The Key to Innovation Lies in "Stakeholders." An Accelerator Driving Internal Transformation Through Support

ONE JAPAN: A practical community gathering corporate volunteer groups centered around young and mid-career employees

 

We interviewed Emi Ogoshi, who operates Ricoh's business co-creation accelerator program "TRIBUS." Drawing from her experience, she discusses the importance of "supporting" those who take the lead in new ventures, where frontrunners tend to stand out.

Masahide Yoshida, a member of Dentsu Inc. Youth Research Department and part of ONE JAPAN, served as the interviewer, seeking insights for young employees who aspire to "change their company."

The Origin of "Wanting to Improve the Company"

Illustration: Hitoshi Nakao (DCRX)

Yoshida: Let's dive right into the main topic. How do you perceive the core issue of this major theme: "The Illnesses Plaguing Large Corporations"?

Ogoshi: There's a famous saying, "The company is its people." I believe the disease is also its people. If you work at a large corporation, you probably know someone who complains about their environment or position without taking any action. Seeing such people makes me think, "Ah, that's corporate disease." It's a state where they lament their own shortcomings or circumstances without realizing they're being supported by the company and receiving a salary.

I manage Ricoh's accelerator program "TRIBUS," and even among those who seem energetic and committed, some blame others for their own shortcomings. Truth be told, I was one of them.

I'd propose challenges I wanted to take on to the company, only to have them rejected, leaving me thinking, "Why can't they understand?" Over time, this built up into resentment toward the company. Looking back now, I realize I hadn't acted enough to convince my superiors or management, nor had I thoroughly thought through how to make it happen.

Yoshida: I think everyone goes through a phase where they fail to recognize their own shortcomings, blame the company or management, and eventually resign themselves to it. I'd love to hear how you, personally, and the company, as a whole, changed from that point.

Ogoshi: Even before joining TRIBUS, I was the type to voice my thoughts about the company and its structure. This started around my second or third year. As part of the sales department selling copiers, I knew nothing about how they were made or other internal operations.

I started visiting production sites and other departments with senior colleagues from the same sales division. I'd gather insights and then propose ways to apply what I learned to our sales activities, or organize study sessions. As I kept doing this, people within the company started asking me, "We want to hear young employees' opinions for exploring new business ventures." That's how things gradually evolved to where we are now, and I feel that period was the starting point.

Yoshida: From the moment I first met Ogoshi-san at ONE JAPAN, I sensed that his driving force was simply a desire to "make the company better." As you mentioned just now, what sparked that mindset?

Ogoshi: That was also during my time in sales. Initially, I didn't feel selling copiers contributed to society. Especially in corporate sales, where I worked, while unit sales were high, profit margins were low, and I questioned my role. But then a senior colleague told me, "By selling copiers, sales helps maintain employment at the manufacturer." That really clicked for me.

Working at a large company, I think there are few opportunities to truly feel you're contributing to society through your work. In my case, my senior's words made me realize that by selling copiers, I was helping real people I could picture – like the employees in the factories and their families. That made me want to improve this company where everyone works.

Yoshida: Was everything smooth sailing after your transfer?

Ogoshi: Of course, there were challenges. After sales, I moved to a new business division handling the "RICOH THETA," a 360° spherical camera. The team was very small, so I had to handle multiple roles like marketing and PR all by myself. We even managed to pull off an event in just three days after getting a request from Dentsu Inc. (laughs). It was completely different work from sales and very demanding, but I remember feeling excited about the job because of the fast pace and the autonomy I had.

After that, I requested a transfer to a department focused on creating new businesses through open innovation. However, I was brought into the Corporate Planning Division at the same time we launched the accelerator program.

TRIBUS originated from dialogue sessions between executives and frontline employees. Analyzing hundreds of opinions and ideas raised there revealed a strong sentiment: "We can't do what we want to do; there's no environment for taking on challenges." Management decided that rather than focusing on the business itself first, they should create a space for taking on challenges. Thus, "creating new businesses through an accelerator program" was incorporated into management strategy.

The indispensable presence of "supporters" in uncovering untapped potential

Illustration: Hitoshi Nakao (DCRX)

Yoshida: Based on my own experience, I feel that official company programs tend to either ignite passion or dampen it. How did you address concerns like "Wouldn't it be faster to just start a company?" or "This probably won't work"?

Ogoshi: Actually, our company has had a new business creation program since the 1990s. Looking at it positively, you could say it's a company with an atmosphere that fundamentally supports people wanting to do things. Of course, whether you get concrete support depends on the proposal, but the stance is positive, I'd say. I felt this myself when I requested a transfer to pursue something I wanted to do and it was accepted.

In that sense, with TRIBUS, I wanted it to be a program that not only received support but also supported people who hadn't spoken up yet but had a "want to do" within them.

Yoshida: It's true that individual passion matters, but some people are better at providing support. It's like "fulfilling others' will is my will." Telling everyone to "do what you want" can sometimes feel like "will harassment," or perhaps it pushes everyone too hard to define their own "will." It's about launching people's wills far into the future, or connecting different wills together. We tend to only value the first penguins, but this makes me realize there's another side to it.

Ogoshi: On the other hand, I was told upfront that the people who would raise their hands had already quit. It's true—the seniors and juniors whose faces I pictured wanting to apply often had already left. But as a result, I met people I didn't know personally who still had strong aspirations. That's why it was good to run this as an official company program. It wasn't about fishing for individuals through personal connections; it was about creating equal opportunities that opened up possibilities for new encounters.

Among the proposals, some were plans people had nurtured for years, and others were team proposals from those who had already left the company – a pleasant surprise. It showed me that if the company keeps its doors open, people's willpower ferments and inevitably takes shape.

Yoshida: For those who find it hard to take initiative themselves, we prepared opportunities for them to contribute as supporters. Beyond that, the real achievement of Ogoshi and the team was discovering people who would step forward given the right trigger. It made me think we need to trust the company and our colleagues, believing in the inherent goodness of people. Just sparking a little sense of mission or pride can change someone, I suppose.

Even if only 5% of people bring in new business proposals as "stakeholders," having 80% supporters makes it 85%. We tend to focus on that small 5%, but accelerator programs should have various entry points and ways to get involved, right?

Valuing the "not" aspect is the key to transformation.

Illustration: Hitoshi Nakao (DCRX)

Yoshida: Since starting the accelerator program, has the company's atmosphere changed?

Ogoshi: In a survey taken at the 2019 Results Presentation (an event gathering audiences to demonstrate new business proposals: Ricoh Investors Day), 80% of participants responded that "the company atmosphere has started to change or has already changed." Therefore, we feel that the mindset of those involved in the program in some way is indeed shifting.

That said, Ricoh has 30,000 domestic employees, so awareness still needs to grow. We've created a virtual chat community for members interested in the program, which currently has about 1,000 members. That's only about one-thirtieth of the total, but we aim to steadily expand the circle of involved stakeholders going forward.

Personally, I was delighted when I happened to see last year's applicants introducing TRIBUS to their colleagues as something relevant to them. That was the moment I truly felt they were glad they participated.

Yoshida: To backtrack a bit, the origin of this initiative was management actually collecting employee feedback because they wanted to hear our voices. I think it's rare to find executives who can make that kind of effort to say, "Just tell us anything."

It's partly because of their position, but also due to their busy schedules, they can easily fall into asking, "What's the conclusion?" or "What are we talking about?" without any ill intent. Sometimes, discussions with employees only happen about specific, formalized issues.

Ogoshi: There really was no set agenda, so I imagine it was tough for HR to compile everything. Even so, management kept showing up multiple times to gather input. They then separated the voices that only top leadership could address from those that didn't require executive involvement. That's how the management planning team ended up spearheading the Accelerator Program.

Yoshida: What struck me as key this time was the importance of the "non-agenda" side. Prioritizing what wasn't on the set agenda, or how those not in the drafting position consciously took a stance. It has a good flexibility, different from just gathering top talent to pursue theoretical ideals.

Ogoshi: Another key point was that at TRIBUS, decision-making was delegated to the secretariat. While it was a project directly under management, the fact that decisions could be made without needing to persuade anyone worked out well. Because decision-making was entrusted to the secretariat, I believe we were able to create an environment during the accelerator period that respected the intentions of the business leaders and teams who had proposed the projects.

Yoshida: That co-dependency, or the difficulty balancing freedom and responsibility, exists in any organization. Younger members crave freedom but worry about delivering results. To avoid that, they might say, "The higher-ups are too demanding," yet end up letting their superiors make the decisions, creating a dependency on decision-making. The superiors, thinking the stakeholders are involved, might see it less as making a decision and more as just "offering a bit of input."

But when it's openly stated from the start that decision-making is delegated, it places responsibility and maturity on the recipient, which I think fosters a healthy relationship.

Ogoshi: It's true that anxious people might make unnecessary requests, leading to situations where you think, "You didn't need to ask about that." I imagine it was difficult for the supervisor to gauge the right balance, but I was grateful they watched over us without interfering.

A collection of individual wills = a large corporation

Illustration: Hitoshi Nakao (DCRX)

Yoshida: Mr. Ogoshi, you've been with the company for 12 years now. Some people who move to startups or similar places take on so-called C-suite roles (like CFO, CMO, or other top department positions). At a large corporation, however, you're still considered relatively young in terms of tenure. With so many options available, I'd like to understand what you see as the value in staying at a large corporation, or specifically at your current company, rather than moving on.

Oogoe: Within the company, the phrase "Why Ricoh?" is often discussed. Ricoh's current core business centers on products and services for office imaging equipment. However, due to the impact of the novel coronavirus, opportunities to go to the office decreased, and our customers' print output declined. Looking back to when I joined in 2008, we also saw customers putting "Do Not Use" signs on copiers during the Lehman Shock. In that sense, we continue to confront the question of what our purpose is.

I'm not sure if this answers the question, but in the president's closing remarks after the accelerator program, he mentioned "a new corporate form for the postmodern era." This means "employees are each doing what they want to do, and as a result, that becomes the company." If individuals can achieve what they want to realize and the organization functions well, I think that's also a valid form. Helping to create such an environment as a "supporter" aligns with what I want to do, so that's one reason I'm still at Ricoh.

Yoshida: It's about "direction" and "approach," right? I believe Ricoh's direction includes safeguarding employee happiness and employment. Even in an era where disruptive innovation is touted, misdirecting that disruptive force can lead to chaos. So, while the destination remains the same, changing the approach is crucial. Some companies alter their direction while preserving their approach, and seeing that, some people conclude "big corporations are no good" and break away.

If you adopt a stance of editing the approach, you can transform abundant resources into new forms while aiming for the same destination. Like toy blocks, if you take them apart and reassemble them, you can create something entirely different. Thinking this way, I feel as a stakeholder that large corporations aren't something to be discarded, and that there is potential.

Ogoshi: Accelerators or secretariats are often perceived as places where talented, motivated individuals create success stories. But I think their role is closer to being a lubricant. It's not just about new ventures; it's about receiving and translating what everyone is thinking.

There are people who, even if they aren't valued as they'd like in their current roles, can excel in new fields or by redefining their own roles. I want to build an environment where even those people can thrive. I want to be their opportunity, and supporting them should also help build the company's future.