Thoroughly utilize talent from around the world! The arrival of an era for gathering colleagues globally.

Until now, the way companies and teams operated rarely transcended race. In the case of Japanese companies, they were almost always composed solely of Japanese people, and looking around, an environment where people of different races worked together was almost non-existent. However, in today's world, the situation has changed.

A recent prominent example is rugby. Rugby achieved a great feat in its history, and it became a topic of discussion that 'there are many non-Japanese players.' However, looking at the actual regulations, nationality is not particularly important; as long as the conditions for being recognized as a member are met, one can play on the team.

Nationality is irrelevant for excellent talent, as long as they meet the conditions.

The situation is the same for businesses and companies. If the conditions are met, nationality is irrelevant. In short, the reason Japanese companies primarily hired Japanese people was simply because the organization itself couldn't overcome language and cultural barriers; originally, nationality is completely irrelevant as long as one is excellent.

In the future, with technological advancements and the evolution of online communication tools, it will become possible to work with talent from all over the world. For example, the evolution of real-time translation features. This will help overcome language barriers. Services for managing remote teams are also emerging rapidly.

Teams worldwide can be managed with tools.

For example,Timezone.ioservice, you can see which area employees are currently in. A constantly connected video appSqwiggleallows you to work remotely with the feeling that other employees are always next to you.Skype's real-time translationfeatures will help overcome language barriers.

Overseas, examples like the WordPress team and the Buffer service are famous; these teams have succeeded in gathering excellent talent from around the world and streamlining their organizations by making their activities remote. It is also widely known that Timezone.io, which I introduced earlier, was created by Buffer employees.

Due to changes in tools and mindset, the idea that Japanese organizations have many Japanese people will disappear. Currently, it might still be difficult to realize teams where multinational talent truly intersects. However, if you look at the world, it's already commonplace to gather excellent talent from all over the world, regardless of nationality, to strengthen organizations. If you look at famous companies worldwide, we are entering an era where excellent talent can work together no matter where they are in the world.

Japanese talent is also being drawn overseas. How to attract excellent global talent.

Excellent Japanese talent is increasingly being drawn to overseas companies. For example, it's well-known that Google is recruiting students researching artificial intelligence at the University of Tokyo, offering high annual salaries. Rather than working for a Japanese company just because they are Japanese, there's also the path of studying abroad in the US, graduating from a world-class university, and then joining a major global company. If the working environment overseas fits better than in Japan, then, of course, the option of going abroad exists.

The future competition for talent will not be among Japanese rivals. As the need to come to the office gradually disappears and an environment where team members can work from anywhere in the world becomes established, a global competition for excellent talent by companies worldwide will begin, regardless of borders or location.

Recruiting excellent talent that fits one's situation from 7.2 billion people versus searching for talent from Japan's population of 100 million. Which is more likely to attract excellent talent? Simply put, the former. However, not all 7.2 billion people have received higher education like in Japan, so in reality, not all 7.2 billion would be targets.

Including talent acquisition, it's an all-out war: Japanese companies versus companies worldwide.

It is a natural progression that the structure will shift from Japanese companies versus Japanese companies to Japanese companies versus companies worldwide, including the acquisition of talent. Rather, the era has already arrived where products and services from around the world are naturally competitors, and we must consider how to survive against companies that attract excellent talent from all over the world.

To survive, Japanese companies must also remove language and work style barriers and find talented individuals from all over the world who fit their organization. Originally, nationality has absolutely no bearing on achieving a company's objectives. In that context, if global talent is recognized as superior and the demand for Japanese people disappears, I think it cannot be helped. For that, we must become much, much stronger. The era of receiving high salaries without doing significant work is over.

To face such an era as a strong organization, it may be necessary to change work styles, use tools, create a system where we can boost the company together with excellent talent from around the world, and make the company's structure more flexible. In the current era where flexible work styles and diversity are advocated, this not only means creating unused resources from Japan but also foreshadows foreign talent demonstrating value beyond their Japanese nationality.