[Director Interview] Directors talk about their thoughts on the company and work

I'm Komatsu, a public relations specialist, and I'm so angry about this year's heatwave that I'm thinking about going into the mountains (taking advantage of the workcation system)! This is the third installment of our manager interview series

This time, we interviewed Director Morita. Please see below for the previous manager interview article!

■ [Manager Interview] Beyond's HR manager explains what Beyond's new graduate recruitment is all about

[Manager Interview] What is Beyond's new graduate recruitment process as told by Beyond's HR manager?

■ [Manager Interview] What are the Infrastructure Team and Beyond System Solutions Department?

[Manager Interview] What is the Infrastructure Unit and Beyond System Solutions Department?

So let's get started! Please watch until the end!

Please tell us about the appeal of Beyond

Morita: I truly feel that Beyond is a company that attracts people you want to work with, a company that attracts great talent. Beyond values ​​"hospitality" and "communication," and I think that the members we have gathered here embody these values.

When members of Beyond pass by other members or customers in the office, they naturally greet them, whether they're at work or on a break. A customer once praised us for this. Apparently, there are many companies these days where people don't greet each other. We try to communicate the importance of greeting our members, but whether they actually do it is another matter, so it's nice to receive objective praise

I'm currently in Canada, but the last time I returned to Japan, I went to the Japanese office for the first time in a while, and everyone stood up and greeted me. It made me realize that it was a great company, even though it was my own

Has the culture of valuing internal communication been around since the beginning?

Morita: This has been the case from the very beginning! If you were to ask, "Do you want to work in a company with a good atmosphere or a company with a bad atmosphere?", I think everyone would naturally choose the former. I was particularly careful to create an environment where it was easy to talk, whether it was about work or just casual conversation. Of course, consideration for those around you is necessary, but I also want an environment where people can speak up when they have an opinion.

We often communicate with customers via email and chat. If communication with customers is not smooth, the number of exchanges increases, and the total workload for both parties increases. Conversely, if communication is smooth, the total workload can be reduced

This is beneficial for both Beyond and our customers. "Let's be able to communicate effectively" means " Let's lower the communication costs for both sides ." It's not just that we "like to talk," but we believe that communication is important in order to be able to communicate clearly.

What kind of person is President Haraoka?

Morita: That's a bit sudden. Hmm, I guess you could say we're like "partners" in a comedy duo. We met over 20 years ago at the company where we started working as new graduates, and have been working together in one way or another ever since, so we've pretty much spent our working lives together. We've been together for so long that lately we feel like a middle-aged married couple. There's a song by B'z called "Run," which I used to listen to a lot when I was a student. There are so many parts of the lyrics of this song that I can relate to. I listen to it and relate to myself and it makes me happy (laughs).

Of course, we are partners, but I also think of us as rivals who strive to improve each other. As partners, when I find something great about Haraoka, or when other people tell me what great things about him, I feel happy as if it were my own achievement, but sometimes I feel a little frustrated (laughs)

He's my biggest ally, but he's also the person I hate to lose to the most, so I want people to think, "He's doing something amazing again."

Also, if we were to categorize us as types, I would say I'm a short-distance runner, and Haraoka is a long-distance runner, so I feel like our perspectives are different. For that reason, I sometimes try to listen to Haraoka's opinions, and it's interesting because I can learn things from those experiences. Sometimes we're thinking exactly the same way when we're talking, but sometimes we're quite different, and I'm surprised at how we thought

Another thing that I find amazing is that even though the number of people in the company has increased, he still has affection for all of them. I don't think he was like that in the past... I think his awareness as the president has made him develop a kind of affection for everyone

<The two of us are playing a game seriously>

Do you ever clash over differences of opinion?

Morita: Of course, I used to do that a lot in the past. At some point, I learned how to find a middle ground, and now I can land things on a good note. Sometimes our opinions don't match until the very end, but in those cases, I try to respect the person who is most passionate about the subject . I think it's very important to have strong feelings.

What kind of work are you currently doing, Morita-san?

Morita: I am in charge of the overall management of Beyond. I am currently working in the Canadian office, so I am mainly responsible for a variety of tasks, such as planning and executing business and sales plans for the Canadian office, as well as planning and executing business alliances with other companies.

Kids Programming School 8x9 (Hack) , a programming school for elementary and junior high school students that operates mainly in the Kansai region, and is responsible for management aspects of the school in addition to direct instruction.

It sounds cool to say it like that, but I guess I'm a jack of all trades

What is your motto when working?

Morita: It so much what I do, but who I do it with . What I do is constantly changing.

When I first started working, I worked as a server engineer, then quit that company with Haraoka and started a business selling used books online. After that, I had the opportunity to join Beyond as a founding member, and at the time I was creating mobile content using flip phones, but it wasn't gaining any traction. I knew I couldn't keep going like this, so I went and tried selling a server, and it sold

From there, I became a server engineer, and in addition to the technical aspects, I also did B2B sales for the first time and handled legal matters. After that, I mainly worked in sales, and as the number of people increased, I focused on management

We also started a programming school for children from scratch, renting space, and have now expanded to five dedicated classrooms. We provide programming education opportunities to companies and schools

Now that I'm in Canada, I'm back in sales to generate sales, starting new businesses, and my work is constantly changing. I wonder what I do

In that context, I always think that " who you do it with is more important than what you do ." And at Beyond, there are a lot of people who make you think, "I want to do something together." I think that's partly because of the hard work of our recruiters.

When you work hard but don't see results, how do you deal with it and what is your mindset?

Morita: I think the important thing is to " keep stepping up to the plate without giving up

At times like that, I think things will work out if I just keep going without stopping. Unless I need to retreat

I'm trying to think "how can I make it work?" through trial and error, and gradually shift my focus. I can think of countless reasons why I can't or won't stop, but if I let myself get held back by those reasons, I think I'll never get started. Also, sometimes things don't go well even if I keep trying. And if that happens repeatedly, I can start to feel scared of stepping up to bat. So, I want to keep trying .

I'm also grateful for the environment I'm in now that gives me the chance to try things, and when I feel like doing something, I'm grateful to have friends who will join me

By the way, I've talked a lot about batting, but I've only ever played baseball in gym class, so I'm really bad at it

Is your current mindset something that has been built up through experience?

Morita: I think that's true to some extent. Not only from my own experiences, but also from listening to various stories from people around me and reading books. That being said, perhaps the biggest influence is my own experience of failure . So, it's important to have an environment that allows for failure.

Also, there are things that didn't resonate with me at all when I was younger, but now that I've gotten older and have gone through those hardships, I feel like I can understand more of them

Speaking of which, I feel like there's been a lot more talk about illness among Beyond's managers recently. I've heard that "the older you get, the more you talk about illness," and it seems to be true. This is another example of what I've learned from experience

What kind of people would you like to build a company with in the future?

Morita: " It's not what you do, but who you do it with, " so I would like to create a company together with people who will become my colleagues, who I can trust and respect.

Recently, I've been thinking again about how important it is to have passion when doing something. In the book Kyocera Philosophy,

Because we are an organization that is always challenging new things, I want to continue creating BEYOND with people who are passionate about what they do. This overlaps with the story of when Haraoka and I disagreed, but when doing something, knowledge, experience, and ability are important, but I think the most important thing is to have passion and enthusiasm

Future business strategies and prospects for the Canadian office

Morita: The original reason we set up an office in Canada was because we wanted to eliminate night shifts. After considering various locations, we decided to set up our base in Toronto. When we actually visited Toronto, we found that there were many startup communities, such as the University of Toronto, where Geoffrey Hinton, also known as the "Godfather of AI," is a professor emeritus, and MaRS, and we felt that this was a place with great potential for future development. That's why we set up our office here.

We are considering three major steps for Canada

The first is to eliminate night shift work in Japan. We have achieved this. The second is to expand our existing in-house services to North America. The third is to create new businesses and expand our services on a larger scale by taking advantage of the geographical advantages of North America and the backbone of Japan. We are taking on various challenges to achieve this

Currently, I am conducting sales activities and developing partners for North American companies. As I explore new business opportunities, I am also considering bringing Japanese services and products to North America and expanding sales there

Idealogical that has been providing managed client computer services in Canada for 30 years . Beyond is a Japanese company with a branch office in Canada, and Idealogical is a Canadian company with a branch office in Japan. We hope to leverage each other's strengths in client computers, servers, Canada, and Japan to work together.

Go to the beyond GTA page
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lastly

Thank you for watching until the end!

I feel like this interview gave me a glimpse into the relationship between Morita and Haraoka that I didn't know about before. It was a great opportunity to hear Morita's thoughts and feelings in detail

We hope that reading this article will pique your interest in Beyond. There are also many other resources available to learn more about Beyond, such as blogs written by members and YouTube, so be sure to check them out!