Breaking Things Down

I had the opportunity to hear a talk by neuroscientist Kenichiro Mogi. The theme was "How to Build a Brain for Inspiration." What struck me first was the overflowing energy emanating from Mogi. His manner of expressing himself, using not just words but his entire body to convey his message, was utterly captivating.

He explained that "doing lots of new things and always feeling excited and thrilled" trains the amygdala (a central part of the brain that governs emotions), enabling us to gain many new "insights." This allows us to discover coincidences we had previously overlooked, and at some point, these connect to spark inspiration. Furthermore, it leads to the courage to seek out even more new challenges.

Mr. Mogi, who shares such insights, embodies this philosophy himself. The source of that energy I felt initially seems to lie precisely there.

In my book, " Improving Your Brain's Constitution " (Nikkei Publishing), I recommend consciously focusing on things we tend to overlook to cultivate "new insights" in daily life.

In doing so, I realized that the approaches and training methods I developed from my own experiences resonate with Mr. Mogi's ideas. Then, when I read other experts' works like the bestseller "The Brain Enhancement Guide" (by Toshitoku Kato, Asa Publishing) and "The Brain Has Strange Quirks" (by Yuji Ikeya, Fusosha), I was again surprised by the coincidence of how their ideas and content overlapped with those in my own book.

This chance discovery sparked my interest in the world of neuroscience, a field I had previously ignored, and now, new insights keep emerging within me.

Now, back to the main topic.

When you were young, didn't you ever wonder, "What's inside this? How is it put together?" and peek inside or take things apart, sometimes breaking them?

Recalling that childlike curiosity, I'd like to introduce a method for improving your mental constitution by occasionally changing how you approach and view things.

 

■Breaking Preconceptions and Common Sense Through Deconstruction Thinking

I once stumbled upon an intriguing display at a bookstore I happened to visit.

366 books lined the entire shelf. Each bore a date marking a day of the year. The title: 'BIRTHDAY BUNKO: Books by Famous People Born on the Same Day as You'.

Works by 366 famous people were gathered and organized by their respective birthdays.

All were previously published paperbacks, wrapped in original covers with a shared design—a unique initiative by that bookstore. I immediately picked up the book for my own birthday, then looked at my family's, thinking, "This would make a nice gift for their next birthday."

Another similar bookstore project was the "Book Pillow Fair," which featured the opening sentence of each work designed on the original cover. It offered the pleasure of selecting a work based on the first sentence, written with the author's heartfelt intention.

What both initiatives share is a bold departure from the preconception and common practice of prominently displaying the title and author's name on a book cover.

They extract elements from the book's composition—both visible and hidden—that might spark new reader interest (like the author's birthday or the first sentence of the text) and prominently feature them on the cover.

This approach involves breaking things down into their individual elements to generate ideas and concepts.

 

■New things are born through replacement, extraction, and addition

I've had many opportunities to work on product development for clients.
I often use this method in such situations. Here's the process:

For existing categories (like beer or yogurt, which I've worked on), I lay out all the products from our company and competitors that have been released so far.

If we're considering an entirely new category (like novelty goods or toiletries, which I've worked on), I substitute with related or adjacent products.

Next, mentally deconstruct each product in front of you. Extract the elements that make up the product: the shape, material, color, text, and design of the packaging; the ingredients, size, quantity, weight, and color of the contents.

Up to this point, we focus on visible aspects. But then, we expand our imagination to include elements not directly visible on the product itself: where the raw materials were sourced, the research lab where the product was developed, the factory where it's produced, the stores where it's sold, the people buying it, and the people using it.

Leave any unclear parts blank and list as many components as possible. If needed, you can research the blanks later; don't get stuck there, just keep breaking things down.

Once the initial breakdown is complete, experiment with "replacing," "removing," and "adding" each element. Approaching this like a puzzle helps you break free from preconceptions and common sense, naturally fostering more flexible thinking.

Let's take beer as an example. All examples assume products already on the market.

Beer is brewed at a factory and shipped. Focusing on this, a product was created that "removed" the time between brewing and shipping, reducing it to within 3 days to sell freshness.

Beer is often consumed with meals. Seizing this opportunity, when Japanese cuisine was registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, we "added" this element to develop a product that pairs well with Japanese cuisine.

Malt is a key beer ingredient. By focusing on Belgian malt—from beer's homeland—and "substituting" it for the usual malt, a new product was created.

If we break down the process, this is how new products were born.

This approach can also be applied to advertising planning.
First, break down the product's components. Identify which element to "extract" and communicate. Then, consider how to "add" staging that highlights it, or "substitute" the product with something else to create a metaphor that draws attention.

To master this method, start by mentally disassembling everyday objects around you.

When you're not used to it, focusing on just one part is fine. It's okay to approach it with that same innocent feeling you had as a child when you took apart toys and broke them. Don't try to cover everything; it's fine to stop partway through. Leave blank spaces where you don't know and just keep moving forward.

The goal is to develop the habit of instantly breaking things down, so you can generate ideas and plans freely when it really counts.