Mifuyu Ando × Shusaku Hirota: Work Methods for Pioneers Blazing Trails with Expanding Careers

In this era of rapid change, where predicting the near future is impossible, we must find new roles and ways of working within society ourselves, rather than following precedent or convention. Shusaku Hirota from Dentsu Inc.'s Platform Business Bureau goes to hear from people who are finding and practicing these new ways of working, not just in the advertising industry.

Leveraging his background in engineering, Shusaku Hirota analyzes consumer needs and information diffusion patterns from social data. He then applies these insights to communication activities and creative development. Currently within Dentsu Inc., he is pioneering a new work style called "Communication Planner." For this discussion, Hirota chose as his conversation partner Mifuyu Ando, a practitioner of nomadic work and CEO of Supree Inc.

Leveraging her expertise in publishing and social media, Ando has created work by utilizing connections fostered through Twitter. She will discuss future work styles and career paths.

Theme①: Creating Work Using Social Media

Hirota: In your book "Let's Go on an Adventure," you mention how your Twitter posts led to work opportunities. What does creating and advancing work using social media actually look like?

Ando: In my case, thanks to connections formed while working at my former publishing company, about six months after leaving, I gradually started receiving requests from publishers and adult education schools for book promotion strategies and course planning. My name also began appearing in media. Less than a year after starting my Twitter posts, a Ustream broadcast I appeared on with Toshinao Sasaki gained significant exposure, viewed by around 20,000 to 30,000 people. From there, offers for newspaper, magazine, and TV appearances started coming in. When I became freelance, I thought, "What am I lacking?" I realized my self-presentation wasn't effective—I wasn't communicating who I was, so people didn't know what to ask me for. So I developed a unique strategy centered on four pillars: my publishing expertise, social media knowledge, the fact I'd exchanged business cards with 3,000 people while freelance, and my track record of building connections between people. So, in the social media field, I held Twitter seminars for friends and introduced them on my blog. This led to various connections, including catching the eye of journalist and author Toshinao Sasaki. From there, as I mentioned earlier, my media exposure increased, and as a result, my work expanded. To be honest, the landscape has changed so rapidly over the past two or three years that personally, I wanted to experiment a bit longer with how to connect social media to work. Now, I'm no longer at the stage where I limit work requests solely to Twitter.

──Mr. Ando, who has expanded his work scope by multiplying his capabilities across multiple competitive fields. Even so, doubts and anxieties were always present.

Theme②: How to overcome anxiety about new challenges

Hirota: Taking the courage to step into a new environment must be incredibly difficult and anxiety-inducing. How did you manage to push through when you lacked confidence?

Ando: At first, I couldn't bring myself to tell people I had no work, so I put on a brave face. Eventually, I just gave up and started telling people around me little by little about my worries and how I was struggling without work. When I could show that vulnerability, it wasn't just about projecting strength anymore, and it became so much easier. By being honest and showing my true self in each moment, acting human, I came to feel, "This is okay."

──Ando proposes an evolving career model, "The Lifestyle Shopification of Professions," as a future approach to work and career design.

Theme③: Handling a second or third product line enables a more flexible work style

Ando: Rather than accumulative careers focused solely on deepening specialized knowledge, I believe expansive careers—where you build your career by moving across fields while maintaining a certain level of knowledge in each—can create breakthroughs for individuals and society. It's neither purely vertical nor horizontal. Like the "Appliance Comedians" segment on "Ame Talk!", you can leverage your original field by adding something new to it, expanding it, and securing a new position.

Hirota: People who can translate between these cultures—facilitating exchange between two cultures—are emerging. Their unique personalities, skills, and charms connect directly to their work. This shifts the environment from merely completing assigned tasks to one where people can volunteer for and engage with what they love.

Ando: I call this the "lifestyle shopification of careers." Just as shops trend toward offering multifaceted proposals—books alongside clothes, not just single categories—this applies to individual careers too. It's not a new trend; it resembles the traditional neighborhood shops found in old shopping districts. Whether you're a company employee or freelancer, if you can embrace the idea of using spare capacity from your main job to handle a second or third "product," you'll gain more freedom.

──It feels like work naturally gravitates toward you, Mr. Ando. What's the secret to making clients research and request your services themselves?

Theme④: Never Missing the Mark on What's Needed – Why He Gets Directed Work

Hirota: What's truly impressive about Mr. Ando is that he isn't the type to push sales aggressively; instead, clients research him and come to him directly. Do you think this natural attraction stems from consistently building your track record and communicating your message authentically?

Ando: Putting myself aside, looking at others, take Haachu (Haruka Ito), a former Dentsu Inc. copywriter and charismatic blogger representing her generation. Whether she's conscious of it or not, she's strategically placed elements throughout her presence that make you want to ask her for work. Companies seek her for her blog's reach and influence, so she consistently delivers on that every day without missing the mark. Successful people really do have that quality, and I want to be more conscious of it myself. When I get a request, I think about what exactly is being asked of me. When I first went independent, I often didn't understand and probably missed the mark sometimes. But once I grasp what's needed, I work diligently every day. This is obvious because if I slack off, there are plenty of people better than me. I think I learned how to identify those "must-not-miss" points through my failures.

Hirota: The most rewarding part of work is getting repeat business. When clients specifically request you, it means you've met their expectations.

Ando: Yes. For the client too, they're choosing you specifically from among options, thinking "only this person will do." It's a win-win for both sides.

Hirota: That's right. Being born in 1980 and raised in Mitaka like Mr. Ando, I was greatly influenced and it became an opportunity to reflect on myself. Thank you so much for today.

Read the full interview on AdTie!