People who can create answers from scratch will save Japan.

"Japan has lost its vitality." Akihito Kunimi, leader of Dentsu Inc.'s Future Creation Group, poses this challenge. We explore what hints lie in what we business professionals should think about and how we should act going forward.

If we only focus on the risk of failure when taking action, we lose the power to change.

Launched in April 2010, the Future Creation Group serves as the right brain for corporate executives, with a mission to "inject ideas into management." Kunimi, the group's leader—who looks like a creator but has a background as a former banker—calls himself a "right-brain consultant."

"All executives navigate between dreams and reality, but inevitably, the time spent facing reality increases. My role is to prevent executives from being pulled solely toward reality and instead pull them toward their dreams."

Through conversations with numerous executives, Kunimi identified the "risk of inaction." When overly focused on reality, executives become fixated on the risk of failing through action, losing the power to act and change. To perceive inaction as a risk and maintain continuous change, executives need a capacity for "delusion."

"Delusions and gears are crucial. After the war, Yoshida Shigeru proclaimed his vision of 'how Japan should be,' but no one knew if it was correct—it was essentially Yoshida's delusion. However, the desire for that future and the belief in Yoshida propelled the masses to start turning the gears, achieving economic growth. The principle of delusion and gears remains unchanged today. Companies like SoftBank and UNIQLO, led by visionaries with delusions, continue to evolve and create new things. Yet, as the number of leaders with such delusions has dwindled, Japan has lost its vitality."

How many companies will children want to join when they become adults?

Kunimi poses a four-choice question to executives when launching projects he's involved in: "Regarding your company's current stage?" The options are "Startup phase," "Growth phase," "Mature phase," or "Decline phase." Until recently, many executives answered "Mature to decline phase," but lately, more are declaring, "We're in a second founding phase."

"The term 'second founding period' is trending among executives. However, even if they feel this way, perhaps because they don't know how to start a business or the right mindset, their actions don't seem to follow. To put it more harshly, they look like students who say they want to start a business but don't take action. In other words, are they really not trying?"

Behind this sharp criticism lies both a desire to push companies forward in their "second founding phase" and the concern of a father for his child's future.

"I have young children, and I worry about how many companies in Japan I would actually want them to join when they grow up. Honestly, there aren't many elements that inspire hope. This isn't just about Japan; the world is entering an unprecedented era with environmental issues, energy problems, food crises, and more. When the entire world faces situations with no clear answers, I want to see many people from Japan step up, offering wisdom and ideas to make a difference. To achieve that, we must increase the number of companies I'd want my own child to join and build a society that nurtures such talent. I believe that is our generation's responsibility."

What we lack now is that kind of underlying strength the Japanese people demonstrated in achieving postwar recovery.

So, what should we do to rebuild a Japan that has lost its vitality? Is there something every businessperson, not just executives, should be thinking about?

"One fundamental reason Japan has lost its vitality is that no one wants to take the lead. For example, opinions like 'Our company was better in the old days' or 'Young employees today lack backbone' exist in every company. However, those who reminisce without making efforts to improve things from the past have no right to criticize the young. And the young feel exploited by their elders. This is like shifting blame around; in other words, no one has a sense of ownership, and there's a lack of willingness to take the lead."

Kunimi suggests the key to solving this lack of ownership lies with today's elderly generation, who were the main drivers of postwar economic growth.

"In Bangladesh, they call Japan a miracle nation for achieving remarkable development in just 50 years from the scorched earth after defeat. Indeed, 50 years is less than a human lifetime. It was today's elderly who accomplished this. While aging societies often focus solely on problems, I believe it's actually a wonderful society because it has so many protagonists who achieved economic growth. What they possess, and what we have forgotten, is something like the Japanese people's underlying strength. We must learn the mindset of becoming protagonists from the elderly who understand the essence of that underlying strength."

Where did we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?

Kunimi oversees the entire direction for Dentsu Inc.'s 2016 graduate recruitment campaign, from the concept to the creative execution.

"As we enter an unprecedented era, if many people are troubled by questions without answers, then I believe those who can create answers from scratch will save Japan and the world. I want such people to join Dentsu Inc."

Dentsu Inc.'s 2016 recruitment brochure, titled 'Because there are no answers, there is Dentsu Inc.', also features Kunimi's own approach to work. For example, the 'Outdoor Office' concept involves pitching a tent outdoors and holding meetings from morning to night. Inspired by outdoor gear maker Snow Peak, this style began with the question, "Why do meetings always have to be indoors?" This challenge transformed the quality of ideas and client relationships.

"In the Future Creation Group, I tell people, 'Treat your work as a mission.' For example, if you're told, 'Make this ad,' and you just say 'Yes, understood' and make it, that's just a job. But if you treat it as a mission, you start digging deeper: Why are we making this ad? Is this the right product? Should we even be making an ad at all? Doing this changes how you approach work and makes you challenge new things. That becomes one possibility for changing the future."

When considering a client's future, Kunimi asks himself: "Where did this company come from? What is this company? Where is this company going?" This mirrors the title of painter Gauguin's masterpiece: "Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?"

"Deriving answers to these three questions is surprisingly difficult. Especially the first two—where we came from and what we are—cannot be answered without first considering them. By clarifying these two points, we redefine the company's purpose and create the future. When change emerges in several companies, it forms a bundle, creating a ripple effect that can influence Japan. If such positive influences increase, I believe Japan will become even better."