Can "words" contribute to management? - The case of ietty -

I'm Hideaki Morohashi, a copywriter and CM planner. Alongside creating commercials and other advertisements, I participate in TANTEKI's activities supporting startup communications. My work affords me many opportunities to converse with business leaders, teaching me that "words" play a significant role in management. Allow me to share some of these insights.

<Table of Contents>
▼Challenges Hidden in Rapid Growth for Startups.
▼ "Let's change the world" won't unite employees.
▼Objectivity Matters More Than Executive Retreats.

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Challenges Hidden in Rapid Growth for Startups.

Rapid growth. Rapid expansion. This is precisely the essence and appeal of startups.

Yet, conversations with executives reveal a significant underlying challenge: communication breakdowns within the company that accompany rapid growth.

In the early days, the founder's passion alone might be enough to unite the team. By talking things out and sweating together, employees can run toward the same goal. When the core is boiling, it can easily heat up everything within a 10-meter radius.

However, once the number of employees or the company size exceeds a certain threshold, that heat can no longer reach every corner. A gap emerges between the mindset of newly joined employees and that of long-time employees. A temperature difference arises between the president, who looks to the future from a management perspective, and employees who want immediate improvements to their current conditions. Eventually, the sense of unity within the company is lost, leading to increased turnover and dissatisfaction.

This sense of crisis was shared by Tahei Ogawa, CEO of ietty. ietty is a rental real estate service that operates entirely online without physical stores, significantly reducing brokerage fees and enabling the introduction of optimal properties to users. It is a rapidly growing, highly regarded startup.

Through TANTEKI's activities, we had the opportunity to invite President Ogawa to Dentsu Inc. to discuss his business. One remark stuck with me: "Employees' commitments are becoming increasingly fragmented."

In other words, ietty faces the very challenge I mentioned at the beginning for startups. And I thought, surely this could be solved with "words."

So, what TANTEKI proposed was "words that define corporate value."

These defining words for corporate value aren't just broad terms that lump the business together in the most general way.

• It is the words that define why the company exists in this world,
• what it is doing now,
• and where it is headed next.

It redefines these fundamental aspects. When the roots are clear, not only is the business clearly defined, but it also expands diversely from that starting point.

Above all, the words that define a company's value become an anchor for its employees. Why am I here? What are we creating together? When a company's value becomes clear, each task feels fresh and meaningful.

While ietty's business is defined as "a rental real estate service that completes transactions online, eliminating brokerage fees and enabling us to propose the optimal properties for users," this alone doesn't fully convey the company's value or the worldview it aims to create to employees who joined later.

Therefore, by carefully delving deeper into President Ogawa's words, it became clear that at the root of ietty's business lies the president's sense of crisis toward the rental real estate industry, particularly the irrational and inconvenient user experience stemming from its personal-dependent business practices.

The author believes that

the president doesn't just want to provide a web-based rental real estate service; he aspires to offer the world's most "honest" rental real estate service

To achieve that, web-based completion might be a necessary step.

Once that core vision was clear, the next step was to articulate it concisely and accurately for easy communication. This is where a copywriter truly shines.

I proposed this phrase, adding that it would serve as the president's words to unite the employees.

I remember the president's reaction: "I've always known this, but I just realized it now." It was interesting. And then, we received the kind words: "We will make this the guiding principle for all decisions, when considering new services, when interacting with clients—everything. All employees should commit to it." And so, it was purchased.

Later, I heard that during internal ietty meetings, conversations like "Does that UI truly embody sincerity?" started happening. I also heard that some people decided to join the company because they resonated with this phrase, while others reconsidered leaving for . I believe this contributed to solving the challenge of unifying the company.

Simply saying "Let's change the world" won't unite employees.

I feel the importance of defining a company or business's value, as in ietty's case, is starting to gain social recognition. Indeed, many startup websites feature various phrases in the form of missions or visions.

Unfortunately, however, many of these statements strike me as highly abstract, like "Let's change the world!" I understand the aspiration, but they often haven't been thought through to the point of making them function concretely.

When told "let's change the world," employees can't move to the next action. I call this "a state where words and actions aren't meshing."

What matters is the balance of specificity in the words. Focus must be narrowed, but it mustn't become too myopic. Furthermore, where to place that specificity, which words to choose – that judgment is quite difficult.

What matters more than executive retreats is objectivity.

I hear many startups hold "executive retreats" to define their mission. Ietty apparently did this in the past too.

However, what typically happens is participants gauge each other's reactions while offering opinions, then vaguely synthesize the best bits. Sprinkle in the retreat's euphoria, and you end up with a mission like "Let's change the world!" – something that ultimately fails to translate into employee action.

I believe that when defining your company's value, you should incorporate "external ears and minds" more than ever. Share your business and vision thoroughly with fresh ears. Then, have someone with a cool head, free from deference to the CEO, organize it, extract the key points, and articulate them. Being objective is paramount.

Of course, I don't think every executive retreat to define a mission is doomed to fail. But having just one objective words professional present significantly increases the odds of success.

Next time, I hope to introduce the "role of words" in management from a different perspective, drawing from the story of a leader who sought such objective ears and minds.