This week, we had clients visiting from Tokyo and Aichi.
A customer who contacted us saying, "I'm in Higashi-Osaka today, are you at the office?" came to visit us.
Customers who come to us for consultations, saying, "We want to create our own original machinery," visit our company.
Every customer is different.
Just like the customer from Iwate the other day, many people who come from far away say, "I've always thought I had to come and see for myself."
The topics I discussed with everyone who came were "related to business management."
Instead of discussing negative topics, we had a positive conversation together. Today, I'll share that story.
I would like to share this with you.
It was even better than I imagined.
The first thing they said when they opened the door and came in was this. When they said that, I felt a mix of anxiety and excitement, wondering what kind of image they had in mind. They had been following my activities on social media and had formed an image based on what they saw on screen, but they said that the experience was different when they came to the actual location. In a good way.
MACHICOCO's basic policy is "We make it ourselves."
Since we're involved in manufacturing, we've decided to make everything we need ourselves. Of course, when I say "ourselves," I mean that we rely on the factories that provide us with technical support.
We handle everything ourselves, from deciding on the design to figuring out how to make it—the so-called "from 0 to 1" stage. We also install and assemble the finished product ourselves, and every time we start, we think, "Why didn't we just ask someone else...?" But once we've finished, we're so glad we did it. It's tough while we're in the middle of it, but looking back, there's a story to it, and a world that you can only see because you did it yourself. That's why I think making things is so interesting.
Let's get back to the topic.
We share these kinds of activities on Instagram and Facebook, and apparently people are seeing them. The world they imagine from those posts is different from the actual experience. So, I think we should make this an even more interesting place! (￣▽￣)
That's why people say that something is different every time they visit MACHICOCO.
What's been the topic of conversation lately?
The three topics that most often come up in conversations with everyone are "people," "work," and "information dissemination."
This is especially about "people." This topic is a major theme at MACHICOCO as well, and it seems that a challenge everywhere is how to work together with people who grew up in different environments than those of the Showa era. People grow up in the same environments, so they face the same challenges at the same times.
In our work in talent development, we've come to realize the significant difference in the educational environment from elementary school onwards. The education provided during the crucial period of character formation up to age 20 is fundamentally different from that of the Showa era.
There are many times when I want to say, "Why can't they understand something so basic?", but I don't think it's their fault; rather, I think it's because they've received a different education.
In particular, do exactly what the teacher tells you to do.
Doing things exactly as written in the book is the right thing to do.
If you do something different from others, you're treated as if you're sick.
School teachers cannot scold (they cannot teach what is right).
Children in such an environment
The desire to think for oneself and take action is fading.
Low level of competitiveness
I can't do it without instructions.
Don't do more than necessary.
Failure is a bad thing, so I'm afraid to try.
That's the feeling I get. When I spoke to a university student the other day, these things applied to them, and they were increasingly anxious about having to do the exact opposite once they entered the workforce. Their sensibilities are different from those of people from the Showa era. It feels like we're far removed from the time when people were excited about being able to do this and that once they entered the workforce.
So, what are you going to do from now on?
While managers often operate with the mindset of working together as a team, they may need to shift their perspective slightly.
Just because someone comes from a particular educational environment doesn't mean they all have the same personality or character. So, we were talking about how we want to find people who are eager to take on challenges and do interesting things, and run alongside them.
How do you find it?
There are many different methodologies, but perhaps the first step is to start by entrusting them with simple tasks and routine work, just like how craftsmen were trained in the Showa era, and then find people who will run alongside you and say, "Let me do something more interesting!" or "I want to do more things like this!" That's what we were talking about. In the end, there's no clear answer, but the extreme conclusion is...
"We can get excited together""I want to enjoy and expand the process of creating things with people!"
That was the general sentiment among management, and everyone shared that view.
I believe it all comes down to fate and connections.
I believe meeting people like that is a matter of fate. People often say that if you say something out loud, it will come true, and I think that's true, so I'll say it.
MACHICOCO also wants to increase the number of people who can share in the excitement!
So, while people's worries are endless in any industry, I believe that interesting places attract people and work, and that's why MACHICOCO will continue to work on creating interesting things today.
We've identified processing issues in small-batch production before mass production, and we're currently working on solutions...
I've been tinkering with it and it's starting to look good, so I'll do another test today!
