Mogic considers

Imitation = Leadership in the industry, going beyond

Recently, I was consulted by a pioneer in a certain field of e-commerce.

It is frustrating that the products and methods we have worked so hard to pioneer are increasingly being copied by other companies. What should we do?" This was the content of the discussion.

One conclusion that came out of our various conversations there was, "But from a different perspective, being imitated is an honor in itself.

If I were to consider my own feelings about imitating something, and why I would do so, I would do so because I implicitly recognize that it is good, and because I feel that it has potential.

We don't imitate things that we feel have a bleak future.

So we concluded, "When you can imitate us, you can boast that you are a medal of leadership in the industry.

This is also what Drucker said, and it seems to me that if it can no longer be imitated, there will be a sadness that leadership is no longer there.

Looking at this event from a different angle, it may be quite commonplace in this day and age.

Looking around the world, it seems that one good idea boils over to red in an instant, even if it is a blue ocean at the time.

The same thing is happening in the Uber conflict with the traditional cab industry in the UK, in the bicycle rental business in China, and in the motorcycle cabs in Indonesia.

In an age when this is the norm, what should we do next? That is the question we should be asking.

Where is the fun in doing the work?

For example, if you have the task of "creating materials," you are suddenly motivated if you have a sense of reality that you can reach someone's mind and convey something.

However, "creating materials" as just a task to be done seems unlikely to motivate anyone other than personal goals such as the speed and quantity of materials to be created.

When I run a project with my team, or hold a department meeting, I often think of little tricks to make people aware of various aspects of the project, such as "Let's deliver this kind of message to this person.

In any case, as soon as you are in the company, everything is "hardened" as a task to be done on time, and you lose a sense of fulfillment.

We will ask ourselves daily whether it is really what we should do and to whom and what we should deliver.

Handling of Invisible Assets

This is especially true for IT-based businesses, which cannot hold the product in their hands.

Once the power is snapped off, there is nothing but people, desks, and office floors.

However, when the power is turned on, many things become possible. Marketing, branding, accounting, design, development, etc. start working with people.

We build up invisible assets little by little, day by day, such as how to proceed with projects to create our own services, how to brand our company, and how to train newly hired interns after they are hired.

Some people will want results and will not be patient because they cannot see them, and others will have difficulty understanding what assets are being managed and how they are generating returns.

For this to become clear to the member, I still think it is necessary to take some time and tell them, "Look, it's because the invisible assets are spinning" when they start to feel "a sense of why things are getting a little easier" or "a sense of why the results are coming in little by little".

The greatest education is to speak vaguely once a week.

Are you working? This is a title that might make you say, "I'm working," but it is true.

For a long time, we have had an hour once a week to talk vaguely with those who have joined us, from high school students to those in their 60s and older, although the timing has been back and forth.

There is no specific theme. We ask the participants to talk about the topics or issues that caught their attention at the time, and then expand the conversation from there.

Generally, there are subjects such as feedback MTGs, interviews between supervisors and subordinates, or discussions with mentors, but we are not looking for anything rigid like that.

As for the stories that have come up in the past, they really vary from "Why is it that fire does not shift, but people's hearts do?" to "What does it mean to make money?" to "Why is it that we never run out of problems?

I think the most important thing is what the person you are talking to is "feeling urgently" at the moment, so I play around with various angles of the conversation.

But for some reason, it is strange that it is often the most memorable experience of any given day.

Rock Climbing of Ideas

When promoting ideas, we often create "branches of thought" by writing down more and more associations on paper together.

Circles and lines like mind maps are well-known tools for generating ideas, but they are used differently.

Several people will each create a branch of thought, and at the end, everyone will look at everyone's branches of thought and figure out where the members connect to each other and where the team as a whole is more blank.

By doing so, we dare to discard the parts we "think about too much on a daily basis," find new challenges in areas we have not thought about, and use them as footholds to climb up again.

I call it rock climbing of ideas, because I can't see the end at all, but for some reason I get the feeling that I am climbing.

Perhaps it is the same as rock climbing, but people who are not used to it seem to have a fear of continuing to climb at first.

We change the way we make each time according to the characteristics of the service or product.

When I was explaining this to someone who had just joined the company, I realized something, and that was the fact that Mogic changes the way it creates its services and products according to their characteristics.

I didn't realize it because I was proceeding casually, but I didn't dare to make it a standard flow.

For example.

In one project, the producer decides the functional requirements, but the screen design of management tools, etc., is entirely led by the engineer.

The customization of LearnO (e-learning) for a project was designer-driven from the design concept.

A client's service is led by requirements definition on the sales side.

The second version of the portfolio to be released in the near future will be designed by a designer who, after spending more than 8 months discussing the concept and design taste, will start from the list of functions without a screen blueprint.

or something like that.

Why is this happening?

I am always thinking about the best way to achieve the goal of the service or product, and who in which position made the starting point, and how to achieve it.

This seems to be the case.

It is a strange thing in terms of standardization of flow, etc., but I think it is something very important to do.

Have a party with croquettes

Since moving to its current office, Mogic has held an annual event called the Croquette Party every June.

To begin with, we wanted to do something on the rooftop of the office since it is always free to use.

One evening, as usual, we were talking about the next delicious thing we wanted to eat, and the idea was born to put a pile of croquettes on top at the beginning of summer and just eat croquettes all around with a beer in hand.

IT companies often have a pizza party, but I felt that it was a bit too Americanized, and if you value the Japanese spirit, you should have a party with croquettes.

We have held a croquette party on our rooftop for the third time this year, inviting our partners and freelancers who have been our regular customers at Mogic.

The party was not held on the rooftop this time, but from the basement to the 2nd floor, but the number of people was too large, so we switched to inviting mainly people in the Shakujii neighborhood. We are not sure how it will turn out next year, but we plan to try again with a new purpose.

I feel that one of the best parts of running a company in the Shakujii area is the fact that what started as a casual conversation about croquettes one evening has become a place to connect people in the community.

What arises in reviewing outputs

Creating leadership with teamwork has a lot to do with how well you can return reviews to the output of your members.

There are many types of member outputs.

Design, proposals, systems, accounting documents, daily conversations, discussions at meetings, email reports, etc.

The person who organizes everyone needs to give full consideration to which outputs to point out and at what time.

Even a good review or advice may not reach the recipient at all if the timing is wrong.

Judging by the sound of that person opening the door to the office on a morning of heavy rain, do you start talking?

Are you going to say exactly what you want to say from the beginning of the regular meeting?

Do you ask them to take some one-on-one time and start talking over soft-serve ice cream in the park in the evening?

I think that is very important.

I feel that how we can improve the quality of our reviews depends on how well we can see the other person.