Marketer Takeshi Morioka Strengths are polished and created

Marketer Takeshi Morioka.
He is a marketer who has been described as "the strongest in our time". He has achieved success in a number of companies using "marketing" as a weapon to analyze consumer needs, formulate strategies, and generate profits. The theme parks in Osaka, which had a wide range of industries and were in financial difficulty, succeeded in planning one after another, such as attractions that made use of game and anime characters. The udon chain brought to the fore the feature of making udon noodles at its stores, and sales recovered in a V-shape. Amusement parks in Saitama Prefecture have taken advantage of its antiquity and made it shine again as a retro amusement park with nostalgia and warmth.
However, Mr. Morioka says, "At first, I was not good at reading the psychology of consumers." Mr. Morioka, who continues to take on challenges at the forefront of business, how did he cover such weaknesses and hone his strengths? What message do you want to convey to young people today?
(Interviewer: Kozo Takase, Interview: Satoshi Sakamoto)

"Interview from here ~Marketer Takeshi Morioka~"

* Missed delivery until 11:10 a.m. on Friday, November 7

"Cream puffs" also have a unique perspective

The two gathered at a pastry shop in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture.
Mr. Morioka headed straight for ...

The cream puffs from this store are my favorite.

It's
very orthodox and insanely delicious without doing anything strange. I think it's a cream puff on the royal road.

However, it seems that it is not only the "taste" of cream puffs that impresses the "strongest" marketers.

From a
business point of view, the cost is high. Dairy products are extremely expensive to purchase. Raw materials are high. Another thing is that labor costs are high. Because you have to use craftsmen with skills. Also, in stock. Raw sweets can't be preserved, right? If you make a mistake in forecasting demand, you will have to throw away a tremendous amount of inventory. It's a very difficult business to make a profit.
After all, I'm a marketer. Everything is seen from both the consumer perspective and the business perspective.

Is it
always like that? Mr.
Morioka, when you eat or do anything, you are always thinking about various things such as business and business model...?
Mr. Morioka:
That's right. When I walk into a coffee shop, I ask myself, "What is the profit margin of this coffee shop?" I calculated the number of customers and the turnover rate during the 30 minutes I was there, and they said, "This place looks tough," or "Is it okay?" "I need to devise a little more way to make the menu." I drink coffee while thinking about a lot of things.
(Takase) It's a troublesome customer (laughs) (Mr. Morioka)

(laughs)
I
don't say anything. I'm drinking in silence, but I'm thinking about a lot of things in my head.

Classroom of Memories Kobe University

Mr. Morioka's alma mater, Kobe University. About 30 years ago, I visited a large classroom in the Faculty of Business Administration, where I had taken classes.

Mr. Morioka:
It hasn't changed. It's a wonderful building with a very nice atmosphere. I've loved this room since then.
Some of my best friends often sit on this side. It had disappeared from existence. The reason is that most teachers are right-handed. Right-handed people hold the chalk in their right hand and turn to the right. So, this is the blind spot.
(Takase) Did you even think about such a thing (laughs) (Mr. Morioka) I strategically turn off the signs (laughs)


because
I can only see them when I face the front. It is said that you should only look forward when you feel the presence of the front. It's a strategic seat like that.

He has been a strategist since he was a boy!

Mr. Morioka grew up in Itami City, Hyogo Prefecture. It seems that he has had characteristics that lead to his "strengths" as a marketer since he was a boy.

Takase:
Have you been basically Mr. Morioka since you were a child?
Mr. Morioka:
The thing that hasn't changed much since I was a child is that I liked to think in my own head and do things for the world in the way I wanted. When I was a child, now, and probably in the future.
On the other hand, what I'm not good at is getting along with a wide range of people and getting along with a lot of people. I was a lone wolf and didn't fit in well in my class, and it was the same in elementary school.
According
to preliminary interviews, he was called the "Black Giant." It's quite a nickname (laughs) (Mr. Morioka) It looks really bad (laughs)
It's

not like I'm going to do anything about it by making my husband a sneer. Basically, I'm alone, but if something happens, I'll do everything quite forcefully. I felt like I was taking a step back while being respected by the people around me. Now I can speak normally, but when I was a child, I felt a little lonely.
However, even for me, there comes a moment when I can help everyone insanely. It's when you have to win a sports day or some kind of conflict. I think about a lot of things to win, and I come up with a lot of different things.
(Takase) Like
a military master?

For example, in a tug-of-war practice, we lost three times in a row. Everyone was quite frustrated. Then, my friend came to me and asked, "Mori-chan, is there any way to win?" I've been thinking about it for a long time, and I can't help but think about it.
What did we do at the time of the actual performance? In tug-of-war, I think we can all work together to win, so we put a lot of effort into it. What I did was run towards the other person with only a whistle. I ran to my opponent and whistled and said, "I'm going to lose, I'm going to lose, Especially at the front, I kept saying, "I'm going to lose, I'm going to lose, I'm going to lose, I'm going to lose." That's actually how you can win, tug-of-war.
I can
win (laughs).

After this,
the teacher got angry with me. But everyone is happy when they say, "I won, I won." I'm kind of happy. Everybody is happy.
Takase:
Was there a desire to make everyone happy?
(Mr. Morioka) I
feel lonely on a daily basis. I've come to love making everyone win. It's much better to win with everyone and make everyone happy than to win a game against someone else, than to win alone.

But I'm not very good at Japanese

Mr. Morioka was good at finding "winning ways" with sharp ideas.
On the other hand, there were some things that I was not good at.

My
Japanese score was so bad that I thought, "I can't be a university student."

Mr. Morioka, who is now skillfully manipulating words, was not good at the Japanese language...?
I'm not good at
Japanese.
I remember when I was in elementary school or junior high school. I was not good at reading novels. "Choose the one that most closely matches the feelings of the protagonist at this time from the following five." Feeling lonely somehow, feeling sad somehow, feeling suspicious somehow... There's a lot written about it, isn't it? I didn't see any point in choosing it. It's infuriating to make it a problem that there is a correct answer to the feelings of the protagonist of a fictional story created by someone else. At the time, I really didn't like the idea of having an answer to something that wasn't divisible and being able to give it a point. I scored low on the Japanese language.
When I thought, "I'm only good at math, how can I become a university student?", there was a small number of slots for students to be hired in mathematics at Kobe University. I thought, "Let's go with this." That's why I took the exam.

Takase:
In that sense, I had to make the most of my strengths at that point.
Mr. Morioka:
That's right. In order to survive, the context in which the better part of yourself fits. If you're good at math, that's where it sounds to your advantage. If it's math, you can get a perfect score.

The death of a friend who changed the way you think about life

When Morioka was in his third year of university, there was an event that changed the way he thought about life. On January 3, 1995, the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake struck.

Takase:
Mr. Morioka, you experienced the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake while you were a student at Kobe University. I'm sure it's a pretty big experience in your life, but what comes to mind first?
When I was asked
that, there was one thing that came to mind at first. It is the bone of a friend who was very close. It was when I went to a funeral home in the north of Osaka. All the crematoriums in this area were already full, and we had to carry them to Osaka to be burned. Carry her there with a friend. I studied with her in this room, and she was smart, cheerful, and a person who would make me want to be around her. Such a person died unexpectedly. Her bones came out, and when we all picked them up, they were very light. I was shocked. He was a really great person.
"The probability of the Grim Reaper is not good or bad, good or bad." From that time on, I became very conscious of the fact that I could die at any time.

Takase:
What kind of place and city is Kobe for you?
For me, it's a city that gave
me a sense of resolve. I decided to use my strengths to jump into a foreign manufacturer and become a professional. The earthquake was the biggest trigger for this, but I was prepared to embark on my own journey in this area centered on Kobe University.

Make the most of your strengths even in things you're not good at

After graduating from university, Morioka got a job at a foreign-affiliated manufacturer headquartered in Kobe and jumped into the world of marketing.
However, a big pinch awaited us.

（森岡さん）
社会人にデビューして、「数学が得意だから僕はきっと結構マーケターとしてはいけるんじゃないか」という優良誤認で会社に入ったんですよね。世界最強のマーケティングカンパニーと当時いわれていた外資系メーカーに入って。すると同期も先輩たちもめちゃめちゃ優秀なんですよ。僕ができないことが簡単にできる。
それは、消費者どうしの会話を聞いたら、「消費者にとって何が重要か」を洞察して理解するということです。マーケターには結構重要な能力なんですよ。それが僕は普通の人よりもできなかった。ものすごくできなかったです。
（高瀬）
洞察とか、心理とかを読み解くってことですか？
（森岡さん）
いわゆる小説読解と一緒で（笑）
ファジーなものを読み解くのが苦手なんですよね。

The method that Mr. Morioka came up with was to "think about what consumers want from the perspective of a consumer." When I was in charge of hair coloring for young people, I dyed my hair a different color every day. He cleared the work that he was not good at in a well-thought-out way. We also achieved results within the company.
Mr. Morioka says that even if you are not good at something, you can make use of your "strengths."

(Mr. Morioka)
If you aim for what you like and want to do, and make use of your characteristics and strengths to get there, you have a higher chance of achieving results. Even if it's an area you're not good at, you can learn it because you can continue to work hard while using your own characteristics.
Takase:
In educational settings and workplaces, I think that the mainstream kind of education is to point out weaknesses and "improve what you can't do" or "do something about it."
Mr. Morioka:
A so-called utility player who can do everything reasonably well, is also very important for society. But I think it's okay to have a lot of people who have special moves that stand out somewhere, even if they can't do anything else, and say, "This is the person." If you vertically stretch what you can do within yourself, it should be the result. When the center of gravity of effort gathers there, I think it will become something interesting and more colorful.

So how have Mr. Morioka's strengths been honed?

Takase:
I've been like that since I was a child. Why do you think you were different from others?
I think he liked to think in
his head. I think it was just because I liked it that I was able to accumulate more of that behavior than other people. In my case, I liked to think about something and make everyone win. I've always liked to think.
Takase:
So, it wasn't that different or different from each other originally, but it grew into a strength based on the number of experiences that you liked and repeated.
Mr. Morioka:
I believe that "strengths are nurturing."

I want to revitalize Japan from the local area

Mr. Morioka's focus on "how to develop our strengths" is focused not only on people and companies, but also on local communities.
We interviewed Mr. Morioka about his current challenges at Kobe University's Centennial Hall.

The
scenery is wonderful.
Mr. Morioka:
That's wonderful. It beautifully captures the wonderful scenery of Kobe. Kobe is very close to the mountains and the sea. It's a city packed with a variety of things, including amazing foreign cultures.

Takase:
Do you think Kobe and, by extension, Hyogo, have potential or potential?
Mr. Morioka:
Whether it's people, business, or public policy, it's about making the most of what has been cultivated and the charm of this area. At first it may not seem as an attraction, especially to locals. However, I think that if you switch the characteristics of a place to the perspective of "attractiveness to consumers," it will become an appealing point and you will be able to convey the charm of the area.

Each place has its own charms and strengths. Mr. Morioka is working to revitalize Japan as a whole from the regions by taking advantage of his strengths, and is promoting a project to build a theme park in Okinawa.

Takase:
You have an unparalleled commitment and passion for the concept of a theme park in Okinawa.
(Mr. Morioka)
It is said that Japan will grow through tourism, but the one that has the greatest potential for growth is Okinawa, although I have done various calculations. Okinawa is an island chosen by the goddess. First of all, the natural heritage sites, the sea, the mountains, and the forests are wonderful. It has a unique music and a unique food culture. It's so attractive that it's only natural that people will come to it. I think it's achievable to invite people over there.
But that's not enough. We need a structure that shows how to connect to the richness of the next generation. To put it simply, I think it's not just about earning money, it's about "creating people." We will work together with local people to create a structure for tourism human resource development through theme parks. I think that's when the power of marketing comes into play.

To the next generation of young people

Four years ago, Morioka compiled a message for her eldest daughter, who was about to start looking for a job, in a book. What I tried to convey was the harsh reality of society and the "hope" that I did not want to lose.
"This world is cruel, but you can still make your own choices." (From the film)

Mr. Morioka:
I've only lived for half a century, and I'm only 50 years old. Even at 50, I've felt it before.
In school, we are taught that human beings are equal. I really believe that "rights should be equal" or, more to the point, "opportunities should be equal." That's an infallible premise. However, people are not born equal. What you were born with, the economic power of the house you were born in, and the country you were born in are also different. Human beings are born with inequality.
Therefore, I wondered if it was possible to take a positive view of the fact that each person is born under different conditions. "Each person is actually different." If you think that you must have unique characteristics in the world, there must be something that only you can do or that only you can think of. Or, "Maybe there are things that I can do to make a positive output in the world because of me."
That's what I wanted to convey to my children. Life is more fun when you think you can choose, and don't forget the feel of the dice of life in your hands, which you tend to forget. I want you to have the courage to shake when you should swing.
By
the way, what kind of reaction did your daughter have when she received or read this book?
Mr. Morioka:
Actually. I give it to my daughter as a manuscript before it becomes a book. "Thank you for thinking about it." I was like, 'Don't worry, I'm going to roll my dice.' He wrote only two lines and put them on his desk. I was quite satisfied with that. I'm grateful for that.

Takase:
What would you like to say to young people who are about to enter the workforce, or who are thinking about what to do in the future?

I want you to believe that you have been deceived and truly believe that you have some kind of characteristic that can be useful to someone. There is nothing to be gained by not believing in it. For example, I thought, "I'm a little good at English, but there are a lot of people who are better at English than me." I think most people lose a lot of confidence in themselves compared to other people and don't have anything to say, "I can live with this" or "I can do this."
That's actually natural. There is no way we have a strength right now. Strengths are because we will create them in the future. What we have now is a feature that we don't know if it will shine if we polish it. It's not that I don't have strengths right now, but I think the truth is that I have characteristics that are my strengths, but I don't realize them. But if you don't think, "I'm sure it's there," you won't have the strength to make an effort, so you think you've really been deceived and try to believe it once. For the time being, I will go out into an environment where I think that I can live in those characteristics, and in the process, I will work hard to hone the characteristics that I believe in, and create my own strengths. Strengths are being built. It's coming.
"It's a journey to find and hone your own characteristics." I think that's my career. Many people say pessimistic things about society, but I believe that there is a future where you can live happily depending on yourself.

"Interview from here ~Marketer Takeshi Morioka~"

You can watch the interview at this URL.
* Missed delivery until 11:10 a.m. on Friday, November 7