COTEN Radio: Mr. Fukai on Turning History into a Business Weapon

In today's world of diverse values, companies must go beyond simply providing good products and services. Clearly articulating their purpose and societal significance has become crucial. As this series has highlighted, "learning from humanities knowledge" is gaining attention, with companies incorporating "philosophical dialogue" into their corporate philosophy development and training.

This installment focuses on "history." Even after entering the workforce, we remain surrounded by diverse "historical content." Yet, no established methodology exists for how to effectively utilize history in daily operational settings or major management decisions.

How can we move beyond treating history as mere "cultural literacy" and instead turn it into a "weapon" in business? And how should we engage with history and develop the skills to interpret it effectively? Naota Nakamachi from Dentsu Inc. Corporate Transformation Department interviewed Ryunosuke Fukai of "COTEN," who has garnered attention across various fields for his sharp discourse grounded in "historical thinking."

<Table of Contents>
▼The "World History Database": A Tool for Critical Organizational Decision-Making!

▼The Modern Era: A Time of "Most Intense Change". History and Philosophy Are Essential for Adaptation

▼"Structurally Understanding" Society Through History Reveals Necessary Actions

▼Practically Applying Historical Thinking and Insights in Business

▼The First Step: Investing "Cost" and "Time" in Understanding Humanities Knowledge

The "World History Database": A Tool for Critical Organizational Decision-Making!

Nakamachi: Mr. Fukai, you're currently active across a wide range of fields. Could you tell us about your main activities and current focus?

Fukai: I'm currently engaged in two main activities. One is building the "World History Database" at a company called "COTEN." The other is running "COTEN RADIO," a podcast that started as a PR initiative where company members simply talk about history.

I've loved history and philosophy since my student days and have read extensively. While serving as a director at a Fukuoka-based venture company, I observed that if the talented people I worked with could apply their knowledge and insights from history and philosophy to their daily decision-making, it could lead to even better corporate management and business outcomes.

However, it's difficult and time-consuming for people focused on highly specialized work to acquire enough historical and philosophical knowledge to apply in daily decisions. That's why I decided to create a solution enabling individuals and organizations making important decisions to easily access world history, leading to the development of the "World History Database."

This database allows users to search how people in the past made decisions when facing similar situations and what outcomes those decisions led to. For example, you can find data on how a drop in global temperatures affected wars at that time, or extract historical figures killed by their subordinates and examine their common traits. Increasing the searchability of history broadens its applications. We believe this information becomes most effective precisely when seeking insights and wisdom for critical decision-making.

Nakamachi: In the business realm, for instance, when a corporate executive faces a critical decision, they could input their current situation or that of their company, and it would present corresponding episodes or information from world history?

Fukai: Yes. The interface is broadly divided into three types: "timelines," "maps," and "text," each offering a highly searchable state. It's like a historical version of Google, enabling internet searches for things that previously required consulting books.

People who have accumulated historical knowledge, when they hit a wall in life or face a phenomenon, find similarities or differences with historical events and mentally simulate how to interpret that phenomenon. Whether all of that is correct is another matter, but I personally feel that decisions made through this kind of thinking have been very helpful.

The modern era is one of "the most intense change." History and philosophy are essential subjects for adaptation.

Nakamachi: Specifically, in what kinds of situations did you feel, Mr. Fukai, that knowing more history would have helped you solve problems or generate ideas?

Fukai: Since history and philosophy are fundamentally applied in abstract ways, giving specific examples can slightly alter the meaning. Therefore, I'll deliberately keep it abstract. For instance, consider purpose formulation. We businesspeople... especially management, strive to positively impact society through our work and want to enshrine that as our philosophy. It's about considering what our purpose should be and how we can give back to society. Other times, we might ponder what employee happiness means or what women's participation entails.

When I started a startup in Fukuoka, I pondered "What is love?" When contemplating "love," the level of your thinking changes completely depending on whether you're reflecting with knowledge of concepts like the Christian "agape," Christian "philanthropy," or Erich Fromm's (a German researcher in social psychology, psychoanalysis, and philosophy) ideas about love, versus thinking about it based solely on personal experiences up to your early thirties. The former is a way of thinking that, no matter how quick your mind, you cannot reach without studying the humanities.

The modern era is particularly turbulent. Having studied 3,000 years of human history, I can say this is the most intense period. This is because the speed of social change has become unprecedentedly rapid, closely tied to the development of communication technology.

Since individuals gained access to the internet, the pace of societal change has increased dramatically. We experience multiple times within a single generation the changes that took several generations for humanity to achieve 300 years ago. Common sense is constantly being updated, and what is considered "taboo" is also changing. As adapting to such changes becomes increasingly essential going forward, humanities knowledge like history and philosophy proves invaluable. Conversely, without them, adapting to this change would likely be quite difficult.

By "structurally understanding" society through history, the necessary actions become clear.

Nakamachi: I often participate in defining purpose through corporate branding. Typically, when a project starts, we review the company's history from its founding, gain insights into society decades ahead, and research the industry, including competitors. But based on what you're saying, Mr. Fukai, it seems highly likely that what is fundamentally important for people and society has already been considered by wise individuals throughout history, across cultures. Would you say it's desirable to utilize these insights?

Fukai: Exactly. Regardless of whether the conclusions drawn from that are "correct," history already holds abundant outcomes and results from people with greater intelligence and diverse experiences than ourselves, achieved through a lifetime of thought.

Nakamachi: So there's a significant gap between thinking while aware of that accumulated knowledge as insights, and starting from scratch without any such insights.

Fukai: For example, we often hear discussions about women's advancement in society these days, but similar situations have occurred many times throughout history. Just before the Kamakura period, society was centered around the nobility. When the samurai were recognized as a "new resource for society," factions emerged: those who wanted to utilize this resource and those who wanted to keep running society solely through the nobility as before. Similarly, throughout history, whenever a new resource appeared in society, people inevitably split into those who wanted to harness it and those who preferred to stick with the old ways without adopting anything new, leading to conflict.

While this is just one example, given the 3,000 years of human history preserved, isn't it overwhelmingly unlikely that we are now adopting behavioral patterns completely untested by previous generations in response to social changes and challenges? Viewing modern women's participation through the lens of how to consider new resources within society should allow us to leverage historical insights.

Nakamachi: To aid this understanding, you've developed the "World History Database." Precisely because societal shifts will intensify in the future, relying solely on one's own thinking without historical insights carries a very high risk of misdirection, correct? In your book, "Historical Thinking: Liberating Yourself from Assumptions by Surveying World History" (Diamond Inc.), you wrote about "historical thinking." Could you briefly explain what that entails?

Fukai: "Historical thinking" refers to a way of thinking that allows us to view societies and organizations structurally. By using history, we can see that there are always people who have experienced situations similar to what we are experiencing. By lining up and comparing or analyzing these people, patterns emerge.

Suppose you examine 50 examples of people in similar situations to yours and categorize them into five patterns. Often, the action you're considering fits into Pattern D, while other patterns you never anticipated actually exist. Understanding things structurally makes it easier to predict what might happen next. It won't be 100% accurate, and you'll need to apply it in your own way, but applying these patterns makes the schema— —clear and visible.

Applying Historical Thinking and Insights Practically in Business

Nakamachi: How can we apply the historical perspective you mentioned to actual business? Historical content spans a wide range of genres, from entertaining material to resources useful for business professionals. While implementing a world history database is one approach, assuming that's not available, what other approaches can we consider to practically apply historical thinking and insights to business?

Fukai: While I feel it's quite difficult for individuals to incorporate this on their own, I believe organizations have many opportunities. For example, I think it would be beneficial for organizations to establish an intelligence unit within their decision-making circles, focused on humanities knowledge like history, philosophy, and psychology. Creating a department of about 3 to 5 people who could advise executives and division heads during critical decision-making would be ideal.

When considering purpose-driven management, it's essential to learn about the history of our own organization and the value it has created. Society is changing, and even as we create new value within that context, I believe we need to draw on the power of history and philosophy. Currently, such specialized roles don't exist, but if organizations come to understand the value of humanities knowledge and establish these positions, they could become much stronger in various decision-making situations.

Nakamachi: Companies are already bringing in diverse perspectives from outside for breakthroughs in specific functions like marketing, HR, and new ventures. But what you're proposing, Mr. Fukai, isn't just a temporary measure—it's establishing a permanent body to serve as a partner to the management team?

Fukai: You mean it's better to create an advisory body for critical decision-making. To reiterate my opening point, humanities knowledge is fundamentally something that can be leveraged in decision-making forums, and its effectiveness increases the more important the decisions being made are.

At the same time, applying humanities knowledge requires specialized skills. At least at this stage, it's not something anyone can do. Even in other fields like IT, we see cases where outsourcing to professionals without respect for the industry or the subject matter, or without the necessary expertise, leads to failure, right? I believe the same applies to humanities knowledge today. To implement it in society, those who wish to utilize humanities knowledge need to acquire the necessary expertise and skills.

Nakamachi: In IT, it's easy to imagine situations where failure occurs if people without proper skills, mindset, or knowledge execute the work. But the humanities domain feels a bit harder to grasp. While the volume of knowledge is part of it, hearing your explanation makes me think mindset is also involved.

Fukai: Exactly. In IT, you can catch up on what to watch out for when applying it to some extent through books and such. However, in the humanities, it's currently not systematized, making it extremely difficult. That's why our company, COTEN, aims to be a bridge between humanities knowledge and society, which is why we started our current business. It's very challenging, so I expect many hurdles to overcome. But we believe it's necessary for society and highly effective. We want to make the "World History Database" visualizable within a few years.

The first step is to start investing "cost" and "time" into understanding humanities knowledge

Nakamachi: Regarding establishing an intelligence agency for humanities knowledge, how do you envision training methods and talent development for acquiring the knowledge, mindset, and skills to effectively utilize it?

Fukai: First and foremost, I believe we need to gain the understanding of management. Regarding the mindset for implementation, what is absolutely essential is "respect." I think this applies to all fields: people who lack respect for knowledge and skills simply cannot install them.

Next comes the phase of trial and error to determine how to effectively utilize the introduced humanities knowledge. Then follows the phase of articulating it so others can understand. Given the grand scale, many executives might question whether it's truly necessary to go to such lengths. However, I firmly believe integrating humanities knowledge into modern companies is essential. Business leaders are decision-makers, and their influence is significant. In today's rapidly changing world, akin to a raging torrent, deciding which direction your company should take without knowing humanity's accumulated knowledge is quite an adventure.

Nakamachi: You mentioned there are limits to what individuals can achieve with humanities knowledge alone. Within those constraints, are there specific actions individuals or companies can take starting tomorrow, or perspectives you believe would be beneficial?

Fukai: The crucial first step is to start investing "cost" and "time" in humanities knowledge. That action itself demonstrates respect for the humanities. Just as you can't become an excellent engineer without investing money and time in engineering studies, the first step for both organizations and individuals to become capable of utilizing it is to allocate cost and time to it.

How you allocate that cost and time is up to you. You could talk to knowledgeable people or consult with our company. The key is to start. From there, you'll gradually learn to discern quality. Once you understand, you can invest in the good parts. Building that kind of cycle would be ideal.

*Continued in Part 2