Sticky Note 02 / Could you explain 'Creative Confidence' a bit more? [Column from the 'My' Perspective Vol. 10] From the Management Strategy Meeting
Hello everyone, though it's that time of day, good morning! I am 'S', the storyteller and narrator of Toggle. My existence is primarily dedicated to clearing up misunderstandings and misconceptions about Yoshimori-san, and I serve as the narrator for the story of Toggle.
Unlike that role, in this project, I am writing this column as an 'interpreter' from a different perspective than usual.
This project is a series where I introduce events witnessed by S that symbolize the culture of Toggle. Following yesterday, this article covers the sharing of and questions regarding the new credo from the overall management strategy meeting.
Looking back at the many questions that were raised, I will have Yoshimori-san explain them again. The topic we will cover this time is as follows.
One of Toggle's five principles of thinking is 'If it's us, we can do more'.
At the root of that is 'Let's have creative confidence'. Creative confidence? I feel like I sort of understand it, but it seems like the interpretation might vary from person to person. So, I asked Yoshimori-san to explain it again. However, the point he wants to make is the same as when he answered at the general meeting, as shown in the sticky note below.
The words on this sticky note are actually not Yoshimori-san's original expression. There is a source for the quote. This time, I'll share a little bit of that 'backstory'.
Backstory / About Creative Confidence
As I believe all members know, I, S, engage in dialogue with Yoshimori-san to put his thoughts into words. That is '@The Story of Toggle'. In Episode 3, I introduced the values that Yoshimori-san holds extremely dear. It is the following line.
Society is not a static thing that cannot be moved; it is something we can change with our own hands. If you notice any absurdities, inconveniences, or mysteries in the world, I want you to try thinking that you could become a practitioner who solves them, rather than just complaining or criticizing and letting them pass. What I expect from the members working at Toggle is for each and every member to acquire the 'creative confidence' that 'I can change the world' through their business experience.
This line came out of Yoshimori-san's mouth during an actual conversation. When Yoshimori-san expressed the values he holds dear using the words 'creative confidence', I searched for the meaning of the term on the internet right there on the spot. Tracing the meaning of the words I found, I discovered that there were predecessors who used 'creative confidence' with almost the same meaning as Yoshimori-san's intention. That was the Kelley brothers of IDEO.
What is IDEO?
IDEO is known as the world's best design firm, based in the United States. In addition to six cities in the U.S., it is said to have bases in London, Munich, Shanghai, Tokyo, and elsewhere. IDEO is also famous as the originator of the term 'design thinking', which began in the 1990s.
Who are the Kelley brothers?
IDEO was founded from four design firms. One of them was David Kelley Design. David Kelley is one of the people who spread the keyword 'design thinking' to the world. David has a brother named 'Tom'. The nickname referring to the two of them is the Kelley brothers of IDEO.
What was the web article Yoshimori-san found?
During our dialogue, the term 'Creative Confidence' emerged from Yoshimori-san, and when we searched for it on the internet, one of the articles that appeared in the results contained the following expression:
Creative Confidence is the belief that you have the ability to create change in the world around you. It is the conviction that you can achieve what you set out to do. We believe that this self-assurance—this belief in your own creative capacity—lies at the heart of innovation.
As you may have noticed, this is the very answer to the previous sticky note. In other words, it means this.
I have also included the original text below.
at its core, creative confidence is about believing in your ability to create change in the world around you. It is the conviction that you can achieve what you set out to do. We think this self-assurance, this belief in your creative capacity, lies at the heart of innovation.
This term is quoted from the Kelley brothers' book. The title of the book is 'Creative Confidence.' This English term can be translated into Japanese as '創造的自信' (Creative Confidence). If we line up Yoshimori-san's expression on the left and the Japanese translation of the Kelley brothers' book on the right, it looks like this.
The words and expressions that Yoshimori-san created through our repeated, unplanned dialogues were surprisingly similar to the words and expressions of people leading the way in completely different fields elsewhere. During our dialogue, when we noticed the synchronicity, especially in the parts highlighted in red, Yoshimori-san and I were quietly thrilled. What a coincidence. That was the 'side story' of a mysterious experience.
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Preview / What are words and actions you can be proud of?
[Introducing an event that symbolizes the culture of Toggle witnessed by S] The next theme of the column is also from Toggle's management strategy meeting: the sharing of new credos and the Q&A session. Next time, we will take up a sticky note from a member who is trying to confirm what it means to have words and actions you can be proud of.
Stay tuned.