On Friday, January 24th, the 4th Management Meeting was held at the Landmark Hall in Yokohama Landmark Tower.
This meeting is an initiative aimed at promoting interaction among the executives of major companies that are members of the Yokohama Mirai Organization and exchanging opinions and ideas regarding innovation creation.
This time, as part of YOXO FESTIVAL 2025, we recruited participants for the first time and held the event open to the public, with 44 people attending. The theme of this event was "How to create innovation in Yokohama through collaboration between startups and large companies."
Now, let me report on what happened on the day.
This time, Executive Fellow Inoue of AGC Inc. acted as moderator, and the speakers on stage were Managing Director Baba of JFE Engineering Corporation, General Manager Yamamoto of Bosch Corporation, Managing Director Mori of Macnica Inc., General Manager Uraki of Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corporation, and General Manager Takeda of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, who introduced their companies' initiatives and held a panel discussion.
The panel discussion consisted of two questions.
Question 1: What is the first critical step for successful collaboration?
Question 2: "What barriers and challenges have you faced in your collaborative efforts so far, and how have you overcome them?"
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Regarding question 1,
"Instead of just talking, it's important to change our mindset and start small."
"It's important to share a common vision and thoroughly discuss what is most important at the very beginning."
Opinions such as the following were expressed.
Regarding question 2,
"It is necessary to determine whether the market timing and concept are right, whether the timing to step on the gas is right, and whether the timing to slow down is right."
"Communication and the requirements for pulling are important."
Opinions such as the following were expressed.
After the panel discussion, questions were asked from the audience.
"Startups assume failure, but what is the tolerance for failure?"In response to the question,
Each speaker commented, "It's difficult to accept failure, and it can sometimes fester."
"Startup investment amount is within the acceptable range for failure"
Responses included, "The scope of risk capital needs to be clearly shared in internal meetings, etc."
This was a valuable opportunity to hear the ideas of each company, including concrete examples.
"I had the same problem and your solution was helpful"
"I was able to hear real-life examples."
More than 90% of participants rated the experience as "very satisfied" or "satisfied."
We will continue to hold management meetings in the future, promoting interaction between management of major member companies of the Yokohama Future Organization and creating innovation.