Panasonic Spin-Off Camera Manufacturer’s Growth Strategy
i-PRO’s Professionalism
In order to reform the organization, it is not enough to only reform the “hard” aspects of organization design and the human resources institutions and systems. Our mission is to “Do our best for those professionals who create a safer and more peaceful world.” In order to understand the thoughts and feelings of such professional customers, it is necessary for every member of the i-PRO team to be a professional.
The root of the word “professional” is said to be the Hippocratic Oath, under which doctors in Ancient Greece were required to “profess” (swear) to the gods. The oath included aspects of the ethics and attitudes expected of a person who engages in medicine, such as sharing knowledge without reservation, not discriminating by gender or status, and ensuring not to leak patient information. But the most important that we should note is prioritize the benefit of the patient. In the same way, the only thing that a professional should prioritize is benefit to the customer.
What is the nature of a professional’s work? At i-PRO, we believe the work of a professional is comprised of four elements: to pursue specialized skills, to exercise leadership, to provide support and assistance, and to hand down specialized skills to the next generation. It is acceptable for a professional to specialize in and pursue just one of these elements, or to strengthen multiple elements. We recommend that employees decide by themselves what kind of professional they aim to be and devote themselves to that.
Even if their roles are different, one common aspect that is required of these four elements is to consider your own intention and act upon it, and to have the humility to accept the evaluation of others (360 degree evaluation). While we ensure the discretion and freedom of the individual in this, we must caution against egoism and expect moderation and discipline, always remembering consideration and support for others. While some believe in the market value of human resources, i-PRO aims to be a collective of high market value professionals.
We strive to redesign our human resources system based on the idea of fairness in order to nimbly activate our professional collective. This of course includes gender-based discrimination, but also age, nationality, race and other such differences. Recently, people are calling for the need for diversity management, but this is a given in a professional organization. Under our mission, whether it be myself, the CEO, or a young new hire, all of us are equal. There should be no peer pressure or hierarchical deference. It is essential that we establish a fair human resources system to guarantee an organization without such deference.
To this end, we must challenge Japanese commonsense and customary practice. For example, we took the scalpel to the mandatory retirement age system. In the time of Panasonic, there was a system where, upon reaching a certain age, employees were stripped of their managerial position and their remuneration was cut considerably. This system is typical in Japan, but such an arrangement contravenes a major rule of a professional organization that employees should be granted opportunities according to their abilities and motivation and compensated according to their contribution. We revised this system of managerial position age-related retirement, to a system that determines rank according to ability and motivation, regardless of age, and bases remuneration on evaluation of contribution. As it is, Japan is the only advanced country with a mandatory retirement system.
We also changed our policy towards non-regular employment. In principle, we believe that discriminating against non-regular employees contravenes professionalism if someone has the same ability, motivation and makes the same contribution as a full-time employee. This is a reflection of the values characteristic of a professional organization of meritocracy.
We are also implementing a program known as i-PRO - Building the Future (BtF) that promotes reform not only in the area of systems but also in awareness. We provide opportunities for discussion by all employees, regardless of affiliation or position. For example, we convene monthly forums for free and original discussion, including “I love i-PRO Products!,” where we discuss i-PRO products, and another where we discuss and learn about career and personal growth. I also lead a forum called “Strategy Sticky Note Room,” a monthly symposium where I explain our strategic intentions to employees. The idea for this Strategy Sticky Note Room was my memories of writing business strategy ideas on sticky notes and sticking them all over the conference room wall when I was younger.
Each of these BtF forums, which emphasize speaking out, regardless of content or eloquence of expression, are much appreciated by participants. There is no doubt that such ongoing positive experiences outside of the workplace lead to people taking proactive action naturally, and nurture a sense of oneness within the organization.
In addition to providing these opportunities, we introduced Objectives and Key Results (OKR) as a professional management system whereby each person can exercise discernment and make an independent contribution towards achieving the aims of the whole of i-PRO and the division with which they are affiliated. OKR was developed at Intel and has produced great results at start-up companies including Google, recently gaining much attention. Under OKR, we set objectives for realizing our vision, and key results that indicate specific standards and initiatives for achieving these objectives. Even at i-PRO, everyone from the CEO down sets up, publishes and shares organizational and individual objectives and key results. (See Table 7 OKR vs. MBO.)
OKR resembles but differs from conventional management by objectives (MBO) in that we do not use it in performance evaluations and personnel assessments. Its concept is that using rate of achievement of objectives in evaluations actually has the opposite effect of the original aim of MBO, which is to coordinate objectives of the organization.
At i-PRO, OKR is a tool for individuals to use to motivate themselves. We do not intend it as a means for the company to control the individual. For this reason, the company does not enforce implementation of OKR, entrusting it to the judgment of each division and individual. Naturally then, the company does not caution or discipline divisions or individuals who feel they do not need OKR. It is up to the individual themselves if they choose to set OKR and implement the system to tackle challenging goals, or if they use their own system. In other words, as professionals, they are expected to think and act by themselves, including whether or not they set OKR. Actions and results are reflected in evaluation by colleagues both directly and indirectly. Everything is evaluated by the market.
Next, I will introduce my own objectives, that is, the i-PRO Corporate Objectives.
i-PRO Corporate Objective 1：
80% of i-PRO’s sales to be comprised of products that were not yet released two years ago.
i-PRO Corporate Objective 2：
80% of i-PRO’s sales to be comprised of products that can be shipped within three days of receipt of order.
i-PRO Corporate Objective 3：
Products developed under the i-PRO Quality Management System have fewer quality defects than products developed under the Panasonic Quality Management System.
I have deliberately avoided sales or profit objectives, which are usually included in MBO. In the event that we realize the above objectives, I am sure that i-PRO will have outstanding achievements. These three objectives are not for financial numerical values. Instead, they indicate the issues that each division and individual should tackle and promote capability enhancement. For example, objectives are not “to win at the athletic meet” or “to come first in the contest.” Instead, they implore people to develop and train themselves continuously day-to-day. Through accumulation of such diligent efforts, one is sure to achieve favorable results at an athletic meet or contest. Perhaps finishing first is not just a dream.
We aim for just such an organization, where professionals can demonstrate the abilities they possess. In the end, the mission of CEO is to nurture talent. I believe that if I can constantly stimulate the organization and its members, to help members see their abilities bloom, and to support that growth, we can become a standout company that rivals cannot catch.