Dentsu Inc. has a methodology that seems utterly chaotic at first glance.

Why does the profession of "management consultant" still function today? It's because the concept of "making management scientific" and the methodology of "logical thinking" are clear and distinct.

On the other hand, the concept of "creativity in management" is appealing. But what methodology, distinct from "logical thinking," can business professionals widely utilize?

Idea generation and creativity often appear chaotic and messy in their process. Perhaps because of this, they're frequently explained as the individual abilities or tricks of specific creators. Even within Dentsu Inc., many say, "Creators each have their own way." But is it truly just a collection of disparate "individual arts"? Is there no common methodology? Is the relationship between business and idea creation really so nebulous?

This series has quietly reached its 100th installment. This milestone is entirely thanks to all of you who read it. Thank you so much.

People often laugh and ask how I find so much to write about. But at my core lies a sense of crisis about how the methodology of "creativity" – the greatest strength of an advertising agency – remains so vaguely defined.

A major turning point came about ten years ago. It was when I reread Professor Ikujiro Nonaka's "The Knowledge-Creating Company." "Huh? This SECI theory about how organizations generate innovation? That's exactly what we're doing every day!"

A project team with delegated authority, composed of members from diverse backgrounds, generates concepts/big ideas through lively debate (=Socialization), externalizes them, creates concrete plans based on them (=Combination), and sends them out into the world (=Internalization). Connecting the initials forms the four-stage SECI process. Of course, whether it's an automaker or a pharmaceutical company, they might adopt this approach when it comes to developing a new product. But on the campaign creation front, this is pretty much what we do every single day. To put it dramatically, I realized, "Among all industries worldwide, Dentsu Inc. might be the one using the methodology for generating innovation (=SECI) the most."

That's how "Circular Thinking" was born. Based on SECI, an organizational methodology, it distills how individuals use their minds to generate concepts and ideas. I believe this organizes what might seem like the chaotic approach of creators, offering a methodology (and gateway) that any businessperson can use when they want to drive innovation.

The Idea Textbook

How to Create Concepts