Monosus' engineers are highly hospitable and full of humanity.

When we think of a CTO (Chief Technology Officer), we imagine the head of a group of wolf-like engineers competing with each other for knowledge and skills. This is because a CTO cannot educate or direct a team without the power and personality to be respected by the wolves. The CTOs I met during my several years in the IT industry were like that.

Yoichi Kinoshita, CTO (Chief Technology Officer) of Monosus, is 42 years old, born in 1979, the same generation as the "Golden Age" of the Japanese national soccer team (according to him). You wouldn't guess it from his gentle demeanor and quiet voice, but when we first met I imagined, "After all, this guy has fangs and claws when the time comes!" (sorry).

In the interview, Kinoshita spoke at length about his turbulent past, the characteristics of Monosus' engineers, and the work he would like to do together with them in the future.

Only 500 yen left in the company? The beginning of a turbulent career as an engineer

Sugimoto : What were you doing before you started working with Monosas?

Kinoshita: In my early 20s, I worked in Nagano Prefecture as an engineer for a so-called SIer, creating business systems such as production management and logistics management. When I moved to Tokyo at the age of 26 and changed jobs to a company that supported universities and research institutes, I found myself surrounded by fierce geniuses. My nose, which had been so tall, snapped right at the base! I decided that I would never make it as an engineer, so I decided to become a manager who supported and coordinated those geniuses.

Sugimoto found himself in a position similar to that of a wild animal tamer at a young age.

Kinoshita : Yes, I was covered in scratches every day. But when I was 29, the Lehman Shock happened, and the company drastically downsized, so I quit at that time too. My wife's friend asked me, "What kind of work do you do?" and I answered, "I work in the IT industry, but I'll be unemployed from next week."

Sugimoto: You speak quietly, but your life in your twenties must have been quite eventful.

Kinoshita : Yes, well. I started a company with a former colleague from that company, and finally started working on web-related matters full-time at the age of 30. Things were going pretty well, but the Great East Japan Earthquake happened just before we were about to move to a new office. The warehouse where the equipment we were planning to bring in was in Tohoku, so it was all washed away by the tsunami, and for a while I worked in a huge office, sitting upright with my PC on a cardboard box. After that, all the work disappeared, and the company had only 500 yen left.

Sugimoto : Umm. Is it 500 yen, not 5 million yen?

Kinoshita : 500 yen! From there, the business recovered, and in 2013, I met Yamauchi Makoto and Manabe of Monosus in a project I was involved in as an engineer. One day, Hayashi (the president) came by and told the client in charge of the project, "When you leave something to someone, you have to leave it to them at the risk of your life." With that strong input, I finally got to know the company Monosus.

The CTO is the director's bodyguard and the mentor of the technical team.

Sugimoto : You first got to know the members as individuals, and then Mr. Hayashi's strong presence made you realize "Monosus as a company." What impression did you have of Monosus at the time?

Kinoshita: When I first came to Monosus in Yoyogi , the green of the ivy leaves was beautiful. I thought, "This is a really nice office, so stylish," and "They're so conscious!" Little by little, I started to think, "Monosus is great." When I was talking to Takeda-san, who was at Coding Factory (CF) at the time, at the launch party for Innovation Tohoku in 2017, we became good friends because we lived close to each other, were the same age, and enjoyed drinking.

At first, Takeda asked me to direct the commercials and asked me to come to the office every Friday to provide "technical advice." After many twists and turns, I became CTO three years ago.

Sugimoto :Was there any difference between the Monosus you saw from the outside and the Monosus you saw when you were inside?

Kinoshita Monosas has a refreshing, warm feel to it. I think we share the same human touch. Hayashi-san often says, "I want to work with people I want to live with," and I've come to understand that very well recently.

Sugimoto : What is your role as CTO?

From Director Kinoshita 's point of view, I'm a bodyguard. Today's customers know a lot about technology, so if we can't answer their questions, they'll ask, "Is this company okay?" That's why I'm always there to answer back. Within the technical team, my role is to teach members the technology itself, how to use it, and how to think about it.

Sugimoto : I hear that Monosus holds various study sessions on technology. What kind of study sessions do you hold, Kinoshita-san?

Kinoshita: My study group consists of three sessions, the first of which is a lecture, and the second and third sessions are discussions. I ask people to think for themselves and verbalize their ideas as much as possible. Sometimes I teach the program itself, but for many people I teach how to think about technology and how to think logically.

Study sessions at the beginning

Kinoshita: Right now, I'm trying to get people to think about "What is the purpose of systems and the web in the world?" Personally, I think they exist to show data. Data is turned into sound and pictures, and information is thrown at people through the web, a UI (User Interface). Monosus has many front-end engineers, so if people deepen their knowledge of data and databases, they will gradually come to understand "what is needed for systems and the web."

I want people to think, "Why does this technology exist in this world?"

I think Kinoshita Sugimoto wants people to not just pursue new knowledge and technology, but to think about "why they are learning and using technology."

Kinoshita : That's right. I try to consciously convey information and knowledge about technology in everyday conversations. I hope that in the time we spend together, I can expose them to something that is specialized and logically thought out. When a customer says something that an engineer doesn't know, it makes them feel startled and their thinking stops. But if they remember, "That time, Kinoshita said something," they can start thinking. This difference should be quite large.

I often know more about cutting-edge technology than others, but that doesn't mean I spend 10 times as much time learning it. I'm always thinking about why a certain technology exists in the world, and I use my existing knowledge to understand new technology.

SUGIMOTO: I guess the idea is to try to understand new technology from the perspective of the person who created it.

Kinoshita : I see stories that make you wonder, "Why did they bother to make a language like this when there is already a similar language?" I also have a tendency to try to understand and convey programs in a Japanese way. Engineers tend to string together foreign words like "SQL query," but I ask them back, "How do you say that in Japanese?" In Japanese, SQL stands for "Structured Query Language," and query is the English word for "query," which means "inquiry." I think it's okay to understand programs by breaking them down in a Japanese way.

If you are a new employee or someone who is thinking about joining Monosus after reading this article, I will take as much time as I can to have such discussions. If you do this, you will definitely become smarter.

I'm curious as to why Kinoshita -san is thinking so hard about how to communicate technology.

Kinoshita : When I look at the engineers, I often think it's a simple waste. Why don't they share their amazing ideas, dreams and hopes? Why don't they mix with the people around them? Perhaps this thought is taking over.

I think there is "horizontal growth," which is the growth of increasing the number of usable technologies, for example, by adding apps to a smartphone, and "vertical growth," which is the human growth of seeking results beyond technology and expertise. Both are important, but many people tend to aim for horizontal growth. As a third axis, the ability to mix multiple elements into one is very important in this industry, but I have the impression that there are few people who can do this. I would like to see more engineers pay more attention to this.

Monosus' engineers are "people who always see the potential in something"

Sugimoto:What do you think are the characteristics of Monosus engineers?

Kinoshita : In general, engineers tend to speak in a fairly definitive manner, but Monosus engineers don't say much. For example, when Manabe says, "I want to turn a corner of the company into a bakery," everyone responds, "But there might be some potential there." If you said something like that in an IT company, I wouldn't be surprised if everyone left. I think that always sensing the potential of something is an interesting characteristic for an engineer, so I hope to be able to translate this into technology.

A briefing session for bakeries was held at that time. Many members gathered.

I think one of his characteristics is that he is not very selfish and always works hard for his customers. Also, I feel like he is always looking for a trend. When someone starts something new, there are people who follow him, and then a few people who honestly look up to him appear, and so the trend continues. As for his negative side, he is naive and doesn't try to take the easy way out. Also, he tends to not like to try new things, so I always tell him to always include at least one new element in the project.

Sugimoto: Why is being honest and not trying to take the easy way out a bad thing?

Kinoshita : For example, let's say you have a full schedule and you get an inquiry about a new and interesting job. In that case, rather than simply trying to "move your hands faster," I think it would be better to think about making efforts to free up your hands by implementing a technological automation system.

I think it's okay to risk your life to make things easier, to be more efficient, and to save time. I spend three hours every month on the work I do to make it an hour easier. Then, it pays off in three months. That's the kind of math that efficiency is, and I think it's an investment in your own growth.

I want to work in a position that makes the most of Monosus' high level of hospitality.

Sugimoto : As CTO, what kind of work do you think is suitable for Monosus' technical members?

Kinoshita Monosus is not only amazing for its engineers, but also for its high level of hospitality. I think this is a culture, and the atmosphere creates it. Rather than short-term production and delivery, I think they are better suited to long-term work where they work together. For example, the team that provides technical support to corporate webmasters is a job that is very Monosus-like. I think that understanding the client's business and maintaining a long-term relationship on an equal footing with about five times the technical ability will be something special for Monosus.

Kinoshita-san actively participates in Monosus events.

Kinoshita : Also, because of their high level of hospitality, Monosus' engineers try to think things through sympathetically even when they are presented with a soft question such as "Can we do this?". There are people who are concerned not only about the requested design and functionality, but also about non-functional aspects such as accessibility, even if they are not told. I think this is a very good thing. I think Monosus' members will be able to make the most of their work when they receive work that can be done from discussions such as "What is truly good?"

Also, there are many companies in the world that have engineers who should not be shown in front of customers, but Monosus is completely different. It has a rich humanity, or should I say, a human touch. I think it would be good if they went to customers more and had them evaluate that aspect of themselves.

Sugimoto- Kinoshita, what kind of work would you like to do with Monosus' technical members in the future?

Kinoshita : This is just my personal opinion. In recent years, there has been an increase in apps that display various publicly available research data in a simple way. When these apps are made by highly skilled engineers, they tend to have a cold feel to them, in blue or gray. However, I think that by taking advantage of Monosus's skill in expression, implementation, and high level of hospitality, it is possible to display complex data in a beautiful and simple way. Many of Monosus' engineers are considerate, and I hope that we can create a product that is wrapped in kindness.

Sugimoto: It's great to have a product that is wrapped in kindness!

I think that Kinoshita designs work in a broad sense, taking a bird's-eye view of the characteristics of the people involved and the company culture as if he were designing a system. When I told him that, Kinoshita told me, "I have the title of system designer written on my personal business card." I see! That's what I thought!

I believe that technology can be utilized in various ways depending on how it is used. I have always thought that the people at Monosus are simply thinking about what would benefit the world. I feel that they are very suited to creating things that are useful to people. I am looking forward to seeing what kind of work Monosus will create for the world by combining their technical skills with the humanity of its members.

Artwork by Yutaka Kawai