This time, Inamori* spoke about the above motto in Kyocera philosophy.
What Inamori said is quoted with “”.
“ I am saying that when you are planning, you should be extremely optimistic. . . .In order to be truly successful, when you are planning in detail, you need to replace the players with people who are a bit cynical and pessimistic to analyze the concealed risks. Once you know where the obstacles and problems are, replace the players again with optimistic people and have them execute the plan.
If a problem occurs along the way, pessimistic people may think, “Maybe it won’t work after all,” and be unable to move forward. Even if a problem occurs, the team must continue to execute the plan optimistically, thinking, “I knew that such a problem would occur before.” In other words, be optimistic when planning, be pessimistic when planning, and be optimistic again when executing. “
New business is the key to the survival of small and medium-sized enterprises. When starting a new business, it would be good to have both optimistic and pessimistic people who can analyze pessimistic scenarios. But I think it is difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises to gather such a variety of human resources. So, I think we should learn how to use AI, an essential technology for the future, to get a new business on track. I think leaders should keep the following in mind in new business planning with AI.
1. Make AI come up with completely original and innovative ideas
2. Criticize AI thoroughly
3. Have AI deliver the keys to make breakthrough
Let me explain them one by one.
1. Make AI come up with completely original and innovative ideas
“ However, while everyone was strongly opposed, only one staff said, ‘Well, as the chairman says, I think it’s interesting.’ He was a bit optimistic and didn’t seem to understand my proposal very well, but he said, ‘ I like the idea ‘. Among negative opinions, I was very happy to have at least one supporter, so I said to him, ‘You say something good. It’s okay if everyone else disagrees. Let’s do it together, you and I.’ “
→ Nowadays, this supporter is AI. Even if it’s an unrealistic idea, AI will support it, agree with it, and go even further than your original proposal. If you ask AI normally, it will only bring a combination of keywords and trends. Therefore, it is necessary to patiently throw questions at AI from various angles, asking it to come up with something even more unique and novel.
I think it is important to have at least 100 ideas and choose from them. In fact, when we asked AI to come up with a plan for our new business, about 30 ideas came up within 5 minutes. I think we must make maximum use of tools like AI to make up for labor shortages.
2. Criticize AI thoroughly
” ’Oh, I see, there was this problem too. I didn’t realize that.’ Once you fully understand the difficulty, you can then revise the plan to cover the deficit. “
→ AI learns human thinking and reaction patterns. In interacting with AI, AI learns how you like the AI’s answer, so AI will spontaneously give you your favorite answers or patterns. Therefore, the person asking the question must become a completely negative one and keep asking “mean” questions in various ways.
Inamori also says that top leaders must have both extreme characteristics. Leaders must play the role of a person who gives very cynical and pessimistic opinions, when discussing with AI.
3. Have AI deliver the keys to make breakthrough
“ Taking these (potential issues) into consideration, we make up our minds that ‘the die is cast’ and carry out the plan with a bright and optimistic attitude no matter what difficulties await us. Even optimistic people will be a little frightened when they encounter difficulties. However, once we have decided to do it, we must burn the bridge and move forward with a positive attitude, no matter how difficult it may be. This is essential to achieve something new, and I think it is an absolute requirement for a venture to succeed. “
→ The function of AI at this stage is as a counselor. A team of several people, including a leader, is doing something new. It is difficult to look at ourselves objectively. However, we must objectively analyze our situation, find out where the problems are, and explore what the solutions are. AI can be used at this stage. From cheerleading to counseling and business consulting, AI can take on these roles.
Well, to sum up, the key to the success of a venture is to conceive optimistically, analyze pessimistically, and execute optimistically. Until now, we have been in an era where we can use AI to make up for the need to replace players among human resources. I would like to utilize this technology to work on the survival and development of my company.
* Mr. Kazuo Inamori, the founder of Kyocera, KDDI (one of the top tele communication companies in Japan) and the top of revitalization project of JAL. As a well-known Japanese entrepreneur, he has been sharing his experiences and management know-how with managements of small to middle companies in Japan.
Further queries or doubts, please email to ytomizuka@abrilsjp.com
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