Athlete Brains: Dai Tamesue's "Fluid Pacing" vol.12

A serial interview column where Mr. Dai Tamesue freely discusses "what's on his mind right now." The only set theme is "What is autonomy? What is tolerance?" Faced with unreasonable questions from a mysterious "interviewer," Mr. Tamesue shares his thoughts on various "things on his mind." Well now. What kind of stories will come out this time...? Stay tuned.

──In this era, we hear a lot about wanting to enhance brand or corporate value, questioning the purpose of companies or individuals, striving for a society that respects diversity, seeking to improve women's status, and wanting to eliminate all forms of discrimination and prejudice. I can't help but feel there's a common "something" underlying all these discussions.

Tamesue: Yes.

──But that "something" remains elusive. Qualitative and quantitative analyses have been conducted extensively, yet it still doesn't quite click.

Tamesue: Yeah, yeah.

──The trigger was encountering the term "goodwill" and wondering, "What does that mean?" I looked it up. Like, misjudging the value of goodwill during a corporate acquisition and suffering huge losses.

Tamesue: That's M&A terminology, right?

──Exactly. Simply put, I think it refers to the universally recognized value held by that company or brand—essentially brand value. But digging deeper, I encountered things like income statements and just gave up. I did study economics in college, but when they say, "This part of the income statement corresponds to goodwill," it makes zero sense to me.

Tamesue: Ha ha ha.

──At that moment, it suddenly occurred to me: what if I replaced terms like "goodwill" or "brand value" with "appreciation"? Somehow, it just clicked. That's why I really wanted to ask you, Mr. Tamesue, who is both an athlete and a business executive: "What exactly is appreciation?"

Tamesue: I see.

──As usual, I've gone on a bit, but first, I want to ask about that "Thank you for the excitement!" phrase you hear so often at the Olympics. What exactly is that "Thank you!"? Personally, I hate that phrase. You were probably just sitting at home with a beer, watching TV, right? I think it's ridiculous to expect any "Thank you!" from you.

Athletes didn't train their asses off for some beer-drinking old guy at home! I know getting worked up about it won't change anything, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on this "Thank you for the inspiration!" business, Tamesue-san. You must have heard plenty of "Thank you, Tamesue!" during your active career.

Tamesue: As an athlete, it's genuinely heartwarming. It makes you feel like you've accomplished something worthy of the world saying "Thank you!" to you, and it makes you want to be grateful for that "Thank you!" What is that "Thank you!" about? I think it's about "receiving an unexpected benefit. It gave me a feeling I couldn't have created myself."

──I see.

Tamesue: Like staying at a hotel that costs around 8,000 yen a night and being surprised by service that far exceeded your expectations. You feel like, "Did I get a little too much here?"

──"You ran this far, Tamesue?! No way! Thank you!" That kind of feeling.

Tamesue: Exactly (laughs). But I think there are different levels of "Thank you!" That "Thank you!" that says, "Seeing you run gave me courage. Thank you!" That kind of "Thank you!" is beautiful, isn't it? You can tell at a glance that they've been supporting you for years, like that tattered banner that says "Hang in there, Tamesue!" That kind of feeling really touches you. It's clearly different from just asking for an autograph on the back of a ticket.

──I get it. That tattered banner. Just imagining it makes me tear up.

Tamesue: What's important is the feeling and passion packed into that "Thank you!" And I think what brings that feeling and passion is "time."

──"Time," you say.

Tamesue: The media and society can generate incredible heat in an instant—it practically boils over. But it cools down just as fast. As an athlete, that instant "Thank you!" is wonderful, but the "Thank you!" conveyed by a banner, likely clutched in sweaty hands for years, is on a completely different level.

──That's a beautiful story.

Tamesue: Actually, this is an eternal theme for the "sports fan business." In business terms, the "Thank you!" that boils over instantly is overwhelmingly more profitable. Winning a tournament, landing a commercial contract, getting an astronomical appearance fee, selling related merchandise, receiving royalties for novelty items—that sort of thing.

That's important for business, of course. But I think the true fan psychology is moved by moments like "stumbling over the first hurdle but finishing the race" or "missing the winning putt."

──As usual, this is turning into a deep conversation. (Continued in #13)

(Interviewer: Web Dentsu Inc. Editorial Department)

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From Hibi, Athlete Brains Production Team

This experience gave me a chance to reflect on the concept of "appreciation" myself. Were our proposals truly something our clients felt grateful for? I feel compelled to ask myself this question moving forward. Furthermore, if gratitude stems from the "total accumulated heat of history," then the "experiences and knowledge" born from athletes' history of facing their sport are truly something to be grateful for. I want to connect the knowledge cultivated by athletes to solving the world's challenges.

Athlete Brains Production Team Dentsu Inc. / Akinori Hibi (3CRP) · Kohei Shiraishi (Business Co-creation Bureau)

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Athlete Brains, led by Dai Tamesue.
For details on the team connecting athletes' cultivated knowledge to solving societal (corporate/social) challenges, see here.