"Taking on the baton of Monosus" - Interview with new CEO Taichi Manabe

In 2024, Monosus will celebrate its 20th anniversary and will reach a major milestone with the transition of its CEO from founder Takahiro Hayashi to Taichi Manabe. In this article, we will introduce the new CEO and the direction Monosus is aiming for in the future through an interview with Manabe.

The biggest baton I've received in my 12th year at the company

- First, please tell us about your experiences since joining Monosus.

ManabeWhen I joined the company in 2012, I was something of a "ghost employee" who only had a registered address and did outsourced consulting work. The following year, I was appointed manager of the production department (department that handles all aspects of advertising production) that Hayashi-san was in charge of, and began working with a team of just under 10 people. In the fall of the same year, I went to Kamiyama with Hayashi-san to inspect the area, and thought "I can do something here," so in the spring of 2014, I moved there with my family. There were many reasons why I decided to live in Kamiyama, but the main reasons were that I had always wanted to return to Shikoku someday, and it was the right time for my children to go to college.

- You were originally just a "ghost employee," so how did you end up becoming so involved with Monosus?

Manabe   I remember that Hayashi-san was very persistent in persuading me (laughs). When I was working alone as an outsourced consultant, I didn't really think about the possibility of working in a team. I think that being put in charge of the production department and working together with everyone broadened the scope of my work. With the support of my team, I was able to try new things, and in 2016 I launched a business called Food Hub Project in Kamiyama.

When Food Hub was founded, Hayashi was the representative, but five years later, in 2021, Shirato Kaoru and I became co-representatives. Even then, Hayashi was still patiently listening to us and thinking together with us.

Photo: Katsutaka Ikutsu

Looking back, Mr. Hayashi always prepared the best possible form for me. Because Mr. Hayashi took responsibility as the representative, I was able to push ahead with everything I had. Not only Mr. Hayashi, but also Mr. Nagai and Mr. Sakuyama, who were also on the management team, supported me tremendously, so in his words, "aesthetics over economic rationality," I was able to forge ahead with what I really needed to do without compromise.

- Would you say that the company Monosus supported what Manabe-san wanted to do, and at the same time, Manabe-san's involvement with Monosus deepened?

Manabe   That's right. I think the management team, led by Mr. Hayashi, wanted to support him and created the conditions for that. I don't think he even thought about "handing over the reins of the company someday," but 10 years have passed since he took over the reins from Mr. Hayashi little by little, and it could be said that the change in reins came as an even bigger baton.

Building the organization and culture as CDO

- I think Manabe's involvement with Monosus began about five years ago, when he helped create the company's structure and culture as CDO (Chief Design Officer).

Manabe   That's right. After becoming CDO, I started to be involved in the company's culture from a cross-sectional perspective. Regarding the company's structure, I started by creating a space to rebuild the relationships between management and the workplace, between the president and members, and between members themselves. I think this led to the introduction of the business owner system and the unit system. I am also working on a project to redesign the personnel system, which had been created piecemeal. For the personnel system project, we went to " Kakomu Shigoto Hyakka " held by Nihon Shigoto Hyakka together with potential members, and started with team building at a training camp.

After all, rules, systems, and other mechanisms are necessary for everyone to work together. I think it's very important that by making that mechanism "interactive" rather than the traditional "management-based" one, it becomes easier to work, the organization becomes healthier, and relationships become better. At the same time, I've been thinking about how to feed back the experience I gained from starting up the food hub in Kamiyama and the difficulties I faced into the organization and management of Monosus.

- For example, what kind of feedback did you want to provide?

Manabe   One is the way general meetings are held. At Food Hub, general meetings are autonomously managed by committee members, and there is not a single meeting where the CEO convenes everyone. Monosus' general meetings were similarly redesigned to occur at the initiative of committee members. This is also one way of managing an organization through dialogue rather than management or leadership. Another thing I did as CDO was to foster the company's culture by communicating the status of members through the corporate website, the "Monosasu Site." I think these efforts allowed employees to maintain a sense of belonging to the organization even when remote work began during the COVID-19 pandemic, and I believe some members said that their work efficiency improved.

The other thing is to have a sense of self-identity with the work. I want to create an environment where all members can be proud of the good work they are doing.

To nurture the "living thing" that is a company

- I think there was a flow that led to you receiving the "baton" as representative. But I think it was your will that led you to receive the baton.

Manabe   On a personal note, one of the reasons that led to the change in CEO was the succession of a small factory that my late father had been running for about half a century. At that time, I thought there were various ways to go about it. We could sell just the company's stock, or we could demolish the building and sell the land. When we opened the financial statements, the situation was dire, but I decided to have an employee with about 20 years of experience take over the business.

During this process, I realized that a company is like a living thing, and that it has an ecosystem of other companies that it does business with. At the same time, the question "Who does the company belong to?" arose in my mind. I had been thinking, "What will I do with Food Hub from now on? What will be my relationship with Monosus?" So at a board meeting in early 2023, I asked, "Next year marks the 20th anniversary of Monosus's founding. Looking ahead to 10 years from now, what do you want to do? Depending on the direction, I would like to think about how I can get involved, so would you like to think about it with me?"

- So the executives started thinking about what would happen if Monosus were to one day pass on its business to another.

Manabe   Yes. After much discussion, Mr. Hayashi said, "Maybe I can take over now," so I decided to take over for the time being. Mr. Hayashi is the founder of the company, so I think Monosus is inseparably linked to him. It's not so easy for him to think about it from an equal standpoint with everyone. So I thought it would be good if I took over for the time being and thought together with everyone about "what to do with Monosus."

To pass the "baton" to the next generation

- Based on what you've accomplished so far, what kind of management do you want to aim for as the company's representative?

Manabe   Recently, through my experience, I've come to realize that I'm very interested in creating an environment in which individuals can grow. As everyone else is getting older, I want to make their situation better. A corporation has shareholders, directors, and employees. I don't want to be exploited by anyone, and I don't want to be on the side of exploiting others either. In order to create as fair a situation as possible, I think the only way is to center the question, "Who owns the company?" and resolve it through dialogue.

In broad terms, perhaps what we want to aim for is the management of a democratic organization. In his book "How to Make Democracy" (Chikuma Shobo), Shigeki Uno writes that "democracy is about thinking about the problems in our society and solving them with our own efforts." I think that this "society" should be interpreted as "company."

I don't want to create a situation in the company where there is a division between "those who make the rules" and "those who are forced to follow the rules". In this era of rapid change, the management team is also struggling to change the rules, so if you feel something is wrong, there should be a relationship where you can ask questions or express your opinion. Of course, you can also become the one who makes the rules, or if you want to leave the decision to the company, you can express your intention to "please decide". I want to be an organization where we can participate in dialogue and think together in our own way.

- Manabe-san, what do you think Monosus will be like in 10 years' time?

Manabe   In terms of management, we will incorporate a system where the representative can be replaced. The term of office is four years, and I want the members to review the role of representative every four years. Eight years from now, when the second term ends, I will be 55 years old. I want to create a relationship where the next member who can take on the role of representative emerges as we nurture each other, and I myself would like to spend eight years preparing to hand over to the next generation.

In terms of business, we want to combine the technology and design power of the Monosus organization with the context of manufacturing that we have cultivated over about eight years at Food Hub, and do "Direct to Consumer (DtoC)" where we sell the things we make ourselves. Another thing is that we think we can create businesses together with more companies and external partners. I think that in the future, Monosus can become a company that can design in a broad sense.

- What is design in a broad sense?

Manabe   For example, the Food Hub won the Gold Award at the Good Design Awards in 2018 for its design of a "regional circulation system for agriculture and food culture." The purpose of the business is important, and the rice and bread must be delicious, the packaging must be appropriately designed, and the atmosphere of the store and the people who work there must also be included. In an age when things like design management are being talked about, I think this is the result of designing organizational management, including relationships with various stakeholders such as the town hall.

There aren't many companies that can design not only products and projects, but also the people, places, and situations involved, and take business into account. I believe that Monosus, together with the members here today, can create things in society from that perspective of design.

- Thank you very much.

In a piece he once wrote titled " A Company Called Monosus, " he wrote, "I had a question: What is the purpose of a company? I wanted to find the answer, so I created a company called Monosus." I felt that this question would be carried on by the new CEO, Mr. Manabe, and all the members. As one of the external partners, I would like to see the scenery beyond the new door that the "people who measure" open with us.