VIVITA ‘s VIVISTOP, located in Kashiwanoha in Chiba Prefecture, demonstrates the power of community. This picture was taken at a press conference held in Kashiwanoha in March of this year. Photo By Takeshi Kojima
“You don’t need a business plan to manage an organization. I also don’t look at business plans when I’m considering whether or not to invest.” That is something I often say, so of course, people ask, “Then what do you look at?”
And I reply, “Two things: the passion of the entrepreneurs, and whether they have unique technology.” At that point, most people sigh and say, “You’re a strange man,” or “You can do that because you’re Taizo Son, but…”
That’s nonsense. I believe there will be no need for anyone to make a business plan in the future. A business plan could even get in the way of success. No business plan. No schedule. No long decision-making process. No approval. If you want to do it, just do it. Making this happen is what’s important.
To begin with, you have that big difference between the 20th and the 21st centuries—the existence of social media.
Thanks to social media, ideas that everyone likes can travel around the world in no time at all. Things that are funny or engaging or astounding can propagate instantaneously. Picotaro’s “Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen” is a good example.
I can reach ten thousand people in the blink of an eye just by posting something on Facebook. If that post attracts some buzz, it will reach 30,000 people.
