Put ideas into words!

A serialized discussion series on the theme of "Creative Thinking and the Potential of Creativity Necessary for Future Management," featuring Professor Emeritus Ikujiro Nonaka of Hitotsubashi University, a management scholar, and Yasuharu Sasaki, CCO of Dentsu Inc.

Building on the SECI model—a knowledge management framework proposed by Professor Nonaka—thefirstand second installmentshighlighted essential elements for innovative management. In this final installment, we explore the role of "language" in outputting ideas and meaning.

 
【SECI Model】
A spiral process for converting individual tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge and sustaining knowledge creation across the entire organization.

(1) Socialization: Perceiving reality or gaining tacit knowledge by adopting others' perspectives.
(2) Externalization: Grasping the essence through dialogue and transforming it into explicit knowledge using analogies and hypotheses.
(3) Combination: Freely combining all knowledge to create systematic collective knowledge.
(4) "Internalization": Putting theories and narratives into practice, embodying organizational knowledge, and driving self-transformation.

By spiraling these four phases, we aim to elevate the entire organization.

 

The presence of "writers" to enhance the quality of discussion and output

Sasaki: From our previous two discussions, I clearly understood that for Japanese companies to invigorate innovation, it's crucial to move from subjective individual perspectives through second-person "empathy" to third-person objective knowledge through "serious engagement." Building on that, I'd like to ask about the role of "language" in converting "empathy" into "objective knowledge." In daily creative work, there are cases where creators effortlessly verbalize tacit knowledge, making it seem simple. But isn't this actually a more valuable act?

Nonaka: Verbalization is extremely important. Honda's famous "Wai-Gaya" serious contest isn't just about project members debating; they also write down what happens there in words on paper and stick it up on the wall. The "writer" is the key point here—they must capture the underlying essence, not just record the conversation. If you don't get to the core, it ends up as mere wordplay, so I believe the role of the "writer" is extremely important.

Sasaki: So, the person who extracts the essence from discussions in real time, distills it into concise words, and writes it down lightly on paper or boards is actually a very important presence.

Nonaka: Husserl's concept of essential intuition involves pursuing the meaning behind experiences. Take a die in front of you: facing forward, you see the number 3. But if you turn it around, you realize the back of the 3 has a 4. The back of the 5 has a 2. Through experience, we come to understand that adding the front and back sides seems to make seven. That alone is just an experience, but by intuitively grasping the essence of a "cube," universal meaning emerges. In short, truth is always born in motion, so the process of grasping the underlying universal meaning is necessary. Moreover, since it's a space where people committed to responsibility engage with their whole being, the essence derived from there is qualitatively different from ordinary brainstorming, right?

Sasaki: What you just described about the "writer" role feels very close to what we do in creative settings. Based on what happens in discussions, we articulate it: "So, this is what it means, right?" The better the phrasing, the more new ideas flow: "Then doing it this way would be even more interesting," or "We could also try this." I feel that when you can capture the underlying essence of a discussion in a single phrase, the output becomes truly excellent. It made me realize again that creators aren't just bringing random ideas; they're actively practicing the processes of co-creation and articulation.

Nonaka: When writing, you must convey "meaning," which essentially means articulating the underlying common ground. Another key point is the physicality involved. The act of "moving your hand to write" is actually very important. Typing on a computer tends to become information processing, but the physicality of "moving your hand" helps sharpen your senses and mobilize your entire being.

Sasaki: I understand completely. When I'm developing plans or concepts, I also write by hand without using a computer when generating the most crucial "idea" seeds. So, your point about "the physical act of moving your hands being important" was very encouraging. Indeed, I feel many creators at Dentsu Inc. incorporate some form of physicality into their own idea-generation processes.

Mutual Subjectivity, Heterogeneity, Verbalization... How Creative Strengths Drive Innovation in Management

Sasaki: This might be a slight digression regarding physicality, but even among us creators, remote work has become widespread. While it allows for highly efficient meetings, there's a distinct sense that something is being lost.

Nonaka: In Agile Scrum, a development methodology born from the SECI model, each day begins with everyone reflecting on the previous day. Standing before the table, maintaining distance with others, engaging in a serious contest of wits to discuss only the essential. In a space imbued with physicality, everyone verbalizes the essence of what happened yesterday to determine what to do next and foresee the future ahead. Of course, meeting in person is better, but I believe it's possible to set up a similar environment online.

Sasaki: So the key is creating a space for serious engagement. By the way, globally, "design thinking" is also popular for incorporating subjective perspectives alongside objective information. However, design thinking seems to prioritize rapid prototyping—quickly giving form to ideas—and thus doesn't seem to emphasize the process of verbalization as much.

Nonaka: I still believe the process of verbalization is crucial. Even if you have to step back after creating a prototype, you should verbalize it. If imagery takes precedence, the underlying meaning might become diluted. We need to verbalize "meaning" through second-person "empathy" that originates from individual subjectivity, transforming it into universal collective knowledge. Without this process, it will never become an "objective" shared by the organization. I call this "dynamic duality" – the transformation that transcends contradictions and conflicts to create new knowledge.

Sasaki: From our discussion, I understand that for companies to achieve innovation, creative pairs must passionately clash their individual perspectives to generate "empathy" and articulate new meaning and value.

Dentsu Inc.'s creative teams possess the experience of individuals genuinely clashing their "subjective views" daily to create something new, the "heterogeneity" of being "half internal, half external" while each creator has unique areas of interest, and the ability to grasp the essence of the "space" and "articulate" ideas and concepts. I am convinced this capability can be directly applied not only to creative expression but also to corporate management reform and innovation creation. I look forward to seeing more opportunities for thorough discussions between management and creators moving forward.