" Interview with Kaz Fuijita 2"
Gina and I have made an interview to Mr. Kaz Fujita on June 25,1998.
The first thing we have asked him was what he was like during his childhood.
He has told us that he didn't want to study, didn't care what he got for
his report card, and whether or not he was passing the test, it didn't really
matter. When he was 18 years old, he started working. He has worked for
farming, big companies, stocks at supermarkets, bartender, and so on.
He said that he has learned a lot bartending for a year than studying at the
college for 5 years!!!! This has surprised me, because I have never thought
bartending would be worth doing for a year than going to school for 5 years.
He got to know people, learn different perspectives of different people, and
most importantly, he learned about life. However, he has told us that if you
had any chance on bartending, yo should bartend in America, not in Japane.
We also asked him where he learned his Japanese, he said he learned it in the
night clubs in Japan. I thought that was a creative way of learning the
Japanese language!!!
He told us three examples of creative experiences, human experiences,
he had. The first experience he had was during his college life at California
Institute when he majored in advertising and design. He took a design class
which was a tough teacher. This teacher gives out homework every week on Monday,
which is due on the next Monday. So all of the students taking this class would
make a design and bring it into class. When everyone brings the picture to class,
the teacher will look around and see if there are any designs that looks like they
didn't take so much time into it. If it happens to be a homework that has no
effort and time into it, he would simply burn it!! He would burn it without even
explaining why he burned it, because the student didn't take a lot of time and
effort on there work so why should I take the time explaining it? That was the
concept that the teacher had. The teacher would simply choose the best design and
talk about it for the while class, which lasts an hour and a half. Kaz's design
was never chosen to talk to during class. It was always burned. So one day, Kaz
has taken a full week to work on his design. He has worked day and night for the
whole week, but without consciousness. His conscious mind has gone to sleep, and
his sub-consciousness, which is the heart, spirit, sole, has come out of him and
he became great!!! He didn't notice he was doing it. He just did it in his
sub-conscious mind. Just like this. "Do without doing."-from the book,
The Tao of Pooh. And it came out to be the best design of the whole class and
the teacher had talked about the design Kaz has made. The teacher even kept it
since it was so good!!!! That's when he notices that this is where you get the
best ideas and creativity.
The second experience he had was when he first worked for a
Japanese company in marketing. It was a candy company. 35 years ago, this
company has failed five times on selling a chocolate bar. Each costing 500
million yen. Therefore, this company has lost 2500 million yens in all.
The company came up to Kaz and asked for some help so the company can become
successful with this sales on the chocolate bar that they have made. Therefore,
Kaz and his teammates have made research, product concepts, product designs,
sales projection, and advertisements. This happened to happen in 1962.
Once the whole concept was made, he has made the presentation to the President
of the company on the product. The company has asked him what would happen if
this project has failed? Then, Kaz has answered, "take the risk."
because not a lot of Japanese people like to take the responsibility.
Then, Kaz has asked them, "What if it succeeds? We would like to have 2% profit
if it succeeds." (usually, you get 7% profit if it succeeds. That's how they
made the deal. It turned out to be successful!!!
The third experience he had was one of the neck tie companies.
This company wasn't making profit on selling the neck ties they have made.
One day, Kaz read a newspaper article, about where the neck
ties first came from. It said that it was usually for the people who go to
the war, wishing them to come back safely. The wives give their husbands a
scarf to them and wish them luck with the war. The shape of the tie has
changed to what we have today. Therefore, Kaz has given out the idea, why
don't we put a charm on the tie instead of the cartoon characters, and sell
it out? Since the tie itself means"Luck and coming back home safely", this
should be a product that everyone would buy!! This solution has become
successful for this company. Everyone has seen this article on the
"origins of a neck tie", but Kaz has taken it a step further.
The key points are that 1) the idea and the concepts have
to be a solution, 2) you have to help your client to help their business,
and 3) people buy solutions, not the product. This is what creativity is
all about.
There are four parts to a basic creative process.
The first stage is the process of a childhood. When you are little, and
when you get a candy from your mom, say, but there is another girl who
wants that candy, you just give it away. This is because you just wanted
to do it, and there is absolutely no reason to it. You just do it.
The second stage is the stage where
"I do something for you but you do something for me." Creating the
feeling of wanting the favor back. The third stage is where you have to
do it because you are paid to do so. You do it for your own duty.
Last but not least, the fourth stage is the stage where you do it
because you really love doing it. It pays you back, and at the same
time, the work and the service you have gets a lot more better.
Therefore, the first stage and the fourth stage are the same creative
process of life itself. The most important part of all are the first
and the fourth process.
However, eventhough you try to go into the process of
creativity, the box that each and every person has doesn't let you do so.
Each and every person has their own box. Boxes are
created because it is comfortable, relaxing, and are easy to control.
Boxes also wants rules, orders, and answers. Boxes are egos inside of
you, and the ego does not let you use your heart. Having a box means
that it is the brain that is making you do this or that, it is not the
heart that's making you do it. Creativity is nothing but the process.
Once you become the process, you are out of your box.
How do you become creative? Well, here's the answer.
Empty your mind, think about what you have right now and just throw
it away!!!! Become a "shirouto", or in Englsih, an amateur.
Not the professional. Listen to everyone, and pay attention to
everything. To be creative, you must become another person's point
of view. You need intuition to become creative.
On the T-shirt that Kaz wore today, it said,
"YOUR RULES DO NOT APPLY HERE." This is exactly what we need to
understand. We have to learn how to have nature freedom, how to give
love and passion (or we have to learn how to care about things), and
how to not be ashamed of ourselves. We have to learn to give love
because we won't receive love if we try to get love,
(if we try to receive love, it will just run away!!) but if we try to
give love, we will get it back. Love builds inside of you by trying
to give it out. Just like money. If we give money, we will get it
back in return, but if we try to get money, you never get them back.
Also, we can not be shamed of ourselves because the dummest question
we have are actually the most creative ideas we have.
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| Ÿ This page was written by Kenjiro Tsujino, Gina Pei-Chun Liao and designed by Kaoru Tanaka for Prof.Tobin's "Change & Creativity" seminar. |