[Topic 277] Why don't 'interesting people' stay at your company? — The resolve to discard the excuses of having no money and no resources
"I'm so busy with daily tasks that I don't have even a minute to paint a picture of the future."
"There's no way talented young people would come to a company like ours with no name recognition and no money." "I just can't seem to get my passionate vision across to my employees."
Are you gritting your teeth until the very end amidst such loneliness and impatience? A consultant spouting armchair theories would tell you to "clarify your vision." However, as someone who has sweated alongside you in the field, I understand. You can't take the next step tomorrow with just such platitudes.
The news I am introducing today should serve as a powerful antidote to transform your pain of giving up due to "lack of resources" into the excitement of starting a new challenge by involving outside talent. Please, lend me your ear for just a moment.
Article Summary
In fiscal year 2025, Yokoze Town in Saitama Prefecture saw a net migration inflow for the first time in 12 years. This is the result of a 10-year strategy that advocates "opening up the town without spending money," without relying on conspicuous corporate attraction or redevelopment. The pillar is "Yokolabo," which began in 2016. The town was opened to companies and individuals as a field for demonstration experiments, and instead of financial aid, it provided support in soft aspects such as arranging town resident monitors and assisting with administrative procedures. So far, 166 projects have been adopted, building a foundation where migrants can talk to town residents on equal footing. A chemical reaction has also occurred among long-time residents, and the town ranked first in Saitama Prefecture in Daito Kentaku's "Towns You Want to Continue Living In Ranking 2025." Mayor Tomita says that handicaps can be overcome depending on the strategy.
3 Key Points
Providing a "field" rather than "financial support" attracts sharp talent.
Welcoming outside challengers at the "same eye level" and causing a chemical reaction with the internal team (town residents).
The top leadership and the organization fully commit to thoroughly supporting the "troublesome procedures and friction" that accompany challenges.
The "Customer Pain" Behind the News
If you end this news by thinking, "Hmm, that's a clever example of regional revitalization," you are disqualified as a presidential advisor. I originally gained experience in the trenches of a corporate complaint handling department. When I read deeply into this phenomenon with that perspective, I can see the "intense thirst and pain" held by modern business people, especially talented young people.
They are not just looking for a high salary. What they truly feel acutely is the deprivation of opportunities for self-actualization, the feeling that "I want to test my skills, but large companies and old organizations won't even let me step up to the plate." The walls of an organization that fears failure and the bureaucratic work of following precedent—this is their greatest stress and pain.
What Yokoze Town, with a population of only 7,400, did is simple. They declared, "We don't have money. But for your wild experiments, we will offer the entire town as a testing ground. The town office will take on all the troublesome coordination with full effort."
Try replacing this with your own small or medium-sized enterprise. Even without the abundant funds or flashy offices of a large corporation, you should have the overwhelming mobility to "make the workplace an experimental ground starting tomorrow at the president's discretion."
What talented people are looking for is not an environment where everything is done for them, but the very "freedom to step up to the plate and get their hands dirty on their own terms."
Practice: Things you can do in the field starting tomorrow
"Even so, my employees will oppose it." You might think that. That is precisely why you should start with a gritty "small step" that requires no budget or meetings.
Tomorrow, when you get to the office, first try saying just one thing to a specific employee, or an intern, or a young staff member: "Hey, is there any new tool or method you'd like to try out personally? I can't provide a budget, but why don't you use our workplace to try it out experimentally for a week? I'll take responsibility if it fails."
To organize your thoughts, I will share a simple framework I created.
[Kojima-style: 3 steps to turn your company into an 'experimental lab']
1.Inventory of 'inconveniences and issues'
Pick just one gritty, real-world issue at your company (e.g., warehouse inventory management is a hassle, inputting complaint responses is painful, etc.).
2.Declaration of an 'experimental framework'
Communicate to those inside and outside the company (via SNS, acquaintances, etc.) that, 'If you have ideas or prototypes to solve this issue, we will provide our company's site as an experimental lab for free.'
3.Taking on the 'troublesome tasks'
The president acts as a breakwater, handling internal friction caused by experiments and approving special exceptions to existing rules on the spot.
Bonus: Ideas for a change of pace
If I were the president of a traditional textile factory here in Owari-Ichinomiya, I would hack the 'Yokolabo' mechanism from this news and launch such an outrageous service.
Titled, 'Ichinomiya Apparel Punk Demonstration Lab'. I would open up unused, old spaces in the factory completely free of charge to young digital art and smart textile creators from all over the country. There is one condition: 'Involve the stubborn skills of our craftsmen.' Whether it's next-generation workwear that changes color by sensing temperature with AI, or traditional woven dresses that make sound, I would have them create 'incomprehensible things' to the craftsmen by combining the young people's ideas with the factory's resources. The budget is zero, but I am convinced that by causing a chemical reaction between the craftsmen's skills and the young people's madness, 'eccentric new products' that attract attention from all over the world will be born here in Ichinomiya.
A cheer from a presidential advisor
What the mountain town struggling with population decline and resource shortages proved over 10 years was the fact that 'handicaps can be overcome depending on motivation, ingenuity, and strategy.'
Finally, from this room where the pleasant morning light of Ichinomiya shines in, I throw one question to you.
When an ambitious young person says, 'I want to do something crazy,' does your company first ask, 'What's the budget?' or 'Is there a precedent?' and end up nipping that bud?
If you don't have money, you should open up a space. If you have the resolve to rack your brains and provide an environment, your company's 'weakness' will turn into its greatest 'strength' for attracting sharp talent.
Let's close the plans on the desk. Starting tomorrow, let's get covered in mud on the front lines again and sweat together.
#RegionalRevitalization #OpenInnovation #Relocation #Yokolabo #RelatedPopulation #PresidentialAdvisor #OwariIchinomiya #NewBusiness #SMEmanagement #HumanResourceDevelopment