Innovation Grand Design: Obayashi Corporation

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Background

Obayashi Corporation has a brand vision of 「MAKE BEYOND to develop manufacturing」. By creating new businesses that are not covered by existing businesses and implementing business reforms, we are promoting activities that will lead to the company's growth in the future 20 to 30 years from now. I am. Among them, the Business Innovation Promotion Office was established in April 2021 and is working to improve the accuracy of business models by promoting the launch of new businesses that have been promoted within the company, developing educational programs, etc. In particular, the Planning and Consulting Group began converting new business know-how, which tends to be individualized and tacit knowledge, into explicit knowledge.

Implementation content

All members take stock of current issues associated with business development and identify gaps between them and the desired state. Based on this, we created a company-wide new business development process guide, setting activities and outputs necessary for business development, and unifying judgment criteria among related parties. In addition, we incorporated the necessary educational programs, personnel measures, collaboration with R&D and corporate departments, etc. to utilize and disseminate the business development process into an action plan and linked them to specific activities.

Effect

The business development process guide we developed received positive feedback from management and we began to disseminate it within the company.
The business development process guide has become a common language within the company, eliminating discrepancies in conversations and understanding not only between those involved in business development but also with external partners, making communication smoother.
In addition, the activities and outputs that should be implemented became clearer, and the evaluation of business development staff became clearer.

Message from the person in charge

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Customer's voice

Obayashi Corporation Business Innovation Promotion Office Planning Consulting Group
From left: Tamaki Horii / Michihiko Koyama / Miyuki Kojima

01Connecting to the future 20 or 30 years from now

First of all, please tell us about the mission of the Business Innovation Promotion Office (hereinafter referred to as the BI Office).

Obayashi Corporation's brand vision is 「MAKE BEYOND」, and we aim to go beyond the boundaries of construction and open up new fields to make people's lives richer and more sustainable. How can we go beyond the boundaries of the traditional construction industry and open up new fields? This is precisely the purpose and significance of the establishment of our office. For a company to grow, the engines of growth are deepening knowledge (deeply digging into existing businesses) and exploring knowledge (opening up areas that we don't know about). Our mission is to explore this knowledge, create new businesses that are not handled by existing businesses, and implement business reforms, which will lead to the growth of the company 20 to 30 years into the future.

What kind of work do you do specifically?

The BI Office was established in April 2021, and it accepts people who want to launch new businesses that have been progressing within the company and start new businesses within the company, and conducts educational programs to improve the accuracy of business models. We are making efforts to increase it. Our office is made up of three groups, of which the Planning and Consulting Group focuses on efforts to turn new business know-how, which tends to become tacit knowledge, into explicit knowledge.

02In a changing social environment

How do you perceive changes in the environment?

In this era of uncertain future, known as VUCA, I feel that we will not be able to pass it on to the next generation unless we encourage changes in the social structures and systems that have been built up until now. We are at a turning point, with lifestyles and social environments undergoing major changes caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and the industrial structure itself is about to be reassembled under the digital keyword. In such a situation, what should our company do to create a new position for the company and redefine its positioning? I feel that the time has come to reconsider.

What are the specific challenges you face when considering a new business?

Up until now, our company has been developing new businesses such as solar power generation, which is a form of green energy. However, they were not able to incorporate the idea of ​​launching a new business into the organization's formal knowledge. In addition, those in charge of new businesses are enthusiastic and strive to make them successful. However, business development takes time, and sales may not increase immediately. In fact, until now, there was no common business development process or business evaluation criteria within the company, so the person in charge had to grope in the dark to proceed with business development. By building a common process, clarifying the position of the business, and being able to say to the company, ``If we do this in this phase, we will be successful,'' the pressure on the person in charge is considerably reduced. I think it will be done.
In that sense, the project evaluation method called BIIM (*1) that BIRD proposed this time was extremely effective. In addition, the business development process and evaluation criteria we formulated through this activity gained understanding from executives, so we would like to spread this throughout the company in the future. I think that's what it means to incorporate it into culture.

*1:BIIM：Bird Initiative’s Innovation Management tools

What made you decide to hire us this time?

What we focused on most in this request was not the glamorous success story in Silicon Valley, but the track record of transforming the headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, and the muddy experience that came with it. In 2019, I had the opportunity to have Mr. Kitase (*2) give a lecture on reform cases at NEC at our company's event, and he explained the problems unique to major companies and the know-how on how to proceed based on his actual experience. was very new to me. We have worked with a number of major consulting firms in the past, and they have provided us with a variety of support, but BIRD was the one who suggested content that could be put into practice in order to transform the company. It was just that.

What kind of activities did you expect?

My hope is that they will create a business development process and structure tailored to Obayashi Corporation. Also, through this process, I wanted to verbalize what I was thinking and instill it in the team members as a common set of values ​​and a common language. Even before the BI office was established, we had been talking with the members about the need for different processes and necessary skill education than in the traditional construction industry, so we wanted to build something like that this time.
During this activity, I was able to receive advice from a variety of perspectives from Mr. Kitase based on his past experience in creating business development processes within major companies, and I believe that he provided value that exceeded my expectations. I am thinking.

*2: Seiko Kitase, CEO of BIRD INITIATIVE Co., Ltd.

03Even with hard activities, results exceed expectations

How do you feel when you look back on this activity?

To be honest, I had to hold 17 workshops over two and a half months, which was really tough given my work schedule. However, there was a good balance between remote and offline work, and I was able to share an intense time with the members that I had never had before. In particular, it took a lot of time to write down all the current issues that we had done in the beginning, but it was very meaningful to understand each member's level of understanding. In addition, work that required idea generation was carried out in face-to-face workshops, and even when discussions seemed to diverge, he organized the points and facilitated them well, so we were able to proceed smoothly.

What were the results of this activity?

We presented the business development process and execution plan created through this activity to the president and outside directors and received positive feedback and expectations for further improvements. (lol)
Additionally, by establishing a process, it has become easier to reach a common understanding when communicating with external partners. It has become much easier to understand what activities are to be carried out in which phase, and discussions have become more coherent in a short period of time. In addition, although existing business divisions tend to sound like they are in a different field when they say "new business," there are many methods and frameworks that can be used in existing businesses, such as service formats and monetization methods. Considering a new business is also a good opportunity to learn about management, and I hope that new business development efforts will have a positive effect on existing businesses.

What are your future goals?

We have set our own mission and KPI through this activity, so next time we would like to create a successful model. I believe that if I can achieve even one small success in progressing the project I am currently working on through the process, it will give me confidence in the future. For that purpose, we need people. On the other hand, I also believe that we need a system to generate new ideas. We would like to create a system to create new concepts while collaborating with the education and R&D departments.

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