Let the adorable "individual" embark on a journey.

Alongside our ongoing series "Creativity Can Be a Weapon" (details here ), this new series explores how companies and organizations can approach fostering and discovering new creative potential. We'll be speaking with leaders managing creative operations.

"Organization" and "Creativity." We want to pit these seemingly opposing forces head-to-head. Organizations (corporations) that value discipline and profit versus creatives who freely pursue individual identity. The fusion of these two elements surely holds the key to breakthroughs. An organization is the cornerstone of business strategy. How should creativity be integrated into that strategy? We asked Susumu Namikawa, MD at Dentsu Inc. CXCC.

Written by: Web Dentsu Inc. News Editorial Department

Susumu Namikawa: Since joining Dentsu Inc., he has worked as a copywriter and creative director on numerous social and digital projects connecting companies and society. In January 2021, he became Managing Director (MD) of Dentsu Inc.'s newly established Customer Experience Creative Center (CXCC). He is also a poet and programmer. His publications include "Social Design" (Kiraku-sha), "Communication Shift" (Hatori Shoten), and many others.

I believe an organization is not a given "space," but a "team" created together with colleagues.

The CX (Customer Experience) Creative Center is a new creative organization established within Dentsu Inc. in 2021. It is responsible for expanding the skills of advertising creators to encompass all customer experiences beyond advertising – essentially, the extension of creativity. We began this interview with the customary question: "How would you define an organization?"

"When I was younger, I viewed an organization as a given environment or setting," said Mr. Namikawa. "But terms like 'environment' or 'setting' carry a nuance of something beyond one's individual power to move or change, right? The organization I envision is not that; it's a 'team.' A team is something we build and change ourselves, not something given to us. If we want to be an organization that drives transformation, I believe it must be this way."

He also describes a different image of leadership. "When people think of creative leaders, many imagine someone charismatic, wielding strong authority to drive the team forward. But the leader I envision is different. The CX (Customer Experience) domain is vast. It encompasses not only advertising, but also websites, SNS, CRM, and often requires knowledge of DX, data, and technology beyond just creativity. Furthermore, this information is constantly being updated."

Mr. Namikawa points out that leaders who fully grasp all aspects of CX and forcefully drive it forward are rare, and that such a single-leader style fundamentally doesn't fit CX. "I believe what's needed is a facilitator-type leader who broadly understands the strengths of diverse people with many specializations, skillfully brings them together, and draws out the best in each."

He emphasizes that this approach involves no hierarchical relationships. "Within the digital realm, some areas are still in their infancy, with very short histories. Recent examples include NFTs and Web3. To put it bluntly, someone with only one year of experience could be a top runner in that world. Regarding expertise, anyone can be a teacher. Mutual respect within a flat relationship is paramount for the team."

Some form of "value" generates and nurtures money. The reverse is not true.

I understood Mr. Namikawa's vision of an "ideal creative organization." The question was what came next. So I deliberately asked what I knew was a down-to-earth question: "In this kind of organization, Mr. Namikawa, can you actually make money? How do you commit to generating revenue?" His answer was this:

"Within established domains, the business model is already defined. But new domains aren't like that, so it's true that the initial phase of tackling them can be financially challenging. However, the crucial point is this: money doesn't come first; creating value comes first. If you properly create value, then later, you'll receive compensation commensurate with that value. That's the sequence."

What truly captivated me was Mr. Namikawa's emphatic assertion that the reverse is not true. This might be considered the fundamental mindset when tackling new domains. The key is to present some form of "value." "It's crucial to discern the phase in which that value grows—from seed to sprout to seedling. At the right moment, monetization must also be considered; otherwise, the business won't be sustainable. I believe the role of an MD is to identify that point and provide support tailored to each phase."

The center also incorporates new initiatives into its activities. For the CXCC Awards, which recognize outstanding work, winners receive AR trophies and original NFT art.

At CXCC, knowledge sharing within the center is actively promoted. Mr. Namikawa notes the same principle applies here: "Sharing insights provides a valuable opportunity to reflect on the worth of the work we've done. Every time we share knowledge, both the team members and I always feel excited. I believe it's because we're witnessing the moment new value is born."

Let's go with "H to S with B"

The vision of the ideal organization and ideal creative work that Mr. Namikawa describes is becoming clearer. "We have terms like B to B (providing value from company to company) and B to C (providing value from company to customer). Dentsu Inc. also promotes B to B to S (value from Dentsu Inc. to companies, and then to society beyond ※S=Society). But from a creator's perspective, it feels a bit off. It's like, that's not all there is. I think there's also H to S with B.

H to S with B? An unfamiliar phrase. "Human to Society with Business—that's H to S with B. The B represents our diverse clients. As Dentsu Inc. members, creators respond to client needs. That's the foundation of our work. But creators have another desire. As individuals, they want to connect with society and directly deliver new value to the world. This is only natural for creators. We want to nurture this 'H to S with B' approach, placing that strong desire at its core. We invite companies and organizations that resonate with this vision to join us, amplifying that value into something greater and delivering it to society."

Without any flattery, I couldn't help but let out, "That's a great phrase." "At CXCC, right after launching, we solicited projects members wanted to pursue voluntarily. Now, 20 projects are underway. The themes vary—music, characters, VR, space, anime, sex education, commerce—but what they share is that they all started with a member's strong feeling of 'I want to do this!' That's why each project involves deep, new research and maintains very high quality. We're also advancing collaborations with various clients. There's a pure power there."

The 20 projects at CXCC are diverse and each is unique.

"Expansion" begins with understanding "the other's language"

Finally, the conversation turns to the core of this article: how the head (MD) of CXCC perceives "expanding creativity." As usual, I posed a somewhat provocative question: "Frankly, regarding expanding creativity, I imagine colleagues both horizontally and vertically within the company might feel wary. "Perhaps 'threat' is a better word than 'wariness.' It's that feeling of, 'Please don't invade our territory—the marketing, strategic planning, digital technology, and business strategy areas we specialize in—you who were creating commercial storyboards and graphic comps just yesterday.' I think that element exists somewhere in human psychology. This is purely my speculation, though."

After a brief pause, Mr. Namikawa answered: "Expansion isn't about invading. To give a clear example: if a creator who made TV commercials simply applied the same mindset to create digital videos, that wouldn't be expansion. Instead, it's when a TV commercial creator meets, say, a digital media operations consultant, and they engage in respectful dialogue, fuse their insights, and create new forms of expression. That is expansion."

Mr. Namikawa states that expansion means "encountering people from different cultures, respecting them, and creating new value from that." He believes the essential requirement for this is knowing the "language." "I think expansion begins with understanding the other person's 'language' and striving to understand it. Data marketing has its own language, engineers have theirs, and management has its own, right? I believe all innovation stems from sharing the foundation of 'speaking the same language' with people from different fields."

Now, let's embark on a "journey."

"At CXCC, we've adopted 'journey' as the guiding principle for the center's activities," says Mr. Namikawa. To acquire more 'languages,' the quickest way is to immerse yourself in them – in other words, to embark on a journey.

"A journey beyond existing boundaries, aiming for places you've never seen before. Doesn't that alone make you excited? The important thing is that feeling of wanting to dive into uncharted territory, places you've never set foot in before. Of course, to be honest, it's scary. Everyone feels that fear. After all, everything you've built up so far might be completely useless there. But somehow, that excitement naturally tends to win out over the fear. That's the kind of organization and the kind of individuals I want us to be."

[Editor's Note]

Mr. Namikawa was, through and through, a "good person." This is no flattery. Like him, I too worked as a copywriter for many years, but looking back on my own work, I don't think I was ever a "good person." What happens if you look at things sideways? Turn them upside down—there might be a discovery there. So, first and foremost, question everything. The sheer thrill of declaring "Crows are yellow" is like, in soccer terms, dribbling the ball in an unbelievable direction and scoring from an impossible angle. Someone constantly thinking about outsmarting others can't possibly be a "good person."

When people are pushed to be "creative!" or "innovative!", they often end up chasing "the bizarre." But the more bizarre the performance, the sooner the veneer starts to peel off. Mr. Namikawa has none of that pretentiousness. Even from the perspective of someone in the same "organization," he's a truly mysterious person.

I think the true nature of genuine emotion and heartfelt smiles might be like this: a potted plant that had remained a bud all along suddenly, one morning, pops up a flower. You water it every day, thinking maybe it's withered, and you give it sunlight too. That small, daily affection creates the joy of that "pop" one morning. I can't quite explain it well, but the "goodness" I sensed in Mr. Namikawa was precisely that kind of thing.