Rakuten Today: Mickey's Voice

March 2, 2016 4 min read

Vision 2020: Rakuten

As Rakuten recently announced financial results for 2015, we also launched Vision 2020, a new mid-term strategy map for the future. Let me set out the key points here. Going forward, Rakuten is going to focus on 3 types of businesses: Strong, Smart, and Speed. Here is an outline of each: 1) Strong Businesses These are the businesses where we are strong enough to defend our turf and keep growing 10…

February 16, 2016 < 1 min read

Hiroshi Mikitani on Englishnization and Diversity at Rakuten

Hiroshi “Mickey” Mikitani recently spoke to an audience of business leaders at Business Insider IGNITION 2015 in New York. Mickey discussed the importance of diversity and culture when building a global business. He highlighted unique programs at Rakuten, including Englishnization and climbing Mount Tanagawa for team building.

February 4, 2016 2 min read

Super Bowl 50 Disruptors

Disruptors get a lot of attention. Disruptors can be individuals, companies, or even economies. I’m passionate about driving innovation at our company to disrupt the status quo, whether it’s in our existing markets or industries that are completely new to us. But by its very nature, disruption is not a force within our control. Just as we look for ways to disrupt and innovate, we must…

January 27, 2016 2 min read

Go Global But Stay True To Your Roots

Eighty percent of new engineers joining Rakuten are now non-Japanese. This is a number I am very proud of. Wherever I go in the world, people ask me why this is. They ask me if this is about ‘diversity’, or whether a Japanese company should be looking inside its own country to build a workforce. All fair questions, but it’s not that simple. The real question is: in the age of global business, can…

January 21, 2016 2 min read

Learn Something Every Day

Take a minute to think about it. You’re probably doing something that’s a learning experience right now. Even though what you study will vary from what others study, we can all continue to do it. Without constantly taking in new things and improving yourself, your development as a person will come to a halt. Those who put their all into studying have an understanding of the kind of power that can…

January 8, 2016 < 1 min read

Hiroshi Mikitani at Business Insider IGNITION

UPDATE: Mickey discusses his future plans for Rakuten in a video from Business Insider on the IGNITION 2015 conference. (Please note that clicking on the link will take you to an external site outside of Rakuten.Today.) On December 8, 2015, Hiroshi “Mickey” Mikitani took to the stage at Business Insider IGNITION 2015 in New York. Check out highlights from Mickey’s comments and ot…

January 7, 2016 2 min read

Disruption: The Economic Growth Driver for 2016

Most people think of disruptors as individuals – perhaps as entrepreneurs coming up with innovations that change the way we do something. But I think if you’re looking for the next disruptor, don’t necessarily watch for an individual. Instead, pay attention to macroeconomics. There are two distinguished theories in the field of macroeconomics. One is Keynesian. The other is Joseph Schumpeter’s inn…

October 30, 2015 2 min read

Dare to Dream

They say that to dream is the privilege of the young. I think this is a beautiful saying, but it could not be more wrong. It’s not that there is anything wrong with having dreams when you are young, but I have always felt that within this expression lies the nuance that once you get out into the “real” world you no longer have time to dream. I’d like to suggest to you that a dream that is swept aw…

October 30, 2015 < 1 min read

Love Your Enemy

Whether your rival is in another company or just in the cubicle beside you, that person is helping you every day in your job — whether you realize it or not. Many make the mistake or trying to ignore those we aren’t fond of. But rivals have plenty to teach us. Rivals challenge your values. It is easy to hear opinions you agree with. It is much more difficult to hear opinions that you don’t l…

October 30, 2015 2 min read

Rules for breaking rules

Successful leaders didn’t become successful by following rules. Steve Jobs broke rules when he introduced an affordable and powerful personal computer to the masses. Sir Richard Branson broke every rule in building Virgin Group because, as he says, “I never learned the rules in the first place.” I’ve broken many rules too. I broke the rule of the salaryman when I quit my fast-track job at Industri…