed themselves also became
a symbol of the new age, which is imperative to make the
transition.
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Art museums that are recently successful have also
adopted changes. With the progress in information communication and the accessibility of art though various media, the
past existence of art museums that depended on exhibits alone
is not enough. Many museums are now offering hands-on
experience, and many are also organizing more workshops.
What should be noted is that these museums are designed to
be complete only with the actual presence of the people there.

The museums present two types of artwork. One is the
type of work that becomes complete with the involvement of

people, whether they are there to look or to participate. The
other depends on season, time, or weather. This type allows
the viewer to notice a value that can only be appreciated in
the time or environment that it is seen, and helps people notice
everyday beauty.

There was a time when art experiences referred to
event-oriented presentations like action painting. But today

it means being inspired by understanding the significance of
being in front of a piece of work, and this is what attracts the
people. This too, is a change in the meaning of existence in
accordance with the times.
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III. Converting action

In order to change action, shift its purpose.
The zoos and art museums were examples of how to
change the meaning of existence to suit the current times and

how to transform the target into a new existence.

Meanwhile, in some cases it is necessary to change peo-
ples actions. If the significance of an action has reached its

limits or is no longer up to date, we need to think again about
what makes an action significant today and create a situation
that will increase that action.

For example, take the act of donating. How can we
change this so that more people will participate and more

money can be moved, leading to a bigger social movement?
This is becoming a big topic of discussion lately. Noblesse
oblige is a French phrase that literally means nobility obliges.
As the phrase suggests, in some countries, it is part of the culture for people with larger assets to donate money. However,
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all over the world people are not always willing to donate and
the solution is still under development. The act of donating
still has limitations. People are animals whose behavior is
based on fulfilling their desires, and there is a limit to acting
purely out of the goodness of ones heart. That is probably the
bottom line. So how can this be changed?
Converting action means creating a different desire.

If there is a limit to goodwill, the purpose which is to
express goodwill needs to be changed. Change the purpose

to satisfying your own desire. What kind of desire would be
appropriate? In Chapter 2 I talked about creating distance. If
you think about a desire that is far from the noble spirit of
goodwill, a desire that is in a way very crass, you might find
the answer.

This is something that happened in Hollywood several
years ago. Celebrities killed their presence on the Internet.

They stopped updating their Twitter and Facebook accounts.
People who always looked forward to their postings would
have to put up money for those celebrities to be resurrected
and write posts on the SNS again. The value of donation was
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switched to fulfilling the desire for gossip in what the celebrities had to write. This is an extremely pragmatic and crass
desire. The original spirit associated with the act of donating
just doesnt exist. But sometimes it is necessary to be rational
and forget about those people with a noble spirit. When the
target is shifted to the majority of people without that spirit, it
makes sense to appeal to the desire that is far removed from
that noble spirit. As a result, a large sum of money was
collected.

The motive of the action changed, so perhaps it became
something that could not be called a donation. However, the

fund-raiser was successful without depending on goods, and
since the driving force was the celebrities who endorsed it, we
should accept the value shift. In fact, this could become a big
global movement.

Another recent social issue is raising the electoral voting
rate. Young people have been drifting away from politics for
a long time. In Japan, people are always easy to give up on
politics, so putting an end to the declining voting rate is not
an easy task. But since this is a serious issue that could lead
to a national crisis, lets think about how to change the act of
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voting. To make a change, first we must admit that there is a

limit to participating in politics, and then we must decide what
to do. Earlier I said that in order to change an action, you need
to change its purpose and find a different desire. Lets proceed
under that premise.

The polling station is usually a place that is easy for the
residents in the community to access, such as an elementary

school. People can reach the venue easily on foot. What if we
focused on the value of that venue to create a different desire?

One idea is to make it a venue for an elementary school
reunion. You hardly ever see the people you knew from elementary school, but Facebook has instigated many school
reunions. A polling station in the neighborhood would be an
easy place for elementary school alumni to gather. Instead of
just writing a name on a piece of paper and then leaving the
polling station, it would be more appealing if you could have
fun afterwards. We all look forward to reunions but once they
happen, theyre not always fun because you dont have the
same interests anymore. When youve spent a completely different time for so long, that cant be helped. So what do people
do? Like I mentioned with the pub, when people dont have
much in common, they try to connect by complaining. They
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will likely have conversations about all kinds of topics. Then

something would tie into that days elections and lead the discussion to politics. The entrance could be something to look
forward to, with politics being the exit as a result. If you turn
the act of voting into a reunion, it might work out.

If you position peoples desires at the base such as
the desire to get together with other people, to play in the elementary school playground, or to change the way to spend
your day off the very meaning of the action shifts and voting
could turn voting into a fun experience. Verbally declaring to
make a change will not change peoples behavior. You must
change the purpose, and in order to do that, you have to establish a different desire. The further away the desire is from the
original action, the more power it has to change a fixed action,
even if you could be criticized for changing the original intention and significance. In fact, it could help produce ideas that
may be considered unrealistic, as in the example above. All
the examples I presented intentionally illustrate extreme ways
of thinking in order to examine how ideas can be expanded.
But when the significance of eliciting a change of action is far
greater than not acting out of noble reasons or intentions, it
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should be considered as a way to broaden your thoughts and

ideas.
IV. Converting presence
When you let something go, something new is born.
In business, we have what is called the period of struc-
tural conversion. There are lots of examples such as when

business structures or systems are fatigued, or when there is
a problem in the cycle of products or services. Among them,
the most difficult case is when ones presence is slowly fading
away. It is not that the intentions of the company are not
properly communicated to the public nor that there is a misunderstanding between the company and the consumers. Its
presence just doesnt leave any impression in peoples minds.
The problem lies not with the supplier but with the consumers
who offset demand.

A change in the publics awareness causes the foundation

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beneath to crumble and sink.

The most frightening thing for a company is to sink
slowly without clearly seeing the problem. This of course is

an issue that requires an integral solution, beginning with the
companys value of existence, the business structure, and the
composition of products and services. But the company also
must avoid becoming so overwhelmed by the incredible workload that it cannot move even a step. In a situation like this,
take a different viewpoint by changing the presence and you
may see what actions need to be taken. In the earlier examples
of donating and voting, the desire that was not increasing was
replaced with a totally different one. Here, I will talk about
approaches that can shed light on fading desires and make
them tangible again.

This is about a European band that just released a new
album. They did not release a CD, but instead released the
music scores.

It was a brilliant idea. The music industry is in a big
transition stage. Packaged media does not sell anymore, CD

sales have declined drastically, and sales from downloads have
not reached the expected level. People go to online video sites
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to check any music that gets their attention. The music industry feels they can no longer rely on selling music to make a
profit and has shifted their focus on sales from live event tickets and merchandising. It was on the news a few years ago that
half of Madonnas sales were from live events, but now the
share is much greater and will likely become her main source
of income. Releasing new music has become a means to promote live events, which is the complete opposite from the past.
This is the environment that produced the idea of releasing the
music score instead of a CD.

When a popular band releases score sheets instead of a
CD, people try playing the music because they wonder what
it sounds like. Some people might upload it to YouTube. As
more uploads appear, naturally there will be people who play
well and everyone will be able to hear a decent version of the
music. In a while, they will want to know how the real thing
sounds, and they will go to the bands concert to find out.
This is a very effective way to generate expectations for a live
event.

Still more, people will discover that even if someone
can perform well, they are never going to be as good as the

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actual musicians. They will understand what it means to be an

artist, and what makes them different from someone who just
plays well. As a result, this will raise the status of artists.

In a situation where the style of sales and the structure
of business had to be changed, this idea demonstrated how it

could be done without force but by moving naturally alongside peoples desires. The changing times always come with
a demand for businesses to transform. In making that transition, you dont want to lose the support and sympathy of the
people. To do that, it is effective to take the initiative and make
a daring switch in other words, creating a situation where
something feels missing and linking it to a new action.

If something is missing, and that is an extension of
what people support, it creates a desire. When that happens,

the situation in which something is missing will make people
realize once again the true value of whatever that was. Even if
the presence is fading and the existence of the business itself
seems difficult, try thinking about it this way:

What if movie theaters disappeared from your life?
What if bowling alleys disappeared from your life?

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What if tailors disappeared from your life?
When something disappears, people realize exactly how
important it was to them and become aware of its existence

again. And when it is presented in a modern way but with the
same values intact, people will consciously develop a sense of
love or attachment to it.
V. Converting the role
Converting the role means to search for a way
to coexist without frontal confrontation.
Say a certain business exists and another business that
has the power to blow it away appears. As a result, there are

times when the existing business has no choice but to change
its role. Imagine a situation where a local shopping street is
faced with the opening of a large commercial facility backed
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by huge capital in a nearby location. This is a matter of life and

death for the small businesses, as demonstrated by shutter
streets turning up all over the country. The power of scale
benefit is difficult to compete against. So what can be done to
survive?

Lets think about reviving the local electrical appliance
store, which is naturally facing this same problem. When a

large-scale electrical appliance department store opens nearby,
there is no way a small local store can compete by continuing
to do business as usual.
Review everything that can be done and abstract it.

In Chapter 2 I talked about excavating the ally and its
advantages. I also talked about how disadvantages can be

changed into allies to become beneficial. Lets begin there.

What are things that a small local electrical appliance
store can do that a huge electrical appliance department store

cannot?

For one, there is the network established with the
local community. The small shop knows the history of the

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community and understands local conditions. They can find

out the interests and concerns of the local people and various events in their lives that are special occasions. They can
even be part of those events. They know the history and family
structure of each household. Some of the shop owners know
peoples hobbies and tastes. They can gain information on a
daily basis, and learn the changes people are going through in
their lives. They have the physical face-to-face contact and are
welcomed into peoples homes.

You can see that a small shop has many capabilities
other than just selling products. Lets use abstraction to interpret this point.
[Neighbor Power] The power of subtly collecting important
information by being close at hand and the power of being
relied on when something happens
[Boundary Power] The power of having nearby business opportunities beyond the limited market of electrical appliances.

Lets see what possibilities there are if we use these two
powers.
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Neighbor power can be something like an intelligence
agency that conducts ethnography, investigating the underlying values and desires from the daily behavior of consumers.
By grasping the characteristics that are unique to the community in every aspect of the necessities of life, it can provide
necessary information as a research agency to manufacturers
when they develop new products or for sales development. In
doing so, the business can tie up with the manufacturer and
turn their role into something valuable that is not just sales. Big
stores can make people feel anxious or intimidated because it
is not possible for an average individual to know every bit
of information about electrical appliances that continually
change. Using the advantages of neighbor power, the small
business owner can accompany a local resident to the electrical appliance department store as an agent to draw out the best
deal. In this case, the amount the consumer saves could result
in a service fee.

What happens when boundary power is used? The elec-
trical appliance industry does more than just sell electrical

products. They have already gone into industries that didnt
exist before, creating a completely new competitive environment. Its a complicated environment, where automobile,
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housing, and various other industries see the electrical appliance industry as both an ally and an enemy. If the small local
electrical appliance store uses its boundary power, it can
approach the edges that touch on electricity where boundaries
are not clear-cut, selling things like EVs, solar panels, smart
houses, and security services. This is a new sales capability in
itself. If you think further, small stores could assist people to
think about their use of electricity and re-evaluate their contract with the power company. This would broaden the role of
a small shop to go beyond selling appliances and help keep
track of the overall energy usage in a household.

When you draw out the capabilities and think flatly
along the two powers abstracted, you can see that it is possible
to change roles to provide services such as research, agent,
new business, or energy management.

To change the role does not necessarily mean being
forced to move into a new field. It is using the capabilities

that already exist and changing the destination. Boundaries
between industries are much fuzzier than they used to be. This
can be said for any industry, not just electrical appliances. The
industrial structure itself has been forced to change, so this is
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the situation all around. There is absolutely no need for the

destination of the capabilities to be confined to existing territories. Look at the world without being bound by the way
things were or conventional customs, and focus on genuinely
exerting your capabilities. That is precisely the act that will
bring about change.
VI. Changing the layer of battle

Amidst a whole lot of competition, it is sometimes dif-
ficult stand out no matter how hard you try to differentiate

yourself from others. An effective way to overcome this is
switching over to another layer. There are many ways to do
this, so lets look at some examples of different businesses.
(a) Go one notch higher
Here is an effective method to use when the competition
is complicated and differentiation alone will not get you anywhere because the market is too close to another.

Take the education industry. The competition is fierce,

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with cram schools becoming fractionalized and in a state of

confusion. They offer individual classes that border on oneon-one instruction, correspondence courses, home tutoring,
and so on. It doesnt make sense just to look individually at
the different markets offering individual classes or correspondence courses. When you think youve found a way to offer
differentiation and be successful in a given market, you might
find a different cram school already competing there. On a
different axis, you might run into other tutors. This type of
confused market exists in many other areas, too. What were
separate markets in the past have started to grow closer in distance and are now part of a mini-universe. So an attempt to
differentiate actually causes assimilation with another market,
which makes the situation very confusing.

It is not enough to simply change your axis of value.
You need to change your place of battle. This is the method

of moving up one notch. You need to get out of that mini-universe. If you offer individual classes, use the one-on-one
mechanism and become the first place parents come for consultation. Parents often find it hard to decide whether to choose
a cram school, a tutor, or a correspondence course for their
children. In a confused market, it is natural for the customer
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to be confused. Pointing out the small differences between

the individual markets will not help them to decide. So be the
first person they can consult. Turn it into a consultation about
how to choose the best education method: a combination of
cram school and correspondence course, or perhaps just home
tutoring. By gaining their trust and starting a relationship, you
cannot only provide education to the children, but also add
value by discussing education with the parents.

This is the style of battle where you change the layer
and move up a notch. By using this style you can gain your
position as the first counselor and be able to relay the good
aspects of one-on-one instruction. By moving up a notch you
can avoid excessive competition and create a new business
opportunity at the same time. If you use a positioning map
to understand the competitive scene and consider your next
move, you might not be able to escape the confusion. Move
away from that and replace both the horizontal and vertical
axis with something different.
Debating about the axis is dangerous because the objectivity
makes you base your structure on facts and takes you into a
debate about the market or the business. That makes it even
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more difficult to escape the confusion. The key to escape is to

position yourself where you can see the debate from a completely different viewpoint stand where you should be, stand
closest to daily life, stand closest to desires. Then you can
move a little bit away from the business and get closer to the
people. In this case, you move from the education industry and
get closer to the consulting business. By moving up one notch,
you can create that distance.
(b) Make it a separate category
The second method to changing the layer of battle is
making it look like a different category. Rather than something like the confused state of the industry previously discussed, this would be more effective when assimilation within
a market is severe. When goods and services of a certain category are introduced, it is easy to see what makes them different. However, the more mature they become, the harder it
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is for consumers to recognize those differences, even if it is

crystal clear to the industry.

It is not uncommon that differences that are obvious
to the industry are so minimal to the general public that they

hardly notice. So if an average consumer can tell the difference, you need to at least create another variety or another
category. How can that be done?

Take a look at Internet food shopping. The category is
no longer new and all the companies now offer similar services. The differences are becoming hard to recognize. There
is fresh produce delivered directly from farmers, and every
company has an abundant selection of food supplies. The
method of selecting and ordering are properly in place, and
the interface is in order.

Say that Company A does their harvesting after they
receive an order. But people are naturally trapped by words. If

the description for Company A is simply Internet food sales,
consumers perceive the company simply as one of many who
are all listed under the same title, an online supermarket. It is
difficult to see what makes them different. So we will make a
new category with a different concept using different words to
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help the consumer clearly create a different image and find a

different place to be.

Internet food sales is a distribution business. But if the
harvesting is done after an order is received, it is not just any

delivery business. It is a new form of business categorized as
an ordering service because the harvesting is done after the
order comes in, to ensure the delivery of produce that is fresh
and delicious. This puts Company A into a separate category
from the other Internet delivery services. Company A is a service provided through ordering, and the difference becomes
apparent to the general public.

As demonstrated here, in order to make it a new cate-
gory, you need to draw a clear line. The stronger that line is,
the more the company will stand out and make the other companies all look the same. Other firms must be doing all sorts of
things to show how different they are too, but without the bold
line of a separate category, the difference is hard to see.
(c) Change the style
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This method is useful when there is a time axis to
the competition. It is not only about the direct competition

between individual products or services. The products or services are continually updated and it becomes an all-out competition stretching over a long span of time. For a one-on-one
competition, the above methods (a) or (b) may work, but when
continuity is involved, you need to shift your focus on how to
compete over an entire progression.

I was once involved in the product development for
mobile phones. Every time a device changed, it needed development. Each time, I would think about what new product and
features the world would accept. The planning process actually starts much earlier, so I had to imagine what sort of thing
people would want in several years.

Back then, each time a new mobile phone was released,
the focus of competition was the device itself. Each time an

eye-catching spec would be featured: Now the device comes
with this feature, or Now you can do this. When the market
was developing, that was the right way to do it because each
time, something completely different was introduced. A new
model coming onto the market had impact. It was effective
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in getting people to frequently replace their current mobile

phones with a new model.

In time, however, the battle drastically changed. The
make-up of phones changed. There was a transformation from

stock to flow. The new flow involved the mobile phone to
gradually evolve instead of being a finished product. It could
be considered more like purchasing a big frame where the services within continues to change. Instead of buying a product,
people would buy one process of the evolution of a mobile
phone.

Under such circumstances, competing with an individ-
ual product was not enough to survive. Between products that

were competing with points or with a line that represents a
flow, it is obvious which will get ahead. When you consider
the costs of development and marketing involved each time
for a new product, there has to be a more efficient way to compete. This triggered the change from stock to flow.

Changing the make-up from stock to flow is not about
which is better.

In the world of magazines, one method of putting
together a magazine is to set a target based on certain criteria such as age group and create content that appeals to that
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target, while another method is to grow with the readers and

gradually change the level of content. The first method accepts
the premise that current readers are going to drift away after a
few years, but they can be replaced by new readers so efforts
should be made to capture them. Meanwhile, in the latter
method the readers will continue buying the magazine, so the
content will be aligned with their personal changes and the
changing times.

Whether to stay or to go on, all depends on the situation.
It is not about which is more advantageous. In the competitive

environment, it is all about deciding which would help you
gain the upper hand in that given moment.
VII. Marketing in a place where there is no marketing
There actually are many places where there is no
marketing.
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This is about a change that mainly has to do with prod-
uct development. In the world of finance, there are sectors that

have no marketing. For example, the markets for the elderly,
the pregnant, or infants have always been considered special
markets where this tendency is stronger. Because these markets have a distinctive quality, there are limited players and
there may be an absence of a national brand. As a result, the
choices are very limited for the consumer and people likely
end up being forced to endure various obstacles such as high
cost, a limited lineup, and unattractive designs, to name a few.
Marketing is a mechanism where the consumer makes things
move. If you look hard enough, you will find that the area with
no marketing is quite large.

When developing a new product that is going to be intro-
duced in a new market, you need to consider whether people

there want a new company to come. However, this viewpoint
is often overlooked, and companies are more inclined to move
into the market for selfish reasons like We can make a fortune in this market, or We can leverage our strengths in this
market. However, if the people dont want you, there is no
reason to be there. This is how new proposals that come from
new project planning divisions in many companies end up
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being forced to withdraw from the market in an unusually

short period of time. It was nothing more than an invasion.

Do the people there want you?
Is your move not considered an invasion?
Are you welcome?
Bringing marketing into a place where there is no mar-
keting means whether or not you can become a presence that

can provide people with the products and services they desire
and have long been waiting for but were missing. Only when
you can do that will your presence be welcomed and accepted,
and not considered an invasion.

I once was involved in the product development of res-
idential equipment for the elderly. It was for a national brand

that was moving into a new market. At the time, products
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aimed for the elderly were overpriced and the design was
never good typical for special markets. By attaching the
word silver, you get the impression that it is different from the
regular market. The entire industry was affected by that word.

If the equipment was for anyone with weakened mus-
cles, it could be useful for the average person to use as well,

especially when they were not feeling well. There was no need
to look at it as a special market, so I started by redefining the
elderly and helped to create products that had a good design
and bright colors, while making sure not to comprise the specialized specifications. As a result, a single line of products
grew to become a whole department. The reason it made
so much progress was strictly because those products were
something that the people in that particular market wanted. A
change was made in a market where existing goods alone were
not sufficiently beneficial.

Although there are much fewer markets today where
there is no marketing, there are still some possibilities like

bringing quality brands to the maternity market, or sports
brands to the labor uniform market. In the former case, quality
brands can change the value of maternity clothing and generate
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a mood across the entire society to regard it as something very

precious. In the latter suggestion, the change in value could
make an enormous contribution to building self-esteem among
manual laborers.

Bringing marketing into places where there is no mar-
keting is very worthwhile, because not only does it generate a big business impact, but it can directly lead to making
people happy, whether it has to do with functions, design, or
self-esteem.
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Chapter 4 - Techniques of actualizing
Chapter 4
This chapter will discuss the techniques involved in creating
forms that the world will understand.
I. Knowing the concept
The concept is the reason it must exist.
There are many kinds of concepts product concept,
communication concept, PR concept, and so on. However,

concepts are generally very hard to grasp so if it is too broad,
it can become confusing. Here, I will focus on product concept
because that is the most common and easiest to understand.

I am asked to participate in many different product
development projects, and I have contributed to making

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various products such as: tea, coffee, juice, beer, wine, pasta,
noodles, salad dressing, cooking oil, dietary supplements,
shampoo, cosmetics, mobile phones, televisions, music players, kitchens, unit baths, bicycles you name it. But even with
the variety of segments, the workflow is not that different. This
is what it usually looks like.
Think about what part of the market to target.

Come up with a concept.

Identify the functions.

Create the design.

Name the product.

Outline the method of sales.

Develop the advertising communication plan.

Of these, concept is the most important because the

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function, content, design, method of sales, and advertising

expressions are all based on concept. The concept is the core
part of product making.

There are many ways to describe a concept, whether
it be the way of thinking, the approach, design, and so on.

An Internet dictionary gives the definition, A basic notion
formed in the mind that is the foundation of thinking activity,
which doesnt make sense.

A concept is the reason that the product must exist. It
is meaningless to make a product that nobody cares about or

that will disappear from the market in no time. I want people
to love the products that I make forever, so I continuously
think about why that product really must exist.

When Im working on product development, I some-
times meet people who think, It would be good if we can

sell about this much, or If the brand is about this big, thats
okay. But not a single product will sell based on that kind
of thinking. The act of buying something is none other than
the buyers self-expression. People choose a certain brand
because they want to be enveloped in the world of that brand.
People are not going to purchase a brand that only needs to
sell so much or be so big because they cannot fulfill the
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need for self-expression. Such products will quickly vanish

from the market. Because there are so many products available
on the market today, it is important to be particular about the
reason a product must exist.

This can also be said for services, events, and communi-
cation as a whole. Think about why something must exist.

It also must be something that people will continue to
support.

In the case of the empty house burglaries mentioned in
Chapter 1, someone may have understood that there needed

to be more people on watch, but they may not have been able
to see further and come up with the idea of planting flowers.
The more common and direct solution would be to add more
surveillance cameras or patrol cars. As a thinking process, this
is okay; but it should be followed by re-evaluating the criteria:
Is a community full of surveillance cameras and patrol cars
attractive? This is precisely what it means to consider whether
or not it is something that people will continuously support.
Some things that look good in a system may not capture peoples hearts.

In this case of searching for a concrete measure to solve

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the problem, it was necessary to think whether or not it would

make the town an attractive place and not to stray from that.
With that focus, when your idea broadened to people on watch,
you would likely come up with the solution of planting flowers
or encouraging people to have pets over increasing surveillance cameras and patrol cars. Since too many pets could pose
another problem, you would finally settle with the flowers.
The trap of product development new stylish soda.
During the course of working on product development,
Im often invited to do a workshop together. And when I do,

I sometimes come across a proposed concept sheet with an
expression like new stylish soda. This actually is the first
thing that needs to be corrected because it is not even a concept, although some people misunderstand and think that it is.
In fact, some advertising planners do the same thing, and it is
truly mind-boggling.
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A concept is the reason why something must exist.
This is functionally a blueprint people use to work together

and make something, so it must be effective and it must not
have any elements that make it unstable.

If the interpretation of a concept were to have a 5-degree
range, the spec down the line would be about 20 degrees off.
Then the naming would make it about 30 degrees off, and the
design again would be off. In the end, we end up with a product
that nobody can figure out. This is why you cant simply use
any wording you like in your concept. It must be as clear and
precise as possible with carefully selected words. In terms of
the technical aspect, I consciously try not to rely on adjectives.
Adjectives cover such a broad area that it always becomes too
vague. Basically, when youre trying to communicate your
target, the only way to win is with carefully selected straightforward nouns, or verbs that clearly illustrate an action.

More specifically, it must have a spirit that the creators
of the product identify with. When all of the project members

are highly motivated, the product will have a clear appeal. You
must consider whether the people delivering and selling the
product embrace the spirit and want to sell it and whether consumers will also feel the same way.
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Does it appeal to everyone involved?

What does new stylish soda mean anyway? The what
is missing from the middle. It is not clear who will benefit and
in what way, nor can you tell if it is something to drink in the
morning or at night or what drink it is supposed to replace.

To overcome the fear of being rejected, people end up
presenting concepts that are obscure and unrealistic. But concepts should be rejected. Just as steel starts to take form after it
is hit over and over again, there needs to be a certain amount of
rejection. At the same time, in order to become a concept that
is realistic and has the power to entice people, there is no need
to adhere to everyone who rejects it. It is important to remain
adamant that it must exist in this world.
Does the concept contain words that express whats inside
you?
Is the concept made from your passion?

If it sounds clever or if pretty words are lined up, then
doubt it. What is important is whether it is powerful enough to

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present to the world, even if it has some rough edges.

Say someone attempts to re-write the earlier concept.
Finding that the benefits are unclear, a purpose is added to the

concept, which may look like this:
Next generation soda to relieve stress

A purpose was added. The word stylish was deleted
for not being realistic. New was also hard to understand so

the target image was added, making it next generation. But
what does this indicate? Notice the frighteningly vague phrase,
relieve stress. Each word has its own range of meanings. If
this is going to be a blueprint, the concept must accurately
express the meaning and intention of the words used.

Stress and relief have not been defined so it is not clear
how it is different from the stress and relief as we know it.

Because they are not defined, it cannot be considered an established concept.

Then we have next generation, a phrase often used in
proposals that may be helpful in getting the plan approved. But

the next generation will never come. Anything that is called
a next generation such-and-such is often portrayed in the
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image of a future we saw in the past, which is quite different

from what we have today. Similarly, there really is no one that
fits the phrase next generation either.

Having a sense for words means that you are sensitive
about the range defined by any given word. Creating a concept

is an act of materializing how close you can express the true
meaning of the word. You must never make the realm vague,
fill up space with superficial words, or use words that have no
clear purpose. Creating a concept is a process of sharpening
your sense of vocabulary to its limits and attempting to consolidate all of your thoughts and feelings.

Once during a brainstorming session about a concept for
green tea to be sold in a developing country, one young staff

came up with this:
Green Light Ahead
Since the country had a larger tea market than expected, pursuing a difference based on the specific performance of green
tea was proving to be a challenge. So he decided to make a
difference using feelings. If he had written healthy and
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forward-thinking green tea, it would be difficult to understand, but it would also provide an opportunity to think about
the meaning of the color green. In the midst of the expanding
economy, if the product could gain an image of supporting the
countrys growth, it would make sense to sell it in that market.
The phrase was still obscure and the words unpolished, but
his thoughts and feelings were reflected. Then there was this:

The Great Journey
There was awareness in the country that green tea was
more of a global thing than local, so he created this concept.

As you know, the Great Journey was the 50,000-kilometer
journey from Africa to Patagonia taken by man since humankind was born 4 million years ago. It is the history of how
humankind spread across the globe. Meanwhile, it took many
months and years until green tea had reached the country from
the Far East. The idea was to develop the product alongside
that story.

He came up with a number of concepts like this. Maybe
the level and direction or the necessary marketability were

inconsistent, but it was a good effort. He didnt just negligently
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come up with something like the stylish drink with a new

sensation, nor did he take a distant stance of a critic. Though
unpolished, the words came from within and were filled with
passion that expected some kind of a response when presented
to the public. He captured the essence of the purpose or reason
to sell that product.
If the product must exist now, it must be able to challenge
something.
This means that a concept is a challenge.

If the purpose of coming up with ideas is to solve the
problems of the world, there must be as many concepts as

there are problems. Write them down on paper and see what
you want to solve with your particular product, service, media,
architecture, event, or advertisement. What do you want to
save? If that product absolutely must exist in society, its purpose must be to tackle a serious problem that we face. In other
words, it is a challenge to save the world. Let us see if we can
clarify these challenges as concepts.
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Challenge to save the intelligence of the Japanese
people

Challenge to improve the athletic capabilities of the
Japanese people

Challenge to generate a new sense of morality among
the Japanese people

Challenge to instill the survival power of Japanese
children

Challenge to reestablish Japans sense of family
These are just a few examples. Not only are they all clear
and stable, but they have the power to keep people motivated.

However, these concepts are not delivered to the world
as they are. As mentioned in Chapter 2 about distance, in order

for people to notice that these concepts are not matter of fact,
there must be a certain sense of distance. To discuss these concepts most effectively, you need to create distance.
Challenge to save the intelligence of the Japanese people

apparel and entertainment, which at a glance seem
distant from intelligence.

Challenge to improve the athletic capabilities of the Japanese
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people

books and cosmetics, which at a glance seem distant
from physical exercise.

Challenge to generate a new sense of morality among the
Japanese people

luxury items, which at a glance seem distant from
morality.
Challenge to instill the survival power of Japanese children
toiletry, which at a glance seem distant from survival power.
Challenge to reestablish Japans sense of family

cosmetics, which at a glance seem distant from
family.

Focus your challenge on such things that are distant
from your objective, and figuratively work out visualize and

clarify what the challenge specifically is and what it will
accomplish and how. That is the process of creating a concept.
Inevitably, it entails a clear intent. As mentioned before, try
not to rely on adjectives because just as they make expressions
vague, they also do not help to accurately represent the real
meaning of a concept.
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All people are surprised before

feeling any kind of emotion.
Whether sadness, happiness, or anger, all emotions
happen after surprise. To change actions, we need to change

emotions. In order to do that, we must illustrate surprise.

Indulge in the surprise of having to take on such a chal-
lenge. Go as far as you can, to take on the challenges of going

beyond time and space, cultures and customs, common sense,
making something out of nothing, retrieving what has been
lost, and so on things that nobody has been able to accomplish with the power of techniques, and the power of goods
and services. Extend yourself to the limit so people will look
twice.

Then, for the first time, people will become aware of the
target, think, and take action.
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II. Creating a vision

Imagine what happiness looks like and think about what
it needs.
Consumer spending that periodically dropped after the
Great East Japan Earthquake has gone back up considerably.

However, there is a big change now in how people buy things.
In the past, people bought something because it was a certain
type of product. Now, even buying one item of food needs
consideration about where it is from, who it is for, and why
it is needed. People have now become more aware of such
particulars. In the past, there was a time when the expression
of value depended on condominiums, cars, and household
appliances. Now that consumerism has restarted, people have
become very careful about what they buy and they spend time
examining their own buying behavior. They do not project
their own style in certain limited purchases, but make their
own decisions based on their own unique sense of value for
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every single product.

In order to stand up to this kind of decision-making, the
premise has gone beyond simply presenting the product specifications. In order to be chosen, it has become a prerequisite
for products to communicate information such as the thought
behind the company and its employees who made the product,
and what they are demonstrating for the future. It is no exaggeration to say that companies can no longer survive by just
continuing along the same line of business. Companies now
must define their existence in society for what purpose they
exist.

As mentioned in the introductory chapter, what is hap-
pening now is a turn toward a new political, economic, and

cultural framework on a global level. That is precisely why
companies are required to exhibit a positive vision for the
future. Where is this world headed? Where is our society
headed? How should we exist at this very moment as a human
being? Perhaps what is being required of companies and its
employees is the very act of providing practical answers to
these questions. What people agree with and want are not
things that simply come off of the production line or what the
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company simply wants to sell, but the passion to make the

world a better place and a new approach that is surprising and
innovative.

I have been involved in the product development of
mobile phones a number of times and I have written many

scenarios of how those phones could change peoples lives.
Lifelong learning will become mainstream and people will
start to manage their own past, present, and future.
Family health and safety will be centrally managed.
People will acquire multiple areas of expertise and apply
a different part of themselves according to the purpose.
The elderly will assume the role of watching over peoples safety, making a more precise contribution to the
community.

I came up with over 50 scenarios like this, but this exer-
cise of writing a scenario about peoples behavior helps identify what type of mobile phones are necessary. Some may call
this backcasting, but that is an exaggeration. Looking to the
future is a natural part of creating ideas, so it is only natural to
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have a vision of how people might be living in the future.

To draw a vision of the future lifestyle, you must have
an accurate understanding of existing problems. You need to

recognize the problems the world faces today, such as energy,
low birthrate and longevity, new international relations, and
food issues, and develop a detailed understanding about them.
Then think carefully about how to find solutions. There are
many bifurcations during the thinking process. For instance,
when you have a choice of accepting immigrants to solve the
low birthrate and longevity issue, or when there is a change in
peoples awareness toward food issues, there is a great fork in
the thinking process. The more branches you have, the broader
your scenarios, or options, will expand. If you can imagine the
lifestyle according to each and every scenario, you will start to
see the type of goods and services that would be required.

It all boils down to imagining the happy lifestyles wait-
ing beyond the various problems for all of the people who are
going to live through the coming age. Imagine what happiness
will look like. The clearer that image becomes, the clearer the
picture of required goods and services will be, and eventually
they will become something that must exist in the world.
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III. Communicating
The truth moves peoples hearts more than facts.
Lets discuss about specifically communicating to
people. We have already seen that communicating and being

communicated to are different. How are they different, and
how can we overcome this difference?

There is one hint in a book written by psychologist
Tokuji Shimoyama in which he says that heliocentric theory

may scientifically be common sense, but as long as the sunrise
and sunset are times that have deep meaning, the Ptolemaic
theory is also correct. Of course, the heliocentric theory is correct. We all know that the sun doesnt actually rise nor set,
but it is the earth that is rotating. That is just how it looks
to people. What is important is what he says after but. We
develop different emotions and images relating to the rising
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sun and our hearts are moved when we see it setting. There are
sunset beaches all over the world that touch peoples hearts
day after day.

This means fact is different from the truth that appeals
to our hearts. And sometimes truth holds more weight for us.

You can talk about facts or discuss general knowledge
that everybody knows, but it wont move peoples hearts. How

well you can change these things to make hearts flutter is the
secret to creating ideas that are moving.

Lets look at another example using a razor. It features
a xx-millimeter blade that gives you a close shave that you

have never experienced before. This is not unusual, so how
do you communicate this if you are in charge of the product,
sales, or advertising? Are people really going to understand if
you tell them a fact like the 2-millimeter blade is now a newand-improved 1.5 millimeters? Never mind the consumers,
there is even a limit to what will reach your dealers. Surely
fact is unconditional and important because that is the only
place where truth can come from. But where do you go from
there?
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Raise the abstraction level as high as you can and

contemplate.
Let the facts be uplifted to truth.

Raise the abstraction level of the fact and you will reach
the theory of essence, or what is means to human beings. In

this case, its all about what facial hair means to people. There
are many ways to think about this. For example, throughout
history and across the world, a beard in essence represents
masculinity.

So to get a closer shave than youve ever experienced
before actually means to shave off manhood as never before.

This could mean that the theme of your message is changing
sexuality. After dad has his morning shave and goes to cuddle
the kids in bed, they might mistake him for mom. This kind of
a TV commercial could be aired, and it actually has in the past,
while carrying out various campaigns featuring the theme:
The moment Dad becomes Mom.

When youve come this far, it feels like youll be able to
generate something that moves the heart.

In fact, if you compare the two messages, the moment

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Dad becomes Mom and what used to be x millimeters is

now the new-and-improved y millimeters, there is a huge difference in the impressions of the consumers.

This could apply to anything. For example, think about
these questions: What is a chocolate bar? What does it mean

to humans? What significance does breaking a piece off of the
bar have? What is the significance of tearing the silver wrapper? Come face-to-face with every aspect. A lady once told
me how important the act of tearing the silver wrapper was.
Whenever she felt stressed from housework or childrearing,
she would reach out for a chocolate bar. Tearing the silver
wrapping and breaking the bar was a cathartic reaction, like a
smoker reaching for a cigarette.

Examining the base of these feelings and knowing what
part of that essence the product can respond to or change, and

finding out what actions are replaced by eating chocolate,
youd be surprised to see a number of strong possibilities of
how to actually touch a persons heart. The final part of this
process is to set your own filter and find the one thing that will
move a persons heart the most in todays world.

The big problem right now is that this filter, which

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should be used at the very end, exists as though it is some sort

of methodology. This not only blocks the process of imagination, but it is something that you cannot deny. If you cannot
deny it, your thinking process shuts down because there is no
need to think about it anymore. But that is not what you need.
You must raise the abstraction level as high as it will go so that
you can touch the essence of humanity. This is what is required
and what will make it smoother to come up with ideas.

In the Introduction, I mentioned that people are living
beings that sympathize with stories that make them excited

rather than justified logic. The ideas that we need are those that
turn the facts in front of us into stories or the truth at heart.
IV. Changing the narration
Is that a request, an agreement, or an order?
Even though the content is the same, by changing the

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narrative a little, you can make a great difference to what you

communicate. Something that could not be communicated
could be communicated, or the content itself might even be
interpreted as something totally different.

As long as ideas influence people and society in some
way, they need to be communicated accurately and designed

so that they make people think and move voluntarily.
Unfortunately, too often people only think that they have communicated something. There are ways to improve that.

Imagine that you are in a room right now and you want
someone to close the window because the wind is blowing in.

What would you say to the person by the window? In his book,
How to Do Things With Words, J. L. Austin explains the difference of interpretation between the speaker and the listener.
A. Please close the window.
This is the most grammatically correct expression, but you
would actually say this only when you are in a shop. This is
how you would speak to someone of a distant relationship.
You stipulate the action clearly and request it. With this
rhetoric, in most cases there is no need to give a reason.
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B. Oh, I thought it was cold. The window is open.

With this expression, the problem is clear and you are
requesting approval. With that approval, you will influence
others and promote action.
C. Im cold.
You probably have a very close relationship. Its an expression of complaint. By making a claim to the other person,
you are giving an order.

Your choice of words changes depending on whether
your motive is to request, instigate action, or give an order.

Your motive also changes with the person youre dealing with,
so your rhetoric will also change depending on whom you are
addressing. We do this in everyday life. We unconsciously use
different rhetoric for different people. Doing this intentionally
ensures that what we are saying is communicated.
President Obamas strategic rhetoric

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are both known for
changing their rhetoric depending on whom they are speaking

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to. Im sure many remember the dead heat surrounding the

Democratic candidates in 2008. Since they are politicians, of
course they talk politics. They talk to people in their own words
about things regarding policies, pledges, and convictions.

Hillary Clintons rhetoric was very clear I do this,
this, and this. She was direct, organized, and clear in explaining what it was she intended to do. Obamas speech ultimately
gained tremendous attention, but Clinton also had many fans
because her speech was clear and to the point.

On the other hand, Obama had a completely different
rhetoric. He did not talk about politics. He turned his speech

into one about the people. He stayed away from speaking
expertly about laws or the system. The core of his speech was
configured around topics such as how Americans should be
living now, or how America can change to benefit the world.

In that sense, it was an electoral battle of completely
different rhetoric and probably was as heated as it was because

they were choices of A or B on extreme ends.

For example, when the theme was labor, Clinton talked
about reforming the labor law, people working X many hours,

and so on; whereas Obama talked about wanting to be the first
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president that factory workers would remember as they watch

the sunset from the bus on their way home.

Where did this difference in rhetoric come from?
As opposed to Clintons diverse support base, Obamas
was weak and fragile. Clinton had the strong backing of rural
conservatives, whereas Obama needed votes from the public
who did not belong to any party nor had much of an interest in politics. For that reason, Obama chose not to talk about
politics but about people. He intentionally chose that style of
speech, which the media focused on as being compassionate
and moving. His speechwriter also became the man of the
hour, but the person who casted the speechwriter and strategically instructed that rhetoric should be the person to hail.
Is the other person interested in you?
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If everyone is extremely interested in a particular prod-
uct, the Hillary Clinton style straight talk is enough to

communicate things well. However, if you want to strategically draw in people who are not interested, you need to use
Obamas style. If you acknowledge that not everyone is interested in that particular item, do not start by saying, the characteristics are this, this, and this, but choose the rhetoric that
explains how days like this will continue and your life will
change this way.

An easy way to do this is by first changing who the sub-
ject is going to be. Nobody likes to hear people say, I think

this, and I think that. It sounds pushy. Instead, change
the style to solicit approval by saying, Your life will start
to become like this. Similar to the earlier comment, Oh, I
thought it was cold. The window is open, you consequently
encourage that person to make a move.

If you like someone and continually tell that person
how great you are, that person will probably not come to like
you or pay attention to you because you are giving a negative
impression of being one-sided. So you would naturally choose
a way to talk to that person to give a good impression. Just like
choosing the appropriate expression when you want someone
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to close the window, we unconsciously think about the best

rhetoric to use. The same can be applied when you are making
your idea take shape.

The goal of an idea is not simply to relay something but
to influence others. An idea must not end at Im sure they

got it, but it must have the dynamics to clearly move people.
Know your opponent and be sure to have the most effective
rhetoric based on your relationship.
Changing the rhetoric and storytelling.

Another example of switching a political story to a
human story is satire, as often seen in newspapers. Political

stories are very confusing and difficult to understand. If these
were all written in political jargon, the reach will be limited.
Satire is one way of converting political dialogue into something that is more human. Based on accurate understanding and
insight, it is converted into figure of speech. As this involves
both simplifying something that is difficult and making it up
as a form of entertainment, it actually requires a considerable amount of intelligence. However, when you think about
the great number of people that would be influenced by an
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accurately communicated message, it is a method worth considering. Japanese newspapers do not use this method, and
likely will not in the future, but for example, you could write
a story with the title, The Cat, the Mouse, and Friends to
talk about Russia and the Baltic Nations, or one with the title,
The Wolf and the Three Kid Goats to talk about the FRB
and American financial institutions. The stiffer and more difficult the topic is to understand, the more effective this method
becomes.

Storytelling is an extension of changing the rhetoric.
It has been many years since the word storytelling started to

appear in the world of business, but it is still fresh and powerful and it has been adopted as a common style when explaining business or operational strategies. Storytelling became a
necessity when strategy started to be thought of as something
that is accepted with ease by those who should share it, not as
a pie in the sky.

It is an attempt to bring in an exciting story to the logi-
cal, cool, and unemotional world of strategy. It means denying

ambiguities that hide behind jargon and being straightforward
about what is really right and what needs to be done. It requires
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incredible intelligence, but it is worth the try.

Earlier in this chapter I discussed about facts and the
truth. Simply telling the facts is not always the best way to
communicate. When you are communicating something, there
is obviously someone you are communicating to. That someone is not only a physical being, but is also in a certain situation, mood, and condition, all at the same time. Keep this in
mind as you choose the most meaningful rhetoric.
V. Getting timing on your side
If people already feel a certain way,
use that as your greatest tailwind.
The emotions, awareness, and actions of people change
by the moment. To make an impact on them, you need to fully

understand what they are feeling, what they are aware of, and
what actions they take. The ideal method of implementing an
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idea is to stimulate people at the perfect moment.

The easiest way to judge your timing is by season or
special occasions, or certain days on the calendar. First lets

explore how to create an idea that targets these plans.

Think about Fathers Day. Saying lets praise Dad on
Fathers Day is too normal and nothing new. Besides, people

dont easily praise other people. They only pretend to. There is
no sense in increasing the number of people who only pretend.
Rather, in order to make it a strong idea that will naturally
spread, as in the recent SNS culture, the message needs to
make people think about what their father means to them. Try
to present a trigger or a cue to make them think, and you will
come up with something completely different from simply
giving praise.

The step before making people think is to make people
gasp. This will activate their emotions to make them think

and take action, so start by making people gasp. When people
think about what their father means to them, have them choose
something that is most distant from the Dad they see every
day. It could be a story about Papa Bush and George Bush. As
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a father, how did he influence his son to become a president?

Perhaps the story about how the Japanese noh actor, Kan-ami
Kiyotsugu, influenced his son, Ze-ami, could give people an
opportunity to reflect upon the existence of a father. This could
also be a chance to think about the underlying factor that needs
to be overcome for a son to surpass his father. Because we live
in an age where the father and child are becoming more like
friends, there is meaning to call upon this.

The same can be said for Respect-for-the-Aged Day.
Instead of praising the senior citizens, think about what their

existence means. There is bound to be some kind of wisdom
of life that only they possess. An idea would be to publicize
their wisdom and carry it on for generations to come. This
will lead to a process of recognizing their unique intelligence
and know-how without stereotyping the elderly, and devising
different plans that give people opportunities to ask and learn
from the elderly about winning, losing, and breaking even in
life. Through this process you will realize how attractive these
plans can be, even as an annual event, with much more meaning than the general attitude that is repeated year after year.
150
When interest grows, non-verbal communication arises.

Non-verbal communication is when things are commu-
nicated without using conversation or writing. Lets look at

some examples of how this is done when timed carefully with
clear intention.

This was something a professional South American
soccer player did on Anti-Racism Day, when the entire country was reminded of racism. He wore different colored soccer
shoes on each foot. One was white and the other was black.

His action was clear enough because it was a special day
when awareness was raised. He clearly expressed that black

and white were equal and that they have an intimate relationship where they need to cooperate with each other. The message was so explicit that no words were required. This is a
good example of making use of the right timing.
Get the environment on your side.

As long as people go on living through recognition,
they are greatly influenced by their surrounding environment.

As we have seen, there are certain days when awareness is
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high, but its not limited to that. The time of day, the place, the
weather, the situation people think and act in accordance to
their environment. It is a means or wisdom that is necessary
for survival. So if you want to influence others, borrow the
power of whatever it is they are already being influenced by.
Some messages are easy to communicate in a park on a holiday. Others are best relayed in an office elevator in the early
morning. There is a way to design the best time and space in
which certain messages are most effectively communicated to
the people you want to relay them to so that they retain the
information. People who create ideas must get environment
on their side by synchronizing perfectly with the situation in
which people live and with the flow of social sentiment.
VI. Getting reality on your side
Create an incident that will make the world buzz.
If there is a journalistic aspect, it will grow even more.
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When mobile novels were popular, a publisher once
asked me why something like that was popular. By appearing as though it was being written daily on a mobile device,
readers felt that it was non-fiction and that someone was experiencing that particular event at that very time. Of course it
has been a long time since mobile novels were popular, but
the value of fact over fiction has increased even more through
social networking services.

Recent communication entails creating an incident and
a momentum where people spread the news. They see something actually happen that surprises them, and then they cant
stop the urge to tell somebody about it. Not only that, it has
to be worth telling others about. Added to the basic personal
desire to tell somebody about something, their social existence
makes them think that it is their duty to tell others. There is
also the desire to gain approval by completing the mission.
The shocking aspect combined with the journalistic aspect
becomes the driving force to make it even more widespread.

Lets take this wartime photo exhibition once held in
New Zealand. What is the most important thing you need to

153
convey when you want people to know about a wartime photo

exhibition? As mentioned in Chapter 1, first you must tell
them why you are doing this. You want people to feel like they
were there, transforming mementos into memories with an
expectation for people to make a change in their everyday attitude and behavior. Is it possible to have the reality of someone
who actually experienced it reflected in the advertisement?
The organizers of the photo exhibition sent an invitation to
former US President George Bush, who had experienced the
Gulf War. Then they used his response to the invitation a
letter of refusal and put it exactly as he wrote it in the poster.

A strong personal opinion about the wartime photo exhi-
bition would function quite well on a poster. But could there

be anything more powerful than a letter of refusal written by
George Bush? The actual letter was a standard form of turning
down an invitation, without emotion or any moving content.
In fact, it was rather inhuman. However, the use of inhuman
expressions shed light on mans destiny. And because it came
from George Bush, its presence had become that much more
noticeable.

This is the power of putting an incident in the center
of focus rather than some elegant prose. Some beautifully

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written words are not going to inspire people to tell others

about it through SNS. When something shocking or surprising
happens, people want to talk about it. So focus on creating a
surprise.
People have a desire to explore the possibilities of this
world.
The dissemination through SNS debate is really about
whether or not it is in the center of focus.

If you create an incident that people are going to be
surprised about, it must be something that society has never

had to deal with before. It is a challenge and an experiment.
Recently, experimental campaigns about space, raising voices
for global issues, or campaigns that invite people in a community to share a common motivation to create something
special, are spreading with great momentum through SNS
and are seen by a great many people. This shows that people
respect facts which are stranger than fiction. It is human desire
to know the possibilities in this world. Looking at it the other
way, if we hadnt reached that level, no matter how sophisticated the infrastructure, it would be difficult to expect people
155
to use it to spread the word and to expect the message to be

communicated to others beyond.
VII. Not making it your job
What is it that you want to throw
out to the world right now?
Lastly, lets discuss the frame of mind that is more spir-
itual than technical theory. It is very important in generating

ideas so it cannot be ignored. This is the technique of not
making it your job.

To not make something your job is to not make it some-
thing that someone gives you to do. Dont do it because you

are obligated to as part of an organization. I talked about how
making a strong idea is challenging something new, and in
order to do that, passion must be in the center. When it gets to
that point, your mission is no longer simply about a product
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that will sell for a company. It is a personal passion and conviction that makes you want to throw this out to a world full of
problems for a good cause.

However, when a certain theme is thrown at you, there
is a tendency to search for a direct solution or something similar. You dont get as far as wanting to throw something out on
your own and you never get to the good deed. You end up with
a weak idea. If it takes more than spiritualism to escape this,
what do we do?

The biggest problem is not the lack of a personal passion
or conviction. People do not notice what is there; it remains

dormant in the deep corners of the soul. People dont know
where to call it out or how to wake it up. There is a way to
make people take notice.
Verbalize what you want to throw out into the world that
you think might have the power to influence.

You dont need a theme that tells you to solve or create
something. Just try to verbalize what you think would be powerful to put out right now or that would attract great response.
It doesnt need to be a catch copy. Make a list of words that
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you once heard someone say. It could be words from a movie,

lyrics to a song, famous sayings from the past, or even something you read on the Internet whatever comes to mind. After
you get it all out of your system and write it on paper, take a
fresh look at what you wrote. You should now be able to objectify it as something that is detached from yourself, and pass
judgment objectively. These are words that can be sent out into
the world. As you look at them, you start to notice what it is
that you want to throw out to the world.

The words were initially selected based on a job-like
objectivity about what you thought would be strong and would

work in the world. What you actually see in front of you now
is your passion or conviction that you unintentionally wanted
to throw out into the world. Do this once every three months if
you can. The worlds sensitivity changes by the moment, so it
would be good if you could keep that schedule. By doing so,
when you are presented with a theme on the job, you wont be
stuck with a mundane idea that simply fits the situation and
occurrence. You will be aware of what it is you want to put out
into the world, and this will lead to a powerful idea with your
thoughts in the center, an idea with the energy to exceed.
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Epilogue - More on technologies of detail
Epilogue
More on technologies of detail

Dentsu conducts internship programs for students. As
chairperson of one of the three courses, I set up the curriculum,

prepare interviews, make test questions, and do the grading.
I also prepare lectures and exercises, and I organize training
camps. A lot of thought goes into implementation, to let students experience our job for a certain period. I cannot let them
into our actual workplace because of all the classified information we handle, so the lectures and exercises provide training
for planning projects.

For one week, students learn about planning through
lectures, exercises, and reviews. They show an incredible

speed of development, so after this, they are ready to prepare
something like a plan. Here, I have listed a number of these
supposed plans that they came up with after working on their
assignments for one week.
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[Theme]

If you were to build a library in an underpopulated
area in order to attract tourists, what type of library would

you build?

Explore the problems and benefits of being underpop-
ulated. Discover the true essence of what it means to read

books. Transform the library into something else. The students
used the flow that I have discussed in this book.
[Student As idea]
Everyones Bookshelf

A bookshelf directly expresses the owners way of
thinking. So instead of mechanically collecting books, collect

other peoples bookcases to make the library a place where lots
of peoples thought processes are gathered. Take an author for
example. Instead of just displaying the books he has written,
include an exhibit of the types of books he encountered that
inspired him to write those books. In other words, faithfully
recreate the authors bookcase so that the authors thinking
process becomes an asset. Visitors can read people rather than
simply reading books, making the library a place to store ways
that people think.
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[Student Bs idea]
Abandoned School Library

Turn an abandoned elementary school into a library.
Open a caf that serves school lunches and recreate the values
of the Showa Era. The library books will all be novels and
stories from Showa. Suggest the best time and place to read
each book; in the schoolyard in the morning, or in a classroom in the afternoon. This will become a library that offers
not just books, but also the best environment to enjoy them in.
A book-reading experience should not be only about a single
book, but it should involve the total scene, including the time
of day, how the sun is shining, and the season. A special feature could be a story-time tour at night. Create a non-daily
routine by prioritizing the features of the story, for example by
reading Urashima Taro, the Japanese legend about a fisherman
and his turtle, at night by the sea.
[Student Cs idea]
A live-in library

A big problem with libraries in underpopulated areas
is management. This has to be resolved. A library is basically a place that attracts twisted people who want to be able
161
to concentrate on their studies but at the same time want to

be seen by others they crave involvement with others but
they avoid it. Take advantage of this feature to create a live-in
library, where visitors can participate in the management of
the facility. The image would be of a backpackers lodge in the
1960s that offers communal living, where everyone can be
wrapped up in his or her own thoughts.
[Student Ds idea]
Love has history. LOVERARY

There are people in underpopulated areas that do not
wish to move away, because they have established a daily

life of their own. If there are many elderly people, they have
irreplaceable images of husband and wife that they spent time
building together. That itself can be attractive content. Get stories on married couples in the region and publish these stories
as books and exhibit them in the library. This will become
a collection of peoples lives filled with love. This is not a
library, but a loverary. Since there is no better or worse in
love, these books will be lined up on bookshelves along with
Shakespeare. Indicate where the published couples live on a
tourist map, so that people can visit them for advice on their
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own love life. Turn this into a resource for tourism.

[Student Es idea]
A library to solve the mysteries of Japan.

Transform one of the cars of a train into a moving library
and run it every hour. In the moving library are books about
the areas historical culture and novels based on local settings.
After reading those books, people can get off at the relevant
station to see or experience what they have just read. The local
areas in Japan still have many unknown attractions. This will
create a new style of travelling, where discovering attractions
begins with a book.
[Student Fs idea]
A library to experience

Nature is the source of every book. Create a place in
nature where the entire world of a book can be experienced.

When you come out of the tunnel, you find the world of a book
in front of you. As you walk along, all around you are words
from the book scattered here and there. You can actually read
the story as you move along. The experience changes with the
season and the time of day. This world just might be a book.
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[Student Gs idea]
Memory compilation station

Books are fragments of thoughts that exist in society
and a library is an aggregation of thoughts compiled into societys album where various memories of individual thoughts
become the content. This library will be a place where people
can leave themselves behind. First, have each person buy a
blank book. With that book in hand, they will head to three
rooms. The first is the room of the body where the person
will face their own body. The second is the room of the mind
where the person will face their heart. The third is the room of
memories where the person will face their history. Whatever
is created in these rooms will be saved as memories of their
own. Being an underpopulated area, this would be an appropriate place to store ones own memories. Peoples memories
will be stored away for a certain period of time so they will
want to visit again.

The exercise is only one week long, but students with
absolutely no prior connection to planning came up with these

ideas. As plans, these are only beginner level, but what we
have here are students seriously facing issues about what
164
reading is and what a library is, as they attempt to use the

essence to reconnect people.

Seeing this development in front of my very own eyes is
bliss. That is why I make time in my very busy schedule to be

involved in the internship program.

Thinking is a very practical act that takes you to an
answer you will not get to by aimlessly worrying about something. At the beginning of this book, I said there is a path that
needs to be followed. Even if a person knows nothing about
this path, one short lecture could effect a change in the act of
thinking.
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Conclusion

In this age, companies provide little orientation. If the
situation actually allowed for orientations, we wouldnt have

to worry so much; but the problems around us are constantly
intricately intertwined and have become so difficult to see.
Among them are macro-type issues that affect the state of a
nation, as well as those involving the business environment
or structural aspects. It is impossible to know where to start
unraveling.

The most dangerous approach is to trivialize the prob-
lem by looking only at the surface and trying to solve it

superficially. This is often how problems are dealt with and
precisely why the ideas created do not have realistic, effective
solutions.

When Hisashi Inoue was once asked to explain the
meaning of the word creativity, his answer was: Making the

difficult easy, making the easy deep, and making the deep
interesting. This is precisely the essence of creativity.
It is important to start by making the difficult easy.
Swiftly clarifying the location of the problem without avoiding the difficulty of understanding it makes the first step of
problem-solving smooth. This sets your path from which you
can use your head and come up with ideas. Then you can go
on to making the easy, deeper. As you cut deeper and get as
close to the essence as possible, discover what it really is
and what exactly needs to be done. Then finally, you go on
to making the deep interesting. Dont just make a list of the
facts or assume that youve successfully communicated something. Present the truth and put together a story that assures
communication.

Thinking randomly is extremely arduous. Without fol-
lowing the proper path, you will not reach your goal. I wrote
this book to help the readers realize that the act of thinking is
fun work that can be organized to produce something while
projecting your own thoughts and not something that makes
you feel like you are walking through the dark dealing with the
hardships that come with it.

Where do ideas come from? This is a question that
many people ask me because everyone is in despair. But there

is a proper path that must be followed first, with purpose and
intention. Meanwhile, during the process of moving down that
path, it is important to make a lot of stops along the way in
order to develop your imagination from various viewpoints.
Do not confine yourself to an existing framework. Ideas cannot
be created easily with an existing framework or a flowchart. In
fact, they are really dangerous because they can limit ideas and
imagination. Making various imaginative stops along the way
will deepen and broaden ideas.

In my interaction with students, I meet a lot of people
who are very businessman-like, making a beeline for society.

Because student life has simply become a period immediately
before joining the workforce, students dont seem to have the
room to do a lot of thinking anymore. They spend their time
reading books necessary for employment exams. They collect
the necessary information, and meet the necessary people.
While this may be extremely efficient, it does not form a foundation on which to create good ideas. I wrote in chapter two
that ideas involve distance. It is those things that are not naturally connected, have nothing to do with each other, and seem
useless that bring about a sense of distance and form ideas that
attract people. Students must come into contact with things
that are far away from what we know as the world of business.
Even after graduating and starting a job, if you surround yourself in only the information that is right in front of you, you
will lose the foundation that you need to create ideas.
One last word

During a meeting with people at an art gallery in the
UK, there was talk about shifting the discussion to cover not
only a certain piece of work itself, but also what the world
was like when that work was created social manners and
customs, the culture, and things like that. The existing situation is what creates a piece of work. They wanted to approach
the work from as far away as possible by discussing not how
the painting was drawn, but why it was created, saying they
wanted the bigger picture.

Bigger picture. I could really relate to that. Ever since
then, I have made a point of being aware of the bigger picture

by not trivialize things or thoughts, and not getting hung up
on only the information immediately available. Also, I do not

trivialize my range of responsibility or what I can do.

A lifestyle rich in ideas comes with a great many open-
ings for value and many ways to enjoy the world. Say that you
wake up one day and find yourself alone on a deserted island.
If you have deep, broad ways to enjoy the sea and the sky, you
can lead that much more of a happy life. At least it would be
far better than spending your days lamenting over life on a
deserted island. Even if you did end up enjoying simple mundane pleasures, you would still curse the situation. People who
know how to broaden their ideas have a life ahead of them that
is completely different from that.

As the author, it would please me if those who read this
book find it useful for work. It would make me even happier if

this book were to lead to a lifestyle filled with fun.

Finally, from the bottom of my heart, I would like to
thank my colleagues at Dentsu, my clients, my Higuchi

Seminar students, students who took my Internship H Course,
R-25 Editor-in-Chief Takashi Kakizaki for giving me the
motivation to think about this all in one package, the people at

Asahi Shimbun Publications, and Daisuke Yoshimori for his
design.
About the Author

Keiichi Higuchi
Executive Creative Director
Dentsu Inc.
Since joining Dentsu in 1994, Keiichi has worked as a strategic
planner, communication designer, and creative director while
developing integrated campaigns encompassing strategy, creative, and media for both mass and digital. A strong advocate
of seamless Creativity, he has exerted himself seamlessly
on both advertising and non-advertising projects. He currently
works on developing new products, new services, new business, and new content, moving beyond the boundaries of ad
campaigns.
Keiichis list of recognitions include Gold at Cannes Lions,
Gold at London International, Gold at Adfest, Gold at Spikes,
One Show, and the D&AD award, among others.
In addition to corporate work, he teaches at Musashino
University of Fine Arts, writes articles for magazines and has

published several books about life with creativity
So, actually, what is that?
Published by: Dentsu Inc.

Planning by Takeshi Ichikawa
Tatsuya Ogawa
Seiko Yamazaki
Aki Nakajima
Translated by: Pauline Baldwin
Edited by: Ryoko Sugio
Illustration by: Hirosuke Yoshimori

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What are the different techniques discussed for understanding ideas?

What are the different techniques discussed for understanding ideas?

What are the different techniques discussed for discovering ideas?

What are the different techniques discussed for discovering ideas?

CONTENTS

The process of coming up with ideas

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With so few natural resources at hand, the only way for

the Japanese to challenge world standards is with ideas. Ideas

Having said that, we dont see or hear about the struc-

ture, techniques, or methods for creating ideas. Perhaps there

This book is not particularly directed at people who

work for advertising agencies or at those aiming to join the

how to attractively keep them alive. On a larger scale, it is for

In the future, this age will probably be looked back on as

a time when the world was remarkably active.

Every advanced nation is facing an economic crisis,

with the unavoidable question: What is advancement?

Transition to new nation building

This is happening worldwide, all at once. Ever since the

nuclear accident, energy is being debated all over the world,

Now that the existing framework is going nowhere, the

entire world is in search of something new. In order to make

When society changes its values, the economy changes.

Lately, new types of businesses, new job descriptions,

and new professionals have come to light. These are simply

Its all about coming up with an idea and moving ahead

while making it a reality. Of course that is a huge task, but

Let us move on, with ideas.

To begin with, things dont go well in the world today by

doing things in ways to which we have become accustomed.

In this book, I define idea as:

The power to resolve problems and to keep society on the

I create advertisements on a daily basis. I also create

magazines and television programs. I produce movies, theme

All kinds of things come my way every day. While

solving these problems, I create situations where the outcome

is not temporary. That doesnt mean that I force them ahead

To say youre going to move the world is actually quite

presumptuous. The world is really an illusion; it is a succession

we move together into a new future? More specifically, it is

In that sense, I would first like to deny any self-righ-

Every year I have the opportunity to meet many stu-

dents. Most of the examples I get from those who claim to be

Someone suggests something off the top of his head.

Then he thinks he made a difference. Oh, good. Now all sorts

Ive relayed this regions characteristics, so people are

bound to love it.

Ive relayed the selling factors of this product, so its

I wrote a good song, so people are bound to talk about it.

I produced this event, so everyone is bound to participate.

Everyone is bound to share this through SNS.

This is completely wrong. People are not machines. Just

by throwing something at them does not mean that you are

Sadly, often those who claim to be good at coming up

presentation is its content. People have to want to hear what you

When discussing changes in society I often hear people

say, How about changing the system like this? or We should

Without laying the dynamics, the stage will remain empty.

The process of coming up with ideas

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