Interview with Persol Career Executive Officer Noritomo Murazawa: How to Drive Discontinuous Growth (Dentsu Inc. BDS Fuchi)

This series delves into the essence of top executives who dismantle all biases and personally execute internal business transformation as architects (overall designers).

This installment features Mr. Noritomo Murazawa, Executive Officer at PERSOL Career. The company, which handles various human resources services including the job-hunting service "doda," is undertaking a transformation project to create a "working" platform under its "Future of Work Vision." Mr. Akihiko Fuchi of Dentsu Inc., who is accompanying the project as a partner, interviewed Mr. Murazawa, who is responsible for the vision, planning, and promotion of this transformation.

Mr. Noritomo Murazawa, Executive Officer, PERSOL Career (right) and Mr. Akihiko Fuchi, Dentsu Inc. Business Design Square

The Grand Challenge of Transforming Japan's "Work"

Fuchi: It's been about two years since I started working with Mr. Murazawa. Beyond spearheading this business transformation with the grand goal of changing how Japan works, I'm struck by how you personally lead by example—actively pursuing side gigs, taking childcare leave, and embracing workation—continuously embodying this new way of working. Today, I'd like to focus on you personally and hear your insights on making this transformation happen.

First, could you share what motivated you to drive transformation at Persol Career?

Murazawa: After working as a management consultant, I joined Persol Career in January 2018. Since the 2013 merger of the former Intelligence and Tempstaff, the company had spent about five years focused on PMI (post-merger integration). During that time, the world's approach to work was rapidly evolving. While our business scale was steadily expanding, the importance of providing essential value aligned with societal changes—and even backcasting to envision the future ten years ahead—had become a clear management challenge. I joined the company precisely at that pivotal moment.

Fuchi: I see. So you joined at the pivotal moment when the company was shifting from solidifying its business foundation to a more proactive phase. More specifically, it also coincided with the start of accelerated transformation in how the world works, right?

Murazawa: Exactly. Back then, work and life were often still seen as separate. But we believed work and life are one and the same. We wanted to create a society where each person proactively chooses how they work and can envision their ideal future. That led to our "Future of Work Vision."

Fuchi: Ironically, the pandemic accelerated remote work and side hustles, causing a sudden surge in people experiencing the blending of work and life. It feels like the vision Persol Career outlined two years ago is now permeating society much sooner than anticipated.

[Working Future Vision]
How will we transition from an era of choosing companies and jobs to one where each individual proactively designs their own "work"? How can we support individuals in working authentically and shaping their own futures? This business vision goes beyond traditional talent services. Through data-service integration and co-creation with external partners, it aims to provide work, learning, and environments tailored to each individual.
 

How to Overcome the "Three-Year Hurdle" Common in Transformation

Fuchi: Mr. Murazawa, in your over ten years as a management consultant, you've likely led business transformations across various companies. Drawing on your accumulated experience, what mindset and approach have you adopted when tackling business transformation?

Murazawa: The fundamental premise we must recognize is that transformation is merely a means to an end—the true goal is realizing the desired future state. The farther the envisioned goal, the more necessary it is to chart a discontinuous course to bridge the gap with the present. Ideally, looking back, this journey itself is perceived as the transformation.

Fuchi: So, the transformation itself should not be the goal. What specific practices do you consciously adopt to drive discontinuous growth within the organization?

Murazawa: Since Persol Career has a relatively young workforce, I find that presenting an even more exciting future keeps them motivated and moving forward, rather than just instilling a sense of crisis about the present. Setting goals is equally important. We don't aim for targets that are just the usual growth rate plus a little extra; we set bold goals that can only be achieved through discontinuous growth.

Fuchi: Setting goals that force you onto a deliberately discontinuous trajectory. You're a seasoned executive, aren't you? (laughs)

Murazawa: Transformation cannot be achieved without each employee taking on challenges. The engine driving this is Persol Career's core value: the "Growth Mindset." It means each person, unbound by past methods or conventional wisdom, eagerly learns and takes on new challenges. To make this the norm, we've made the Growth Mindset a KPI. Every three months, we run a PDCA cycle for the Growth Mindset, broken down by all employees and by each organization.

Fuchi: Are the actual growth mindset metrics actually increasing?

Murazawa: The numbers themselves are progressing steadily. However, this is a challenge that also applies to business transformation: the first year sees rapid growth, but from the second year onward, the curve flattens. We are currently working on how to shift gears and accelerate beyond this "plateau."

Fuchi: That's exactly like business transformation, isn't it? You start with great momentum, but inevitably, that plateau phase arrives. I feel the key point is whether you can clearly define the next steps when growth becomes more gradual.

Murazawa: Having witnessed numerous business reforms and new ventures stall after three years, overcoming this phase to pursue long-term goals is crucial. A common pattern emerges: Year 1 is fueled by peak expectations and excitement; Year 2 sees skeptics emerge asking, "Is this even meaningful?"; Year 3 brings disputes over "it's not contributing to profits"; and by Year 4, it's concluded as a closed chapter. This approach never achieves fundamental transformation. In that regard, regularly visualizing results and continuously fine-tuning the roadmap to keep the transformation feeling fresh are also key points, right?

The "external perspective" that views society and the market, and the "internal perspective" that drives the organization, are the key drivers of sustainable business transformation.

Fuchi: Having transitioned from a consultant driving change externally to someone driving internal business transformation within your own company, have you discovered anything new?

Murazawa: In our company, since I work alongside everyone daily, I can sense their concerns and thoughts more easily than from an external position. Also, I understand the internal mechanisms more tangibly, like "if you get this person involved, it will ripple out to that person" (laughs).

Fuchi: When involved externally, you need to shape the business transformation into a feasible form and build consensus, so I think the emphasis is more on designing the overall architecture. On the other hand, when driving it internally, the focus seems to shift to how to actually drive the designed architecture and how to continuously adapt it flexibly while driving it.

Murazawa: That's right. Externally, it's like performing surgery, while internally, it's more like improving the body's constitution.

Fuchi: To sustain driving business transformation internally, I believe meaningful monitoring is crucial, along with accumulating the extracted facts into knowledge. As results and insights pile up, you start to understand the real internal mechanisms more and more. It's very much like improving the constitution. However, focusing too much on driving can lead to losing speed compared to societal changes or competitors, so I consciously strive to always maintain both an external and internal perspective.

Murazawa: Exactly. When you're deeply immersed internally, you feel the tangible results of driving hard. But if you lose sight of the question, "How does this compare to the world and other players?", then driving itself becomes the goal rather than the means. That's precisely why it's crucial for corporate leaders and transformation leaders to maintain an external perspective. That's also why Dentsu Inc. is supporting us as an external partner.

Fuchi: Yes. I was reminded once again that what's essential for executives is to continuously update the architecture from both external and internal perspectives, thereby driving non-linear growth.

 

※Continued in Part 2