Planning is the vector that moves the world.

This time, I've published a book titled "Planners Scheme Three Times" with Nikkei Publishing. It focuses on how to generate ideas before distilling them into that final phrase.

The central theme of this book is the word "scheme," which also appears in the title.

In today's world, where media development is remarkable and information is saturated, what's needed to get companies or individuals noticed for the information they disseminate isn't just planning—it's the mindset of scheming.

　The kanji for "scheming" is "企む" (kigamu), which forms part of the word "企画" (kikaku, meaning "plan" or "project"). However, I feel that planning and scheming are similar yet fundamentally different. In today's world, what moves society and people's hearts is "scheming" – an act that might even carry a hint of danger.

Before delving into scheming, we must clarify something: What exactly is planning? Why is planning necessary?

Simply put, planning can be defined as a method for solving problems. And a problem is the gap between the current state and the desired ideal. In other words, planning is the effort to guide a situation piled high with problems toward something better; the very direction of that effort is planning.

The communication we engage in, starting with advertising, is also an advertising solution that resolves challenges faced by companies and consumers through information. Similarly, new product development, store design, urban development, regional revitalization, sales planning, reviewing personnel systems... one could say that planning exists for every type of work in the world.

Of course, methods, conventions, and requirements vary by field and project. However, planning shares a common purpose: "solving some kind of challenge."

In that sense, there's no doubt that identifying the challenge is the first step in planning. Just as you can't say "I think the answer is 3!" without a math problem being posed, every plan requires a challenge.

That's why I always make a point to "face challenges, not problems."

When working, it's easy to become overly focused on resolving problems that have surfaced as consequences, often without realizing it. However, even if you resolve the problem, unless the underlying challenge—the true cause—is addressed, similar problems will simply recur.

Resolving problems can be described as bringing negatives back to zero. Solving challenges, on the other hand, becomes a driving force that elevates the world and guides it in a positive direction. Simply adopting this perspective will transform future projects into significantly stronger ones.

That's precisely why, when faced with the problem of "products not selling," I avoid the simplistic solution of "just sell the products." While selling products is important, the act of selling is itself merely a result.

The market a company considers is a collective of people with feelings. Launching a product isn't about putting it into the market; it's about delivering it to consumers. Therefore, I start by thinking about how to create a new relationship with the product to improve people's lives, including my own. As I envision that relationship, the question "Why isn't this product needed right now?" naturally comes to light.