Column Column
From the front lines of strategy. Our strategists share ideas and real-world examples in corporate strategy, marketing and management.
Development of a strategic planning AI has begun
AI moves from research to everyday tool. The basic form of AI is the “LLM,” or large language model. It is an AI system that has read vast amounts of text and learned the “patterns of language.” 2…
Episode 3: Field Campaign
What is the essence of strategy? Corporate strategy, business strategy, marketing strategy... the word “strategy” somehow sounds difficult. Yet isn’t the essence of strategy surprisingly simple? Strategy…
Episode 2: Redefining the Regional Domain
What does redefining the regional domain mean? Today’s episode is “Redefining the Regional Domain.” In our work, we are often involved in formulating strategies such as “city promotion” and “city branding”…
Episode1 Innovation Branding
Introduction: We are launching a new series in our column: the “Episode Series.” Companies similar to ours often present “case studies” on the web or on TV. There…
A New Work Style! – Strategic Partners Work Style (SWS)
A new work style combining our accumulated know-how, the latest technology and our office environment. Since our founding, we have adopted flextime, remote work and more, while exploring new forms of work style…
Why We Make Films
Employee training: Strategic Partners has continued making films ever since its founding. Most recently, set against the ancient “tatara ironmaking” tradition of Shimane Prefecture, the short film depicting the love between parent and child, “…
Will IT Vendors Soon Disappear? Here's Why
The current state and future of the IT vendor industry: In recent years, the digitalization of the economy and society has advanced, and the IT industry's market size has continued to grow accordingly. Recently, cloud services managed over the internet…
What Is a Next-Generation Partner Company?
Choosing partner companies the wrong way can ruin a company. It hardly needs explaining, but every company has several partner companies that support its business activities. …
The Leadership Most Presidents Don't Know About
Misguided leadership puts a company at risk. There are many research papers on the correlation between leadership and corporate performance. In our experience supporting companies as well, a company's rise and fall depends on its president…
Our Criteria for Accepting Work
What you can't learn from management books or an MBA. Books on management, such as corporate strategy and MBA skills, remain popular today. However, the “practical…” that these books don't describe or can't teach
If You Don't Change Your Meetings, Your Company Is Finished. Part 2
Three points for changing meetings: In the previous column, we said that a company where meetings go on without anyone knowing that meetings cost money, without knowing what a “discussion” is about, and without preparation, has no future…
If You Don't Change Your Meetings, Your Company Is Finished. Part 1
Why meetings need to change: Have you ever considered which tasks take up most of your working hours? Of course, depending on the industry…
Strange Things That Happen in Project Management.
What is team building? Team building is a method for building strong teams. It draws out the maximum of team members' skills, abilities and experience so that goals can be achieved…
The Dark Side of Japanese MBA Schools
An MBA that improves your ability to formulate corporate strategy: There is probably no one who hasn't heard of the MBA. However, what it actually teaches, and what earning one…
What True Strategic Planning Is
Prologue: “Strategic planning” literally means “strategy formulation,” but in Japan the term is used incorrectly. Why it went in the wrong direction, and what true…
The Pitfalls of Web Promotion
Prologue: Using the web is now a must in corporate marketing. With the spread of smartphones, e-commerce and social media, using the web in corporate marketing activities is now…
Points to Note When Holding a Competitive Pitch
Use a competitive pitch to select outsourcing partners. For you, as a manufacturer or other company (client), commissioning outsourcing partners is always one of your indispensable tasks. Outsourcing partners include consult…
Why Moral Management (Ethical Management) Is Needed Before CSR.
Prologue: From the past to the present, cases continue in which corporate scandals cause a loss of trust, damaging corporate brands and, in the worst case, leading to bankruptcy. Recently, CS…
We interviewed Mr. Keiji Fujii, President and CEO of Rosette Co., Ltd., about our company.
A friendly partner with both theory and experience. Rosette Co., Ltd. Business overview: This time, we spoke with Mr. Keiji Fujii, President and CEO of Rosette Co., Ltd., about the relationship with Strategic Partners…
The World's Easiest Course on Formulating “Corporate Strategy”: Prologue
Introduction: Adding sales staff doesn't increase sales. Competitors have increased and your company's advantage is fading. You brought in a consulting firm, but management hasn't improved at all. You, who have picked up this book…
The World's Easiest Course on Formulating “Corporate Strategy”: Chapter 2
Breaking down corporate activities into six parts: The components of a company and a bird's-eye perspective. In Chapter 1, I covered mostly quite negative topics about how harsh Japan's business environment is. That is because…
The World's Easiest Course on Formulating “Corporate Strategy”: Chapter 3
Accurately grasp your company's situation: Research and analysis, which is often overlooked. Research and analysis is the very first preparation that must be done when taking a step toward the direction and goals set by management. Research…
The World's Easiest Course on Formulating “Corporate Strategy”: Chapter 4
Clarify your company's mission: How important is a corporate philosophy? The next elements needed to reliably execute corporate strategy are establishing a philosophy and defining the business domain. First, a brief explanation of the terms…
The World's Easiest Course on Formulating “Corporate Strategy”: Chapter 5
Business strategy determines a company's rise and fall: There are many types of business strategy. Next, at last, comes formulating the business strategy. A company may focus on one type of business, or operate several types…
The World's Easiest Course on Formulating “Corporate Strategy”: Chapter 6
Leverage the characteristics of your products and services: What are the “selling measures” that lead to corporate performance? Once the general direction of the business has been set through business strategy, the next step is to design activities that lead to actual sales…
The World's Easiest Course on Formulating “Corporate Strategy”: Chapter 7
Management that drives continuous growth: Proper management is essential for improving performance. Next, we review management. From environmental analysis to philosophy formulation, business strategy and marketing design…
The World's Easiest Course on Formulating “Corporate Strategy”: Chapter 8
Achieving KGIs through operations strategy: How to formulate an operations strategy. Operations, as the name suggests, refers to finally taking practical action. In business, generally…
The World's Easiest Course on Formulating “Corporate Strategy”: Chapter 9
Strategists will rule the world of business: Why I decided to become a strategist. In this final chapter, I will talk about how I came to choose my current work, and describe my approach to corporate strategy going forward…
The World's Easiest Course on Formulating “Corporate Strategy”: Epilogue
Strategists will change the world. What kind of future awaits if many excellent strategists emerge? Strategists will make companies prosperous, and with those funds they can do work that benefits society…
The World's Easiest Course on Formulating “Corporate Strategy”: Chapter 1
Self-taught corporate strategy rampant in Japanese companies: Executives who don't study leave their employees stranded. We often hear the term “corporate strategy,” but what is “strategy” in the first place? This is…
We interviewed Mr. Yoshihide Muroya, CEO of Pathfinder Co., Ltd., about our company.
An ideal business model that handles everything from strategy design to production and execution in one stop. Pathfinder Co., Ltd. Business overview: Through aviation businesses such as sky sports and air shows…
We interviewed Mr. Yasushi Kambara, President and CEO of Signpost Corporation, about our company.
Process, quality, cost: I'd say they're all five stars. Signpost Corporation Business overview: With IT at its core, the three pillars of consulting, solutions and innovation…