Tell me,
are you happy
with your job?

Not just content with what you do, but actually inspired to start work in the morning?

For too many of us, the answer is still “no.” While our economic model has spearheaded unprecedented economic growth, it is based on a fundamentally flawed assumption: that companies should prioritize growth and profit over human dignity and happiness.

When I became the CEO of Cybozu in 2005, we were caught up in that way of thinking. Our results-oriented culture pressured employees into overwork and caused soaring turnover. We couldn’t continue. The focus of our business had to change.

We decided to swap our priorities. Instead of putting numbers first, we would strive to realize our corporate vision to build a society brimming with teamwork. In addition, we started to promote our corporate philosophy of “100 people, 100 workstyles,” encouraging employees to become agents of their own success. The most effective teamwork must be rooted in individual empowerment.

These radical changes were a gamble. Providing employees with more flexibility could have given our results-oriented competitors an advantage. Yet I decided there was no point in continuing if our only goal was to make more profit. I placed a bet on the power of our vision.

And that bet paid off.

Nowadays, Cybozu products are used by tens of thousands of companies around the world, big and small, with our cloud-based teamwork platform Kintone making up the largest share of our revenue. All our groupware products are geared toward supporting teams and enabling them to produce their best work. We’ve also expanded to providing other services in line with our vision, such as pushing for workstyle reform, producing media content to promote teamwork, revitalizing local communities, and creating a network of like-minded corporations.

I don’t know what the future holds, but as long as our vision resonates, I believe it will be bright. If you agree, come join us, and together, let’s build a society brimming with teamwork.