[Circular Economy Project Dialogue Vol. 1] The First Step Toward a Circular Society. ASNOVA’s Vision for a Sustainable Growth Curve
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"My perspective on daily life has changed" - Participants reflect on AMP!2022
The driving force behind ASNOVA's continued provision of new businesses and services that are in line with the times is none other than its employees in various roles across the country. In response, ASNOVA launched the "ASNOVA-Metamorphose-Program-! (hereinafter referred to as AMP!)" in 2021, an in-house training program for all employees. For the second AMP!2022, articles were created and published on note based on field research in Kyoto.
What did the participants feel and what goals did they find through the program? We interviewed Equipment Management Department Chiba Yotsukaido Center 's Takeya Ogawa, Equipment Management Department Shizuoka Fuji Center 's Sachiko Yamakawa, and Loftwork's Kaorin Oishi, who participated in AMP!2022.
Text: Rumi Yoshizawa
INDEX
PROIFILE
- Sachiko Yamakawa
- Joined ASNOVA in 2018. Shizuoka Fuji Center Engaged in reception and office work from the opening to the present.
- Takeya Ogawa
- Joined ASNOVA in 2019. Center Manager, Chiba Yotsukaido Center, Equipment Management Department.
- Karin Oishi
- Creative director at Loftwork. He studied printmaking at Tama Art University and worked as a planning designer at a paper trading company. While working, he became interested not only in the decorative role of design's "shape" but also in its role of organizing scattered information and making it easy to understand and visualize. He joined Loftwork in 2021. He strives every day to use the power of design to improve the circulation of things.
"I want to broaden my horizons" "I want to expand my horizons" - what do you need now to move forward?
What made you decide to participate in AMP!2022?
Yamakawa: I'm an office worker, so I've been typing in slips in the office a lot, and I've had very few opportunities to go out and interact with people from other companies, gain new insights in my work, or change my values. I knew about the AMP! program, but I never thought it would be something an office worker like me could take part in, so when I was asked, "Why don't you try participating?" I immediately decided to participate.
Up until then, I had never thought about finding the seeds of a new business, but I knew that the company was trying to start something new, so I wondered if there was anything I could do to help. As an office worker, I thought I needed to broaden my horizons a bit more in order to find the seeds of new business through conversations with customers, so when I heard about AMP!, I thought, "This is my chance."
What made you decide to get involved?
Ogawa: I'm currently working as a center manager at the Yotsukaido Center in Chiba, but I'd like to take on a higher position in the future. Seeing the activities of the area manager and senior manager around me, as well as the people in other departments who are starting new businesses, made me want to increase my weapons and drawers.
While you are an employee, I think it is more important to do the assigned work accurately, but the higher you go, the more you have to think for yourself and give instructions. I think that changes the way you use your brain. I need to provide a different perspective to the employees around me, so I decided to participate because I wanted to absorb new things as much as possible.
Mr. Ogawa, you joined the company in 2019, so it has been three years and four months since then, but was your previous job also in the same industry?
Ogawa: It's a completely different industry. In my previous job, I worked at a movie theater. The days off were irregular and I was needed when everyone else was on vacation, so I had no time to spend with my family. So I started looking for a new job to reform my work style, and that's how I ended up joining ASNOVA.
I had been in charge of one store for a long time in my previous job, so for the first few years, I was aiming for a position where I could be entrusted with one center or office. At the same time, I had the feeling that I had to think about the future and increase my arsenal from the beginning, so now that I have reached my initial goal of center manager, I feel fortunate to be able to participate in AMP!.
Find the theme yourself. Experience the process of designing from scratch by writing an article.
What was the content of the second edition, AMP!2022?
Oishi: The program lasted a little over a month, with a two-day, one-night retreat in Kyoto as the main focus, and the realizations gained there published as articles on ASNOVA's official note. The purpose was to learn about the process of designing something from scratch, such as a new business or service, and to learn about one's own values and set goals for what one wants to become.
What are the major changes and innovations you made compared to the first season?
Oishi: Last time, we were structured to approach a pre-determined theme, but this time, the program was to find a theme by yourself, so that was a big difference. I think you experienced the difficulty of the flow of finding and creating something by yourself.
In addition, this program was accompanied by three editors with different attributes: Takako Oyama, Zuiki Inada, and Michiko Hagama. The ability to "edit" is essential for creating a business and, of course, for writing articles. While receiving advice on writing articles from the three of them, we also learned from their unique perspectives.
Specifically, what kind of work did you experience?
Ogawa: The camp was centered around group activities, and we formed groups with people we had never met before, walked around the city of Kyoto, a completely foreign place, and talked to strangers for two days. The group activities started from lunch on the first day, but since I was the leader, I had to decide where to eat lunch. I had never been to Kyoto before, so I hit a wall right from the start.
Oishi: The participants were the main characters, and we, the organizers, were in the position of supporting them, so even in the situation where they had to decide on the food, as you just mentioned, ASNOVA was the main character. The secretariat tried not to help more than necessary.
Ogawa: However, the people I went with were very friendly and I didn't have to worry about anything, which was a relief. When we were deciding on lunch, they gave us lots of ideas, saying things like, "We have these restaurants," and even when we didn't know what to do, the group said, "We'll do anything!", so we had a great time over the two days.
Was there anything difficult or challenging?
Ogawa: I would go and listen to the stories at places that were introduced to me at the places where I had meals, or I would stop by a Kyoto-style cafe, but it wasn't like "I'll go here and listen to this story and that's the goal," so it was hard to act without a goal in mind. After listening to three or four stories, I started to see commonalities and finally realized, "Oh, that's what it was all about."
What was it about the place or the person that made you think, this is it?
Ogawa: It really was the very end. I was working on the theme of "What is important when starting a business?", and at the last place we visited on the second day, the people, things, place, atmosphere, keywords that came up in the conversation, all of these things came together.
Before I went out for fieldwork, I thought that people who had the desire to "do something" or who pursued a particular theme were doing interesting things, but when I talked to people here and there, I found that this was not the case, and interesting things were constantly being born as people met unexpected people. Everyone said the same thing: interesting things come out when people connect with each other, and it's more important who you do it with than what you want to do.
The last place I visited was a select shop, and the owner said, "I renovated this shop with some interesting people, and I buy products from people I find interesting," so it really felt like a culmination of all my work. Rather than "I really want to do this," he had a light-hearted attitude, more like "I just think this is interesting at the moment," which shocked me as it was a value system I didn't have.
On the other hand, what kind of group was Ms. Yamakawa in and what actions did he take?
Yamakawa: There were two members of ASNOVA in my group, and I was with Mr. Kasahara from sales department in Nagoya. Since we are in different departments and areas, we had no contact with Mr. Kasahara until now, but I was very stimulated in a good way.
In addition, the editor who accompanied me, Haga-san, was extremely knowledgeable and guided me everywhere we went. For example, she explained to me that the dog-shaped fences on the eaves of teahouses in Kyoto are installed to prevent people from taking shelter from the rain, and even the little things in the town had meanings, so just walking around Kyoto with Haga-san was really interesting.
I also interviewed Takayuki Ikura, who runs a walking tour called "Maimai Kyoto." I used to work at a travel agency, where I was in charge of running themed tours such as historical tours and photography tours, and this interview felt like I was learning from Takayuki Ikura about the things I had regretted at the time.
What did you learn?
Yamakawa: Ikura's tours are very popular and most of them are on a waiting list. However, the tours I used to plan were rarely filled to capacity, and I always wondered what was missing. When I talked to him about it, he said that when planning a tour, he "first looks for people." The reason he looks for people was because "the people who guide the tour are what make it so appealing."
For example, on Mr. Ikura's tours, local housewives will guide you to delicious restaurants in the shopping district, and bread enthusiasts will guide you to popular bakeries in Kyoto, but all of these tours are extremely popular and always fully booked. When we think of travel, we tend to think of hotels, tourist spots, or local cuisine, and I thought the same way, but when I heard "It's the people that are really interesting," it was an eye-opener.
During fieldwork, when I walked around town listening to Hagane's lectures, one of Hagane's explanations changed the way I saw the town, broadened my horizons, and added knowledge. I realized that the best way to enjoy walking around a town is through the people.
What you learn at AMP! will change your daily behavior and lead to the person you want to be.
Do you feel that you have changed in any way since you participated?
Ogawa: My perspective may have changed. I now pay attention to my surroundings even during my commute, which I used to spend in a daze. When I look at a signboard, I used to just think, "Oh, there's a store like this," but now I think, "Why is it in this position?", "Why is it this size?", "Why is it this color?"
I've also started reading more books. I go to the library every week now. This is partly so that my children can read, but I've also started going there myself, hoping to find something interesting.
At AMP!, I was very inspired by working with members I had no prior contact with, so I'm now trying out books at the library that I've never been interested in before. I feel like I'm taking action every day with the intention of coming into contact with more things that I don't have.
How about you, Mr. Yamakawa? Has anything changed since you joined AMP!?
Yamakawa: I started talking to people. At a meeting of the neighborhood association, it became the treasurer this year. Until now, I had been trying to do it as calmly as possible, but the other day, on the day I was organizing the warehouse, I took the plunge and said, "I'm also an officer of the neighborhood association, so I'll help out," and participated in organizing and cleaning the equipment. At that time, I was surprised to find scaffolding parts in the warehouse. Scaffolding is also used for somen noodles, yagura at summer festivals, frankfurters and yakisoba stalls. I realized once again that if you take a step forward, you will broaden your horizons and become aware of new things.
Mr. Ikura also said, "If you do something that you find interesting, rather than thinking about profit and loss, it will eventually lead to becoming a business." I decided to throw away the idea of how to make a profit and instead focus on something that I thought was interesting.
Now that you've finished AMP!, what are your goals?
Ogawa: Speaking of my long-term goals, I want to start a new department. I don't know if I'll be a member of it or just sow the seeds, but when I sense something new, I want to be able to share it rather than just receive it.
To achieve this, I think it is important to change your perspective and be interested in everything, as I learned at this AMP!. In order to take new action, you need to gain experience and gain experience. I want to talk to many people and think together with them.
What about you, Ms. Yamakawa?
Yamakawa: Even in my daily work, I would like to actively talk with customers. Until now, it has only been about what to borrow and when it will be returned when the barashi starts, but I would like to broaden my perspective a little more and have conversations about what kind of materials will be needed in the future and whether we are able to provide parts that match the trends of the times. I would like to play a role like a conduit to share the information I have gained from this experience with the people of sales department.
When you talk to people in your company, you only see things from their perspective, but when you talk to customers, you can see the individual problems they face. The importance of talking is something I learned at AMP!
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