Cultivation activities conducted by Shiseido Research Institute that bring together diverse knowledge and people
2022.03.7“fibona” is an open innovation program that was launched in 2019. “Cultivation”, one of the key actions in fibona, has played a role in creating innovation by bringing together diverse knowledge and people involved in beauty.
The members promoting the cultivation initiative include Yukiko Koga of the R&D Strategy Department, who has been involved since its inception; Takuma Hoshino, who conducts structural skin research in the Basic Research Department and volunteered to join fibona due to the appeal of co-creation with external parties; and Takakazu Suzuki, who is primarily involved in cosmetic product packaging development and joined fibona immediately after entering the company in 2020.
We asked the three, who belong to completely different departments but are connected through fibona, about the cultivation initiative and the role it has played.
What is your usual work and how did you get involved in promoting "cultivation”?
── What is your usual work and how did you get involved in promoting "cultivation”?
Koga:
I was responsible for launching the cultivation initiative when fibona started in 2019. I am usually involved in work related to research strategy, and in this role, I am responsible for understanding customer needs and technology scouting to accelerate value creation in collaboration with external parties.
I joined Shiseido as a mid-career hire when S/PARK was opened, so this year is just my third year. Previously, I worked for an electronics manufacturer, where I was in charge of activities such as exploring customer needs and creating an environment for co-creation while gaining insights from external parties in order to create new businesses.
Hoshino:
When I was in college, I did research that asked the existential question "What is life?" through simulations and mathematical models of biological phenomena, earning my Ph.D. in chemistry. I joined Shiseido in 2019, and currently, I am conducting research on customers' skin characteristics in the Basic Research Department.
I first learned about fibona in the summer of the year I joined Shiseido. I was still a new employee who didn't know what to do, but when I saw an e-mail announcing the launch of fibona, I was intuitively inspired and thought, "Oh, this seems interesting.”
After that, I attended several fibona events and was asked if I would like to participate in the planning side. I wanted to conduct basic research internally while also staying aware of what was happening outside the company, so I was very interested in the idea of working with external parties to organize events.
Suzuki:
After I joined the company in 2020, I was assigned to a department that develops cosmetic packaging. Since I was involved from the product planning stage, I had many opportunities to work with various people inside and outside the company as development progressed. That is why I became interested in the activities of fibona, which proactively opens itself up to the outside world to connect with ideas new to the company. So, I started participating in the planning and operations of the cultivation action.
Three-pillar approach of "exploration, introspection, and inheritance”
── What role does the cultivation action play in fibona?
Koga:
The biggest role is that it creates a place where Shiseido's researchers and staff can interact with people from various industries related to the beauty field. Our mission is to create a climate that fosters a passion for innovation and new ideas by integrating knowledge, experience, and mindsets new to Shiseido.
There are three main cultivation initiatives that we are promoting.The first is the "Around Beauty Meetup," an "exploratory" event focused on a different theme each time learning through presentations and panel sessions as well as discussing and sharing their insights among participants inside and outside the company. We have held 11 events so far, including online events, at a pace of about once every two to three months. Many of the guests we’ve invited were people working very hard to fulfill their way of life as they are. In selecting guests, we are conscious of choosing people with whom our employees and external participants can easily empathize with.
Suzuki:
The first Around Beauty Meetup that I was involved in as a member of the cultivation initiative was the 8th session with Kariya of YOHO Brewing on the theme of communication and organization to make fans enthusiastic. I remember how excited I was as a member of the planning and management side of the event where various ideas drastically evolved, as I was able to hear perspectives and stories that I would never have encountered in my daily work.
Koga:
The Around Beauty Meetup is the flagship event of the cultivation initiative. It is our largest event, with sometimes over 100 participants from inside and outside the company.
──Around Beauty Meetup seemed to play a role as the biggest entrance for fibona. What is the second initiative?
Koga:
The second initiative "Side Story" is designed to deepen thinking on issues facing researchers and research institutes. This event provides an opportunity for participants to consider future approaches through sessions led by experts and institute leaders. The contents are focused on "introspection.”
The third initiative is "DNA Talk," a session we recently launched on an experimental basis. This is an event based on the concept of "inheritance” in which researchers leading Shiseido's research with their own vision, expertise, and drive share their views on their work and interests with participants through dialogue on a small scale. This event was planned by Hoshino as a beta test. It is currently being brushed up for the future while gauging its effectiveness.
──The concept of each of these initiatives is very clear. Once again, why did you choose the name "cultivation" for these initiatives in the first place?
Koga:
“Cultivation" means the act of growth and improvement. If the soil is well cultivated and seeds are sown there, healthy sprouts should emerge soon after. "Cultivation" was chosen to express this feeling. Although what is important in each of the three activities is different, the keywords that we try not to forget when planning the Around Beauty Meetup, our biggest cultivation initiative, are “as we are” and "interactive.” Rather than simply having participants passively listen to lectures, we aim to create a place where people can feel the passion of the guests and express their own opinions, resulting in a place where ideas and passions come alive.
Hoshino:
The Around Beauty Meetup focuses on the balance between “as we are” and interaction to find perspectives that can be incorporated into research and daily activities. The Side Story initiative explores avenues for comprehensive solutions through discussions held from a higher perspective. In DNA Talk, the interactive framework is further expanded to allow participants to talk in depth in small groups. Each of these activities is unique in the way it allows us to promote our cultivation initiative.
Suzuki:
I believe that passion propagates. When you are inspired by someone's passion and share what you think, the fire of passion spreads rapidly. This will lead to progress, and I believe it is very important as we aim for innovation.
Creating an online "after-party" where interests can be shared
──Can you tell us a little more about DNA Talk, for which an experimental version has been launched?
Hoshino:
What I liked about the Around Beauty Meetup as a participant before I joined the cultivation initiative was that everyone would get together after the event. However, when the coronavirus pandemic made it difficult to hold it onsite, leading to a shift online, inevitably that became much harder. It is difficult to continue a discussion beyond a certain time limit, and even if we hold a discussion in small groups online, we cannot talk as freely as we can when we meet in person.
But the truth is that there are participants who want to "hear more from this person" and "connect with new people.” Like myself, researchers in particular have a desire to hear diverse voices related to their research areas.
Hoshino
The impetus for DNA Talk was the idea to create a meeting with a limited number of participants (10 or so) to talk in-depth with each other, which is the domestic version of Around Beauty Meetup. We could have enough time to interact with people we would not normally be able to talk with at work, share our respective backgrounds, and have a heart-to-heart discussion. I envisioned this as the fastest way to create an atmosphere similar to that of an after-party at a bar. Even if it is online, such a place can spark unexpected ideas and generate innovation. That is what I am hoping.
Suzuki:
When you try to prepare even an after-party online, you get the feeling that "people have more to talk about." I realized this at the 8th Around Beauty Meetup, which I was also in charge of planning. I think there is still a lot of room for experimentation in creating a forum where people can easily talk online.
Hoshino:
When you are in the Basic Research Department, it is difficult to present your current research to the outside world. People in the same department and my manager, of course, know the contents, but researchers want to hear a diverse range of reactions, such as the opinions of various people and customers that match the target of their research.Especially with the coronavirus pandemic, where there have been more barriers to going out, the number of places where we can talk in such a comfortable manner and listen to diverse opinions has decreased considerably. I would like to brush up DNA Talk in the future to be a place to address these issues.
Koga:
At first, Hoshino and Suzuki were both just participants, but they got involved in the planning side from the middle of the project. And in fact, this year, many other researchers have also volunteered to support the planning side. By getting involved in fibona and being proactive, members can improve their planning and implementation skills. I am happy to say that this process itself embodies the concept of “cultivation.”
「Some of the guests who spoke at the Around Beauty Meetup are now conducting demonstration experiments (Around Beauty Meetup #1: Nagasaka of AtenLabo Inc.) in connection with the local government. There was also a meetup that led to a collaboration at an S/PARK restaurant event (Around Beauty Meetup #4:Exploring the value of the five senses through “mariage”). As we enter the third year of the cultivation initiative, I feel that the seeds that have been planted so far are beginning to sprout.
Click here to see the activities developed through the Around Beauty Meetup.
"「BAK NEW NORMAL PROJECT 2021」", a project run by Kanagawa Prefecture and eicon company, has been adopted by 8 companies to solve social issues caused by the new Corona! LOAD&ROAD Kazunori Kawanobe x Sommelier Shinnosuke Tsukagoshi x S/PARK Cafe Yuya Asano].
The challenge of creating a place where chemical reaction occurs
──Lastly, please tell us about the goals and prospects you hope to achieve through fibona.
Hoshino:
In DNA Talk, I would like to create a place where chemical reactions occur energetically. Our initiatives are not intended to be pre-established, should be beyond our expectations. It would be ideal if I could get feedbacks from the fruits of DNA Talk, which results in next Cultivation initiative and the researches in the future.
Suzuki:
Since I am finally in my second round as a planning member of the cultivation initiative, I would like to sow more seeds and expand the field from here. I would like to take advantage of the opportunities that I have gained and learn from fibona and take on new challenges in my daily work.
Koga:
fibona's activities emphasize the expansion of diversity beyond the boundaries of the organization, and from this perspective, I feel that it is significant that the three members of the cultivation action, who are not usually involved in the organization in their daily work, were able to discuss the cultivation initiatives and work together to achieve the same goal.
I believe that there are areas that will remain the same and areas that will need to be changed. How do we connect the various seeds that have been sown in the future? How do we take care of the fields if the seeds were not grown properly? I hope that each of us will continue to face these issues head on, develop our ability, and take on new challenges. I intend to continue to develop various cultivation initiatives to achieve this goal.
（text: Hanae Abe edit: Kaori Sasagawa）
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