The SBI New Year Executive Seminar – Global long-term strategic thinking that Japanese companies should have – was held on January 31, 2023. ZENMONDO representative Mina Arai-Ito participated as a speaker.
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SBI is a consulting company spun off from SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute) in the United States. Established in 1946, the Stanford Research Institute (currently SRI International) is a non-profit organization that supports the operations of companies, governments, and public organizations around the world through not only contract research and development, but also consulting related to technology management. SBI originated from the Business Intelligence Center established within SRI in 1958 for the purpose of future insight research, and contributed to the development of SBI’s scenario planning and the Scan processes. This section, which had been providing services as an internal organization of the NPO for about 40 years, became independent from SRI in 2001, taking over a wide range of information services and consulting functions. In 2009, the company name was changed to the current Strategic Business Insights, Inc.
ZENMONDO CEO Arai-Ito, took the podium in Session 1, talked about the theme of “Turning Risks (Social Issues) into Opportunities in the Middle East and Africa” and talked about reverse innovation in Africa. She also demonstrated the collaboration between Israeli startup and British energy company jointly establishing a factory in the UAE. In addition, ZENMONDO introduced the common challenges faced by those companies that ZENMONDO has supported. For the issue of “how to find business ideas,” which can be the basis of these common challenges, she then mentioned the possibility of collaboration between SBI and ZENMONDO. ZENMONDO is working on a variety of initiatives to help Japanese companies become “world-leading companies with new value.
In particular, the “Entrepreneurship Dojo” provides a place for employees of large companies to independently promote new businesses, while ZENMONDO mentors accompany and support co-creation. We believe that this process will lead to the development of “innovative and global human resources” and “human resources who can think flexibly and convert risks (social issues) into opportunities (business opportunities).
In session 2, Mr. Akira Takauchi, SBI Vice President and Intelligence Evangelist, gave a lecture entitled “Scenario Planning: How to View the Future as the Key to Long-Term Strategy Planning: Global Scenario 2035,” in which he analyzed the unpredictable future using variables. He introduced and explained the significance of creating multiple scenarios by combining each item, and the methodology for envisioning the future based on the theme of “the future of food procurement.
We received requests from the audience for scenarios and scans specific to Africa, and it was impressive to see participants enthusiastically taking notes, which gave us a sense of their very proactive attitude.
The fact remains that the future is uncertain, but you can prepare for it by making the right assumptions. Using SBI’s proven scenario planning method and ZENMONDO’s strategy and commercialization know-how, you find opportunities within risks (social issues) and draw scenarios and strategies. While grasping the key points of risks, you can also move forward with a sense of speed. We hope that everyone who participated was able to feel that by taking a global and long-term perspective, you can create the next pillar for your company, even in an uncertain world.
ZENMONDO will continue to support your business and disseminate information through meetings like this in order to help Japanese companies become “the world’s leading companies with new value.
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