On Wednesday, March 2025, 3, the 26th Yokohama Future Organization Management Meeting will be held.The event was held at Yokohama City University's Minato Mirai Satellite Campus, NANA Lv.
On the day, about 20 people, mainly from management of member companies,participated in the event, and a lively discussion was held on the practical application of innovation in companies.
What is the essence of "participatory innovation"?
Keynote speech by Takehiko Fujiwara of Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.
In this meeting,Takehiko Fujiwara, Executive Officer, Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.We invited him to give a lecture on the theme of "OKI's Participatory Innovation."
Fujiwara joined OKI in 1987. He has been involved in development, mainly in the communications business, for many years, and is currently in his current role as Head of Innovation, Head of Digital, and General Manager of the Innovation Business Development Center, where he is driving efforts to reform the company's culture and implement new businesses in society.
Why "all-participation"? OKI's sense of crisis
The lecture began with a discussion of Japan's declining competitiveness and the difficulty of creating new businesses.
Fujiwara says, "Innovation is not something that can be left entirely to a specific department or young employees. The real challenges lie in the workplace, and a change in the awareness and behavior of each and every employee is essential."
In fact, OKI used to mainly do contract development for large clients, but with the advancement of cashless and paperless society, the need for such services has drastically decreased. The management team became acutely aware of the limitations of the contract model and, out of a sense of crisis, made a major shift towards an "all-participation" innovation system.
Building an innovation system centered around ISO56000
The key to this was the international standard ISO56000 (Innovation Management System).
Based on this idea, OKI has expanded the process of employees coming up with ideas on a daily basis and turning them into businesses throughout the company.AttachWe are focusing on this.
・Collects approximately 400 business ideas per year
・Establish an examination system that includes the president and executive officers
・The best idea will be awarded a budget of 1 million yen to support commercialization.
This system has enabled all employees to become involved in new business ventures as if they were their own, and the sense that "the workplace is changing" and "behavior is changing" is beginning to spread throughout the company.
Determination from the top changes culture
"Even if the system is in place, innovation will be stifled if the president is not serious about it," says Fujiwara.
In fact, OKI's President Mori meets with 3 to 4 employees on the ground three to four times each month, making a point of ensuring that the top management is personally involved in the field.
In addition, the company plans to introduce an evaluation system that will visualize employees' idea generation and execution capabilities, and is working to foster a culture of "differentiating treatment of innovative talent in the future."
OKI's company-wide initiatives served as a practical and inspiring example for the participating companies, providing concrete hints in response to the question, "where should we start?"
Member companies also engaged in lively free talks
After the lecture, a free talking session was held among the participating companies, moderated by Shigekuni Inoue, Vice Chairman of Yokohama Future Organization (Executive Fellow at AGC Inc.).
This time, based on a shared appreciation for the concept of "participatory innovation" presented in Mr. Fujiwara's speech, concrete and practical discussions were held on the following themes:
● How to bridge the gap between leadership at the top and implementation at the field level
Participants shared a sense of challenge that "even when the top management expresses their intention to promote innovation, it does not permeate to the field."
In response, Fujiwara said, "To shorten the distance to the field,It is essential for top management to get out and visit the workplace themselves" He emphasized the importance of "interactive leadership" rather than "top-down" leadership, introducing the example of OKI, where the president holds direct dialogue with small groups of employees three to four times a month.
● Initiatives to involve the entire company in innovation, rather than leaving it to one department
In response to the concern that "innovation is left to a specific department," Fujiwara said,Thoroughly eliminate the notion within the company that "only the innovation department is responsible"That was the first step," he said.
At OKI, we consider both improvements to existing businesses and operational reforms to be "innovations."A mechanism that allows all employees to take ownership of the projectHe explained that the establishment of systems (idea contests and evaluation systems) has proved effective.
● How to create a "culture that tolerates failure" necessary for creating new businesses
While failure is inevitable in any new endeavor, there were also voices saying that "the culture of valuing failure has not taken root."
Fujiwara said,In the idea contest, we deliberately created a system that allows people to try again even if they fail." He also said that he would like to encourage those who did not win in the first contest.Guaranteed chance to try again next timeI introduced what I am doing.
The idea that "sharing the failed process itself within the company is sure to lead to subsequent success" was also shared, and many participants nodded in agreement.
● Possibility of introducing ISO56000 and hurdles to applying it to your own company
Finally, there was a concern discussed that "introducing a framework like ISO 56000 may result in formalization and burden."
In response to this, Fujiwara said,Certification is not an end in itself.It is being used as a "common language" to establish a culture of innovation.” he declared.
He added, "Rather than aiming for a perfect implementation,We should be flexible and adopt wherever possible." He advised, "Use ISO standards flexibly."
● Participant comments
Through the discussion, we came to understand that "innovation is not just the introduction of systems and tools.How to link the seriousness of management with the determination of the fieldThe participants shared the view that this is an endeavor that calls into question.
We also heard many positive comments, such as, "By honestly sharing each other's successes and failures, we can learn things that go beyond the boundaries of our companies."
Looking ahead
This meeting was an opportunity to provide participants with hints and courage to implement innovation not just as a slogan, but as something that "starts on the ground, is systematized, and fosters a culture."
Yokohama Future Organization will continue to provide a forum to support corporate transformation through networking among executives and sharing practical knowledge.