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When deciding on the policies for new business ventures and development themes, what do you keep in mind? I believe selections are made based on analysis results from perspectives such as market needs and effective utilization of existing technologies. When determining the company's policies, it is important to have a more multifaceted judgment, not limited to established routes. One factor that hinders multifaceted judgment is cognitive bias. Cognitive bias is the phenomenon of making irrational judgments that are skewed due to preconceived notions based on intuition or past experiences. Now, let me introduce an example of cognitive bias that occurred in an actual development setting. *For more details about the blog, you can view it through the related links. Please feel free to contact us for more information.*

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"I want to come up with ideas for new businesses and development themes. However, I find myself stuck with ideas that are merely extensions of existing products and lack appeal, which is troubling. Is there a good method for this?" I often receive such inquiries. To extract ideas that are highly innovative for your company, there is one key point: "Question common sense." Specifically, it involves generating ideas that overturn the obvious from three perspectives: products, industry, and your own company. *For more details on the blog, you can view it through the related links. Please feel free to contact us for more information.*

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PPM analysis stands for Product Portfolio Management and is a tool for companies to consider how to allocate management resources among multiple businesses. It classifies businesses into four types: "Dogs," "Cash Cows," "Stars," and "Question Marks," based on both market share and market growth rate. PPM analysis not only helps determine business strategy but can also serve as a basis for deciding technology development policies. Here, I will explain the four types. *For more detailed content, please refer to the related links. Feel free to contact us for more information.*

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Currently, there is an increasing number of inquiries about how to advance the development of human resources for new product development in organizations that require telework, office work, and hybrid work, which are becoming more prevalent. We will explain the characteristics of research and development personnel who drive innovation, along with specific training measures. Here, "driving innovation" is interpreted as "launching new products from scratch," and we will outline three important guiding principles. *For more details, please refer to the related links. Feel free to contact us for further information.*

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When generating ideas for a new business and creating a plan, there are certain items that should be decided in advance. This time, I will explain two important items among them: constraints and assumptions. To lead new business development to success, it is necessary to set a vision and key objectives for the project. This is because the different positions of each member participating in the project lead to varying criteria for judgment and values, which can result in a lack of clarity in the direction of development. To resolve this, it is essential to establish a vision and objectives, but before that, clarifying the assumptions and constraints allows for the setting of specific and convincing goals. *For more details on the blog, please refer to the related links. Feel free to contact us for more information.*

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When you study strategy, you will encounter the keyword "core competence" early on. This time, I will explain core competence. Core competence refers to the ability that overwhelms competitors. It is said to have first appeared in 1990 in "The Core Competence of the Corporation." The ability to overwhelm competitors refers, for example, to possessing technology that is overwhelmingly superior compared to others. Core competence is not limited to technology, but widely known examples include Honda's engine technology and Sony's miniaturization technology. *For more details about the blog, you can view it through the related links. Please feel free to contact us for more information.*

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While supporting the development of new businesses and human resource development, I sometimes receive inquiries about the members to be assigned to projects. This time, I will explain the ideal candidate for the new business development project. In conversations with the management level of the research and development department, I received inquiries about how to select members to assign to new business projects, particularly in nurturing future leaders. The background to this is the necessity to manage multiple projects simultaneously and the increasing demand for results and efficiency, which has led to a strong desire to focus on developing promising leader candidates. What characteristics should developers who will lead new businesses in the future possess? Based on my experience, I will outline them. As a premise, it is essential to have knowledge of the company's technology and deep insights into one's own specialized skills, but there are three other characteristics as well. *For more details on the blog content, please refer to the related links. For further inquiries, feel free to contact us.*

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The other day, I received a consultation from a person in charge of a new business project who said, "We completed a business proposal over six months and challenged the project review, but the result was disappointing. I don't know what the cause was." Upon hearing their story, it seemed they had invested resources and worked diligently by thoroughly reading market research reports, collecting market needs information, and conducting marketing analysis. In general, during the idea generation stage for new businesses, a series of activities such as market research, environmental analysis, strength and weakness analysis, revenue forecasting, and financial analysis are conducted and compiled into a business plan. On the ground side, business ideas that utilize technologies under research and development or in the process of development often face strong uncertainties in future predictions and struggle with quantitative data collection. On the other hand, the management side seeks business ideas with high certainty in terms of market share and profitability when making decisions about development investments. Even when the business ideas aim to create pillars for future businesses, conflicts between the opinions of both sides often arise. *For more details about the blog, you can view it through the related links. Please feel free to contact us for more information.*

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Recently, we held a seminar titled "Leadership Methods for Leading New Projects in the Research and Development Department." As the title suggests, this program is aimed at leaders of organizations and teams engaged in research and development with the goal of launching new businesses or products. As you know, there are already numerous books and online resources available on leadership. In this context, many participants are facing challenges related to building good relationships with internal and external stakeholders while feeling uncertain about how to exercise leadership to achieve their goals. When advancing highly innovative business ideas or research and development themes for their companies, the primary hurdle is gaining the approval of internal stakeholders, which means navigating the process of obtaining project approval. *For more details about the blog, you can view it through the related links. Please feel free to contact us for more information.*

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In the semiconductor industry, which is the starting point of my career, it has been said in the past that the economy changes every three years. I remember that many of my seniors repeatedly changed jobs to align with this cycle. As time went on, the theory of the three-year cycle began to fade, and those engaged in semiconductor development and manufacturing sometimes faced ridicule for being "outdated" with comments like "Are you still doing semiconductors?" Additionally, the decline in mass-produced goods progressed, and the situation continued where we could not compete with overseas companies on cost, leading to a difficult period for Japan's semiconductor industry. After experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic, as you are aware, large-scale investments in the semiconductor industry by the government and private companies have been announced, and the industry is once again thriving. The above is my personal perspective on the nearly 20-year transition in the semiconductor industry in which I have been involved. While there may be differing opinions on this perspective, what I want to convey this time is not an opinion about the semiconductor industry. *You can view the detailed content of the blog through the related links. For more information, please feel free to contact us.*

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When responsible for planning a business or product, it is almost always required to capture the latent needs of the target audience. The background to this is that the urgent and significant issues surrounding the target, such as life and death or business continuity, are gradually diminishing. Therefore, when conducting interviews with the target, one often hears requests that are quite reasonable and can be considered obvious, such as "I want it to be cheaper" or "It should be safe and low-risk." While planners are expected to design products that are low-cost, highly reliable, and safe, there remains a question of whether these can truly be considered the real needs that drive market growth. The reason is that the target audience is not being intentionally uncooperative in expressing their true needs; rather, it is often the case that they are simply unaware of them. This unrecognized true need is what we refer to as latent needs. *For more detailed content, please refer to the related links. Feel free to contact us for more information.*

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In the changing business environment of recent years, the shortage of workers and the increase in resignations due to job changes have become pressing issues. While this has been a topic of discussion among small businesses for some time, it has increasingly been heard in large corporations as well. Among the top reasons for job changes, salary and interpersonal relationships still rank high, but reasons related to promotion and career advancement seem to be rising, particularly among younger employees. Delving into the reasons related to promotion and career advancement, it can be inferred that employees feel there is no prospect for growth if they continue in their current positions. This time, I will focus on the reason for resigning for the sake of career advancement (growth) and share the solutions I propose. *For more details about the blog, please refer to the related links. Feel free to contact us for more information.*

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There are cases where, despite high-quality business ideas proposed by the development department that have a promising market size, development does not progress and the ideas do not reach commercialization. When I interviewed the person in charge, they mentioned that while the business idea proposal passed the approval process, they are facing difficulties in actually starting development or progressing to the point of creating a prototype. Typically, passing the approval process means that the development of the elements necessary to realize the approved plan should begin. Nevertheless, why is it that development cannot start or is not progressing? There are three possible reasons. *For more details on the blog, you can view it through the related links. Please feel free to contact us for more information.*

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There is a recurring concern that comes up almost every time I speak with management. It involves members involved in the planning and development of new businesses feeling "exhausted," "unsuited for this role," wanting to "change their responsibilities," or wishing to "return to research and development as before," leading to a negative state. Although promising mid-level and junior members have been assigned to the planning and development of new businesses to cultivate leaders, what are the reasons they feel they want to quit or find it difficult? *For more details, you can view the related links. Please feel free to contact us for more information.*

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To avoid cases where members involved in planning and developing new businesses feel negative, saying "it's tough," "I'm not suited for this, I want to change my role," or "I want to return to research and development as before," this is the second part of the strategies implemented by management. This time, although promising mid-level and junior members were assigned to the planning and development of new businesses to cultivate leaders, we will focus on the reason they feel like quitting or find it tough: "I received criticism on the business plan, but I don't know what to improve." When we convey this reason to management, they are almost 100% surprised. They believe it can't be true because they provided feedback on the reasons for the No-Go decision at the business proposal meeting and the future activity plan. *You can view the detailed content of the blog through the related links. For more information, please feel free to contact us.*

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Recently, in the field of research and development, there has been a growing expectation for individuals to take on the mission of launching new businesses. Within this trend, I often receive consultations from research and development leaders who express the following concerns: "What kind of goals should we set?" "The management team has requested that we establish themes that are risk-free and capable of generating profits, assuming success, but it is difficult to translate this into concrete objectives." "Innovative ideas are coming from the development team, but considering the risks, we are hesitant to pursue them." These concerns arise from the challenge of creating themes that aim for sales comparable to existing businesses without taking risks, which goes beyond the traditional mission of research and development. *For more details about the blog, please refer to the related links. Feel free to contact us for more information.*

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Our company provides startup support for individuals and groups considering venture entrepreneurship or independence before starting their businesses. We solve concerns such as "I want to create a career advancement plan utilizing my specialized skills," "I want to understand the current situation regarding technical independence and entrepreneurship," and "I want to consult on specific methods for preparation and progress towards starting a business." For those who are serious about entrepreneurship and independence and want to make it a reality, we offer support menus for 3, 6, or 12 sessions. [For those with the following concerns] ■ I want to create a career advancement plan utilizing my specialized skills. ■ I want to understand the current situation regarding technical independence and entrepreneurship. ■ I want to consult on specific methods for preparation and progress towards starting a business. ■ I don't know where to start and want to master methods for entrepreneurship and independence with my available resources. ■ I want to know about funding options (such as crowdfunding) and startup methods that suit me for founding a tech venture. *For more details, please download the PDF or feel free to contact us.

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We clarify the goals that our customers truly want to achieve and propose the necessary support for new product development through individualized plans. To assist in clarifying the vision, we can form a foundation for continuous business expansion towards the future, not limited to immediate goals or a single product. Please feel free to contact us with your requests. 【Features】 ■ By thoroughly prioritizing and using small successes as triggers, we provide support to gradually lead to larger projects, achieving R&D that does not require massive investments or resources in all directions. ■ By strengthening the communication capabilities of the development site, we can propose new product development strategies based on bottom-up and middle-up approaches (a fusion of top-down and bottom-up). ■ Beyond merely providing common knowledge and know-how, we support the development of organizations that lead to quick decision-making and action, enabling early business creation, among other benefits. *For more details, please download the PDF or contact us.

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