【Continued】Local Gurgle [156]A concept that fits in the palm of your hand
I absolutely love whale meat.
The taste of bluefin tuna makes even horse sashimi and beef sashimi pale in comparison. I could chew on raw tongue forever. The broth of Osaka oden is exquisite because of the skin (koro). Bacon is a must at Kyoto's long-established izakayas. And all of it pairs astonishingly well with sake.
Certainly, there are many complex issues. For those who believe "meat should only come from farmed animals where numbers can be managed, and taking directly from the natural environment is dangerous," the very act of capturing marine resources, especially mammals, is hard to support.
From a scientific standpoint, some data suggests stable resource levels, though others disagree. There's the perspective of preserving Japan's centuries-old whaling culture, yet domestic consumption remains sluggish.
Even when considering just the issue of "whales," the world you see changes dramatically depending on the level of perspective you adopt.
Now, as I've repeatedly mentioned in this column, grasping a "concept" is by no means an easy task. There are various difficulties involved – like having to verbalize physical sensations that don't yet exist in this world, or needing to use the trick of metaphor to do so. But there's another challenge.
Determining the "appropriate size and level" a concept should have is something that's difficult to judge without a certain amount of experience.
For example, how should you define the concept for "PC glasses" to make the next innovation more likely?
Describing it at the specification level as "glasses that cut blue light" is certainly not wrong. However, the reality that perspective points to is too narrow, making it weak for inducing the next innovation.
What about "glasses that protect your eyes"? Indeed, conventional glasses were tools to correct poor vision. This perspective suggests a broader market potential, appealing not only to those with vision issues but also to people with good eyesight. Beyond this, concepts like "pollen-blocking glasses" or "dry eye protection glasses" emerge as a cohesive category.
Or how about "glasses utilizing cutting-edge research"? While I don't know the details, the discovery of the harmful effects of blue light emitted from PCs and other devices is surely a result of ophthalmological research. If the perspective of applying such findings to product development becomes clear, the team will likely research cutting-edge studies across all fields.
Taking it a step further, positioning them as "glasses that enrich your life" from the user's perspective is another approach. While not incorrect, this includes existing vision correction glasses, so it doesn't offer a truly groundbreaking new perspective.
"Blue light-blocking glasses," "eye-protecting glasses," "glasses utilizing cutting-edge research," "glasses that enrich life." All are perspectives that capture a specific aspect of "computer glasses." However, "blue light-blocking glasses" is too specific, while "glasses that enrich life" is too vague, making them weak as concepts.
We value concepts that are neither too abstract nor too specific—ones that, upon hearing them, give you a sense of transcending conventional wisdom. We call these "palm-sized concepts" or "tactile concepts."
In the case of PC glasses, we have a general understanding of the subsequent product development trends, making it easier to evaluate the concept. However, when a concept is just born, judging whether it has been carved out at the "right size and level" is quite difficult.
Management must possess the skill to sense the future within the words of a concept and evaluate it accordingly.
Please, help yourself!
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Author
Sōo Yamada
Dentsu Inc.
Meiji Gakuin University Part-time Lecturer (Business Administration) Using "concept quality management" as its core technique, this approach addresses everything from advertising campaigns and TV program production to new product/business development and revitalizing existing businesses and organizations—all through a unique "indwelling" style that immerses itself in the client's environment. Founder of the consulting service "Indwelling Creators." Served as a juror at the 2009 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (Media category), among other roles. Recipient of numerous awards. His books, "The Textbook of Ideas: Dentsu Inc.'s Circular Thinking" and "How to Create Concepts: Dentsu Inc.'s Ideation Methods Useful for Product Development" (both published by Asahi Shimbun Publications), have been translated and published overseas (in English, Thai, and the former also in Korean).
