Mogic considers

'We can build the company the way we want to.
We will do what we believe in, even if it is different or unusual.
Because what we can believe in is surprisingly rare.
Yes, we have been searching for it in a truly honest, straightforward, and sincere manner.

Representative Director Yoichi Yamane

March 11, 2024

Momo Hajimete Wara

As the fragrance of plum blossoms wafts in the air and cherry buds swell, peach blossoms begin to bloom.

After eating mochi (rice cakes), scattering beans, and eating hina arare, the graduation season has already passed.

Not good, this feeling.

This year is going to fly by.

So impatiently, I began to think about the remaining seasonal events.

As usual, I need to expand the concept of the work to be created on the rooftop after GW.

In order to make it in time for Halloween, we must first order the pumpkin seeds.

Why don't you stop producing calendars and developing New Year's Day apps next year and try something completely new?

Some can be stacked like annual rings, others like toes on the edge of a cliff.

We just have to make sure that we start from the footsteps we take so that one day everyone can laugh and have fun.

March 05, 2024

stall the production of a new product in a hurry

It is said that you only live once.

If it is only once, it will always be a bumpy ride.

This is because we cannot experience in advance what is about to happen, and no matter how similar we make the situation, in the end it is a practice, not a real event.

If so, we think.

I wondered what kind of results would be most likely if we could only go for a bang-up performance.

The equation is roughly expressed as follows.

Result of a spur-of-the-moment performance = reasonable success + a little failure

If you are suddenly on stage, failure is inevitable.

Still, I dare you to substitute "as much as possible, without fail".

Result of the actual performance = All successes + Zero failures

and so it is almost impossible to be empirical.

Therefore, I believe that what we should think about under the assumption that we are going to do a rehearsal is not to avoid failure, but rather the gradation of the failure itself.

If it is a section of failure that cannot be erased, address the question of how to handle its breadth.

I'll plug one other famous story here.

When asked how they feel when a glass of water is half full, they have the choice of thinking it is only half full or half full.

It is a categorical solution that I can handle.

If applied well, this can stretch the way we perceive failure.

Like, have I failed this badly, have I failed that badly yet, was it a fatal failure that cannot be undone, or is it a failure from which some recovery can be made?

In other words, as long as one can freely move one's point of view, failure can spread like ink spilled on water.

If we can believe that this is possible, then we may be able to take on the challenge with a little less fervor.

February 27, 2024

Biggest failure is growing up.

When I start a business and am involved in management, I am often asked, "What mistakes have you made in your career?" I am often asked.

Of course, there is no shortage of stories of failure, so it's a very long story.

It's all trial and error, and there are so many new things to do.

However, it would be bad if it were too many examples, so I am giving you an analysis I have compiled myself in the past, focusing on major failures.

As a result, though, we may be converging on findings we've heard somewhere else.

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The big failure," he said, "was due to the fact that a few years ago.

Failure cannot grow up to be a big failure until several years have passed.

So what was the cause a few years ago?

It is usually a quick and casual decision made when sales have increased significantly, the number of users has grown, or the reputation of the company has improved.

When you are in good shape, everyone's spirits are high and judgment is loose without you even knowing it.

The atmosphere is that it will go up more, that it seems to be able to recover even if it fails, and that it is a dream come true.

When that happens, you want to invest with a bang and put your stamp with a bang.

Because the entire company is collectively optimistic, checks do not work and small risks accumulate.

Of course, those that were unchecked are likely to become probable bad debts at some point.

If the wind direction changes, even more so.

To begin with, what is a non-performing loan?

It refers to a situation in which the cost-effectiveness of the investment is far below what was envisioned at the time of investment, and the company is stuck in a position where it cannot move a little bit.

For a while, you are dizzy with the weight of the amount of money, time, and effort you have invested, and you reflexively turn away, telling yourself that this is within your expectations, and eventually, when the situation becomes imminent, you have no choice but to accept it.

Oh, I must have made a big mistake.

So the most damaging failures are those that occur when we are in good shape.

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Similar things happen not only to companies but also to individuals.

As you may have already guessed, this is also a reminder to myself that I tend to pursue only the fun stuff.

Carefully scrutinize, check from multiple angles, and gather opinions from different perspectives.

These phrases are simple, time-consuming, and may sound like they are ringing in your ears, but I believe that these thinly veiled messages are rich in the nourishment that keeps us going through our mundane daily lives.

February 19, 2024

The story of the filial piety trap

In many cases, Mogic workers have relatives far away and may one day care for someone from a distance.

If so, I am thinking about what the company should do in anticipation of such a situation.

First, I will quote from a book that gives a clear picture of the realities of long-distance caregiving.

Happiness in Long-distance Nursing Care
A Happy Shape of Long-distance Nursing Care
Rie Shibata (Author)
h ttps:// www.sun.s-book.net/slib/slib_detail?isbn=9784396618155

Shibata: (I am currently living in Tokyo.) I am an only child, and my mother lived alone at home in Toyama after my father died.

So when my mother fell ill and needed care, I initially considered taking her in.

But I stopped.

I knew I would be rejected.

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It sounds good to say long-distance caregiving, but it sounds like a tease, or like I am making excuses for not being able to properly care for my parents because I am leaving everything to someone else.

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Just then, I was working with Mr. Kawauchi on TV, and he told me, "You know, I've been working with you for a long time, but I'm not sure if I can do this.

He said, "It's not easy for parents and children who have been living apart from each other to suddenly move in together just because their parents need care.

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Kawauchi: To begin with, if you live apart from your parents, you cannot go back to your parents' house that often.

Transportation costs are also very difficult, so many people probably only return once or twice a year, during the Obon or New Year's holidays.

When such people jump over the moderate distance they have felt between themselves and their parents and suddenly take them into a close relationship, or home, just because their parents need care, they often become frustrated with each other, and the parent-child relationship often collapses between parent and child, despite the children's best intentions.

It's called the "filial piety trap."
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Well, I am reminded that it is called a filial piety trap.

It should be the best thing to care about others and do what is best for you.

But the story is that it has unwanted consequences for both parties.

I think it is like an old saying I heard somewhere, and I also feel that the ideal situation is to have someone listen to you during difficult times, and to be able to help casually with the people you work with.

February 14, 2024

Household accounts and income statement, own accounts

Like household accounts at home, companies often use profit-and-loss statements.

In layman's terms, this means looking at monthly income and expenses to see if there is a surplus or deficit.

In a household budget, the familiar items to classify are income, housing, utilities, communication, insurance, transportation, automobile, education, and entertainment expenses, while in an income statement, sales, salaries, advertising, sales promotion, rent, utilities, supplies, entertainment, travel and transportation, and depreciation are familiar.

The general framework is similar, but the difference is that the balance of subjects varies greatly depending on the size of the company and the type of business.

A nuclear family of three rarely becomes a large family of ten, but in a company, three people can become 20, or start a different business, or have a big increase in sales, or buy large equipment.

In light of this, we are allowed to create our own unique subjects in the income statement to make it easier to grasp.

For transportation, there will be more vehicle accounts, for wholesale, more purchase accounts, and for Mogic, the web server group, license service related, computers and chairs, etc. are subdivided.

Then, once or twice a year, we review the subjects to be recorded and add new ones.

You may think it sounds like a lot of work, but it is rather interesting because you will make unexpected discoveries in the process.

February 05, 2024

Communication with Professionals

The theme of the fifth representative interview was communication with IT professionals, namely engineers and designers.

I usually speak to them without being conscious of it, so when I put it into words, they say, "Oh, I see.

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- It seems like a lot of work for a non-professional to ask a professional, but isn't it?

Yamane: Regardless of whether it is a professional job or not, in fact, no matter what kind of job you have, you don't know the details of other jobs.

For example, let's say you make one interview article like now.

We have a writer and a photographer who work in the same place and combine them at the end to complete the project.

But the writer doesn't know what the photographer is doing in detail, and the photographer doesn't know what the writer is doing in detail.

I don't know, but it seems that writers can provide feedback to photographers, and photographers can provide feedback to writers.

In the same way, the programs and designs that engineers create are likely to be able to provide feedback even though we cannot see them, and the same is true of the designs that designers create.

So what is important when you have to give advice or instructions across different professions?

A minimum level of knowledge is required, but the rest is probably a sense of trust that allows us to share the image of the goal.

I believe the fundamental question is how to create a trusting relationship.
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It may come as a surprise that trust is so important, even though we use a heap of IT.

Please wait for a while, as this edition is currently being edited to great acclaim.

[To be added at a later date] Click here for the rest of the interview article.
h ttps:// www.mogic.jp/category/interview/13829

January 29, 2024

2009 Mogic Trip

The company name Mogic Mogic was often mistaken when it was established, and "Mr. Magic Magic" was one thing, while "Mr. Text Assembler" and "Mr. Text Proofreader" were quite distant and sometimes referred to as "Mr. Text Assembler" and "Mr. Text Proofreader".

Fortunately, I am rarely mistaken for Mogic these days, but since I no longer have the opportunity to talk about why we chose the name Mogic, I thought I would write it down here.

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When I created the company, I was alone, so I had to ask myself the same question to come up with a name for the company.

My first thought was that the company is people.

No matter how hard you work on IT, at the end of the day, it's people.

So I was wondering what it would be nice to think of when various people get together.

It would be perfect if I could think, "I had a good encounter here.

So what would be considered a good meeting?

It would be nice if there was a burst of laughter and something that I could not do alone appeared in front of me.

Yes, science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke said that.

He said, "Well-developed science and technology are indistinguishable from magic."

So I was inspired to do so.

I think that "the results achieved when people meet and create wonderful chemical reactions, and with the help of well-developed information technology, are indistinguishable from magic."

This may sound like a made-up story, but I really came up with the idea while soaking in the bathtub, Archimedes-style.

Let's shorten it a bit and make the base phrase "connect people, share wisdom, and accomplish magic."

Furthermore, how can we condense it down to the company name?

Yeah, if you put the two kanji characters for "person" and "human" together, it looks like an M.

Next, let's express "connect" with "◯".

Magic is Magic.

So, M + O + Magic = Mogic.

Mosic, it may sound strange, but I'm sure you'll remember me, so here goes!

-----

That was the way it went.

So it is only natural that the company's style is to "grow together and emphasize teamwork" rather than individual skills.

And the catchphrase "Creativity Beyond Imagination" that the interns gave us along the way.

This is also a match in the sense that it is a creation that goes beyond one's own imagination and overlays everyone's individuality.

We jumped out as a company in 2009 and have traveled all over the place together.

If I hear more and more "it was a good meeting" in each passing day, I will only be happy from my own perspective, floating in a starry sky far away in a bathtub.

January 22, 2024

It's a mere thing, but that's how it works.

I was so impressed by a certain cookbook author's recipes that when I read his essay, I unexpectedly felt the need to take care of my pots and pans.

We'll start with the hardest one, a little nippy little milk pan.

Roughly scrape off the outside scorch, apply coarse sandpaper, and finish by polishing with a cloth.

When I wiped with a gasp, the well-worn tool began to shine dully and moistly.

It's a strange thing, but looking at them makes me want to cook again.

The importance of keeping a proper hand on the tools because they are familiar.

This seems to me to be true in business as well.

For example, writing a very simple email.

Keyboard and mouse operation, dictionary-registered proper nouns, writing style to reduce misunderstandings as much as possible, clarification of subject/verb/object, how to avoid copy/paste errors, flow to minimize back and forth emails, presenting options that are easy for the recipient to choose, separators to include for easy viewing, distribution of abstract words and proper nouns, when to send a message that is easy to send, considering the possibility of the recipient returning it When to send, self-checking before sending, consideration of the possibility of the email going into a spam folder, and security-conscious file exchanges.

If you polish them one by one, you can use them as you wish.

It's just an email, it's just an email, so an email, and there is nothing wrong with reviewing it.

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