LINE's Secret Success Rule: 'Think Simple'

LINE, now a globally recognized service needing no introduction. In just a few short years, its registered user base has surpassed 500 million, growing into a colossal platform.

Given how incredible the service is, I assumed that behind the scenes, brilliant engineers and razor-sharp marketers must be working full throttle, leveraging the latest technologies and methods...

That's what I assumed, until I read this book, "Think Simple" (Diamond Inc.). Frankly, the secret strength hidden behind its success was nothing like that superficial notion.

It was just one thing: "Think Simply." Here are some particularly resonant topics from former LINE CEO Ryo Morikawa's discussion on the thinking techniques that drive to the core of things, the ones that led LINE to success.

Don't Aim for Differentiation!?

When it comes to making and selling products, differentiation is almost always seen as essential. Yet, LINE actually doesn't pursue differentiation. You might hear voices saying, "Making the same thing as everyone else won't work," but this is genuinely true.

When we think about differentiation, what are we really looking at? The product we're targeting and our rival companies. The users themselves aren't there. (P.173)

Mr. Morikawa argues that instead of pursuing differentiation, we should focus more on the users. Couldn't this also be interpreted as "not pursuing differentiation" ≒ "pursuing what everyone wants more than anyone else"?

Learning from Internet History: The Dangers of Differentiation

This book suggests that the history of internet business offers significant insights into differentiation.

When portal sites like Yahoo! achieved success, numerous companies emerged offering similar services in pursuit of that success. This was the so-called dot-com bubble. However, most of these services vanished with the bubble's collapse. Why? It's said they "aimed for differentiation." In short, they added too many unnecessary features.

Amidst this, some companies experienced rapid growth. These were latecomers like Google and Facebook. What they did was focus on the most valuable aspect of the pioneers' offerings. For example, Google focused intensely on search. They recognized that among the services Yahoo! provided, search was what users wanted most.

So, what about LINE?

LINE faced a similar situation at launch, with many similar services already available. The planning and development team reportedly researched all of them thoroughly. They could have added even more features to make their service stand out.

Yet they deliberately chose not to pursue differentiation. This decision came after thoroughly considering, "What is the most valuable feature users seek in smartphone communication?" Thus, a service was born that focused solely on text messaging—specifically, one that lets you send messages more easily, quickly, and comfortably than anywhere else.

Mr. Morikawa says don't bother with differentiation, but I think this is actually the ultimate form of differentiation. Differentiation that means "facing only what users truly want, more sincerely than anyone else." That's not something easily replicated.

The courage to avoid differentiation

Apologies for speaking personally, but when I'd get stuck on advertising direction, I'd draw product positioning maps and mistakenly feel like I understood everything... Reading this book made me deeply regret that approach.

Instead of superficial differentiation, we must dig deep into what truly matters to real consumers. And then, regardless of whether fierce competitors lie ahead, I want to have the courage to charge straight down the middle.

Come to think of it, this applies to things like group dates too. I've often overthought trying to avoid overlapping with my friends' personalities, only to end up giving a half-hearted impression that backfired...! Should I have the courage to avoid differentiation here as well?

But enough digressions.

This book is packed with stimulating episodes that seem to completely reject what society deems acceptable, all presented through Morikawa's thought-provoking approach that cuts to the core: "You don't need a vision," "You can't succeed with systems alone," "Don't aim for innovation." It's the kind of book I want to pause and revisit when I'm overthinking and troubled, or when things seem to be going well but I feel something's off.