2018 December. A dialogue between President Iwakura of Kracie Holdings, Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Kracie) and Euglena Co., Ltd. has been realized.
With Kracie's "crazy" as the keyword, the feelings of both companies overflow ... We will deliver the situation!
The watchword is crazy
President Iwakura (hereinafter Iwakura): (" Drinking Euglena", drinking) More than I imagined ... It's delicious (laughs)
Mitsuru Izumo (hereinafter referred to as Izumo): Was it surprising? That surprise is important (laughs)
It's hard to imagine the taste of Euglena. But it's similar to other algae, so I think it's familiar to Japanese people.
I would like to have them drink and convey the charm of Euglena, but it is quite difficult because it is a venture company. Euglena is nutritious and has a taste close to that of a person who knows the taste, but it is very sad that many strangers find it unpleasant and end up without encountering Euglena. I always want to send it out harder.
Iwakura: Did you have a hard time understanding its appeal?
Izumo:That's right. The name Euglena is offensive. It was even said that if you put such a product, the products around it would not sell.
Even if I sold Euglena to 500 companies, it was very hard for me to be refused because of my bad name, unpleasant feeling, and lack of experience in handling other companies.
Iwakura: We have changed the company name, but at that time we just changed from Kanebo to Kracie, and our customers no longer deal with us. It may be a bit like that experience.
Izumo: How did you get over it?
Iwakura: There is no choice but to extend the time that customers come into contact with the name Kracie.
Try to enter the company name as much as possible in the CM. However, when it comes to giving priority to the company name or the brand name, it becomes the brand name. Therefore, the name of "ICHIKAMI" preceded the company name "Kracie".
And everyone knows Kanebo but not Kracie. In that sense, I had a hard time.
Izumo: It's not something that an ordinary company experiences.
You've survived and remain, but how did you stay motivated?
Iwakura: When I was the predecessor president, the slogan was to become an ordinary company. First of all, I announced that I would be able to do the obvious things.
Often, the management team asked employees to have a sense of crisis, but the real intention was that it was difficult to convey. However, the fact that the management team wanted to become an ordinary company greatly expressed the sense of crisis of the management team, and it was related to the employees. And although some people quit, the people who could convey their feelings remained.
Izumo: It's encouraging that there are people who stayed at the most difficult times. It is said that more than half of the employees now know only during the Kracie era, but now that it is a great time, how can you tell the difficult times that were in the past to the employees who were not at that time? Is it?
Iwakura: Now, the employees who came to Kracie came in because they liked Kracie instead of Kanebo. In that sense, I don't want to be dragged in the past.
On the other hand, I came to use the word "crazy Kracie" when it comes to what to do after 10 years of high motivation. I don't think the word "crazy" is usually used in a company. However, "crazy" has many meanings. First of all, it means that you want to be absorbed in it.
People who are changing the world are crazy about things that everyone wonders at first, and what they do. But, in fact, I think that people are changing the world by continuing to do that.
I used the word "crazy" because I want to become a company that is said to be crazy in a few decades, even if it is said to be crazy now.
Izumo: I've been saying that in oil-free Japan, I'll fly an airplane with Euglena's bio-jet fuel, which doesn't emit CO₂. People around me said it was "crazy". .. .. Rather, it may be no exaggeration to say that it has been said to be crazy since the company was created.
In that sense, Euglena is said to be crazy and I'm used to it, but I'm very happy that President Iwakura called it "Crazy Kracie."
Iwakura: We conducted a company-wide questionnaire when creating a new vision. Looking back on 10 years, what are the good points and what are the bad points? Management
After reading it, I found a point that "I see" and a point that I had to fix.
In addition, we interviewed nearly 40 people outside the company and stakeholders.
Ta. This asked the same question when Kracie went bankrupt and compared the two results
I tried to. One thing I learned from the results is that there are many people who are serious and many who work hard. On the other hand, some people said that they were stable-minded and lacked in fun. This voice came out and I realized here that we should not be relieved.
If you feel relieved here, you can't expect any further growth. Regardless of whether it is a venture company or a company with a long history, the company cannot be expected to develop unless it constantly does new things. There was a sense of ownership, but I needed to realize that the company would collapse if I didn't do it.
Therefore, in order not to stop the development of the company, I decided to use the word "overwhelming sense of ownership" in the vision "Crazy Kracie" and the message.
Izumo: Not just a sense of ownership, but an "overwhelming sense of ownership".
Did you not be surprised when you decided to send this word?
Iwakura: To be honest, I was surprised.
However, at the time of the 10th anniversary, my business partner said, "I was waiting for this kind of movement," and I realized again that it was very good. If Kracie seemed to use these words, we were told that we should do our best too.
Overcoming change with friends
Izumo: It is said that on the occasion of Kracie's 10th anniversary, it was decided by discussing with employees the "ideal form" of Kracie, not the "ideal form" of the next 10 or 100 years. In, the ruby of "future" is "tomorrow". Is there any reason for this?
Iwakura: Kracie continues to use "tomorrow" instead of the future in its management philosophy. I like to use "Tomorrow".
Euglena, employees are called "companies," and why?
mosquito? By the way, my predecessor, Ishibashi, also used the expression "friend".
Izumo: The process of thinking may be similar to Mr. Ishibashi. I want to foster a culture that puts words into words, and there aren't many venture companies like that.
When I wanted my colleagues to be happy and thought about how to convey that they were the most important, I thought it was important for me as a leader to keep calling my employees "companies."
A new "friend" is coming. Called a new employee, not a new employee.
It's hard to say at first, but if you take the initiative, other people will use it.
Iwakura: Replacing Kanebo with Kracie First, we set the policy of "to our friends in 10 years".
The company was only in its first year when it replaced Kracie from Kanebo, which lasted 100 years. As an expression of that feeling, we have established a policy of "to our friends 10 years from now."
Izumo: What is most lacking in a venture like us is culture and history.
Although Kracie itself is in its 11th year, it inherits the good points of culture and history from Kanebo, which has continued for 100 years. And the fact that Kanebo can grow as Kracie is the most mutational thing in Japan, isn't it?
Iwakura: I think it will be known in a few decades whether it is amazing or not.
But if it's old and doesn't fit, I think I should break it.
In order to respond to the environment, we cannot respond unless we destroy it. I like to break it unexpectedly.
Izumo: It takes courage to break it when it's so good, right?
Iwakura: There is no guarantee that it is working. Then you should take action early.
When it's good, nothing really happens. When it's good, you can act boldly, but when it's bad, it doesn't work. I think I should do it before I should have done it at that time. If it doesn't work there, it won't work after a year.
Izumo: President Iwakura loves change!
Many people are happy with what they are, but they are trying to make more and more changes for the company. You can't do it unless you're pretty crazy.
Iwakura: My generation is a generation that is difficult to master, such as IT, AI, and IoT.
I can't catch up unless I change.
So I have to change myself, and I want people around me to change.
* This interview is based on the content of Kracie's corporate philosophy event, "Sign Day".
～ Continue to the second part ～