Mission and Values
Mission
Create an amazing life platform
that brings WOW! to our users.
From when you wake up until you fall asleep,
as the foundation for your daily life,
we aim to surprise, inspire and make your life better.
as the foundation for your daily life,
we aim to surprise, inspire and make your life better.
We have steadily expanded our presence in the business landscape and the number of services we offer our users, which in turn has caused our impact on our users’ lives to grow.
Moving forward, we will keep challenging ourselves to use our technology and services to create new and unexpected value in our users’ daily lives.
Moving forward, we will keep challenging ourselves to use our technology and services to create new and unexpected value in our users’ daily lives.
WOW!
"WOW!” is “an unprecedented experience that you just have to share with others.” “!” represents “astonishment beyond imagination”. In order to become the choice of users and deeply impress them, we have to realize both “WOW” and “!”. Together, that makes “WOW!,” and that needs to be our goal.
WOW! begins with big ambitions — aiming for 120 out of 100 and tenfold growth rather than twofold or threefold. If this were easy to do, everyone would do it. But WOW! cannot be created from mediocrity, so it’s fundamentally important that we set our sights higher than anyone else — so high that others think it’s unreachable and give up. In the fierce process to reach such a high standard, you’ll be able to find a clue to WOW!.
WOW! begins with big ambitions — aiming for 120 out of 100 and tenfold growth rather than twofold or threefold. If this were easy to do, everyone would do it. But WOW! cannot be created from mediocrity, so it’s fundamentally important that we set our sights higher than anyone else — so high that others think it’s unreachable and give up. In the fierce process to reach such a high standard, you’ll be able to find a clue to WOW!.
Life Platform
We connect with our users through our wide range of services, like search, messenger, media, commerce, fintech, and AI. By “life platform”, we mean that we provide services that are closely connected to our users’ lives, impacting all aspects of daily life. 24/7, from when our users wake up until they fall asleep, we strive to support the overall life of the users.
Our Aim
We aim to create No. 1 services that are adored by countless users. Because users will not choose a mediocre No. 2 or No. 3. To make a WOW! service, you need to give your everything to your projects. No. 1 services that lead the market and change paradigms always have a WOW! factor. Gather together a range of No. 1 services that users depend on for the foundation of their daily lives, and you’ve created a “life platform”.
In order to reach that goal of earning our users’ support and loyalty, we must continue to challenge ourselves with a fighting spirit and the determination that “We can do it”, no matter what. Moving forward, we will never stop taking on the challenges of creating a WOW! Life Platform.
In order to reach that goal of earning our users’ support and loyalty, we must continue to challenge ourselves with a fighting spirit and the determination that “We can do it”, no matter what. Moving forward, we will never stop taking on the challenges of creating a WOW! Life Platform.
Values
By “Values”, we mean the way we should work to achieve our Mission.
Three core directions — Users Rule, Get It Done, and Lean & Mean Teams — set the standard for creating services,
for creating services, working as individuals, and collaborating as part of a team.
Nine keywords are organized into three groups of three, so that we can put them into practice more readily.
Three core directions — Users Rule, Get It Done, and Lean & Mean Teams — set the standard for creating services,
for creating services, working as individuals, and collaborating as part of a team.
Nine keywords are organized into three groups of three, so that we can put them into practice more readily.
Users Rule
Because only services that users find interesting and choose to use can survive, let alone become industry leaders, users are the foundation and core of our services. That is why you need to think from the users’ perspective at every step of creating a service, from start to end. You must ensure that the users trust us during every step of the service development process, from pinpointing user needs in advance to releasing distinctive services that embrace those needs.
Always Data-driven
The most crucial element when creating a service is to identify user needs accurately. If you misidentify what our users need then your very starting point is going to be wrong. You must analyze the data in depth, not just going on a hunch, and use that as the basis for your decisions. Only then will you be able to uncover our users’ hidden needs. Furthermore, user needs are always changing, so you must be attentive to their changes and keep your data up-to-date.
Perfect the Details
Once you have pinpointed the users' needs, you must create services with the details totally perfected, like only we can offer. We can only survive the fierce competition of the marketplace when we offer unique and distinctive user experiences that stand out from the multitude of alternatives. What makes experiences distinctive lies in the specifics, not the grand idea, so you must pay particular attention to the finest details. Furthermore, the work doesn’t end with the release of a service. There is no guarantee that the users who were initially satisfied with a service will still use it a year later. You must aim for a standard that exceeds their ever-changing expectations, observe their reactions, make the necessary modifications, and do what it takes so our users continue to choose us.
Stay Trustworthy
Until now, we have grown through earning the support and dedication of our users. But as our business has grown, so too has the scope of what we consider “users”, beyond just the people who use our services to now include shareholders, governments, local communities, partners, and employees. And these users demand a higher level of trust. Accordingly, in order to maintain their trust and further strengthen that bond, you should always be thinking in terms of “how” you are achieving your goals, not just “what” you’re achieving. The level of trust that users demand is always changing and may be higher in the future. You must always be attentive to those changes and respond promptly.
Get It Done
Our job is to always be solving problems. So, you must focus on solving such problems with grit and determination, rather than just dwelling on the problems or challenges, and do your best to create solutions. There are always endless reasons why something can’t be done, but, you need to dig deep and find ways to accomplish your goals. If you truly did your best—if you gave it your all and went beyond your limits—your time and effort will still be meaningful even if you meet failure at the end of the road. Or, even better, those experiences can serve as valuable lessons for your next challenge. When you finally do succeed after going through all this, you will feel an even greater sense of accomplishment.
Work Intensely and Be Focused
You will face numerous problems to solve and, yes, each of them will be difficult. Therefore, you must understand the nature of your work first—what you are doing, why you are doing it, and for whom. Then prioritize your tasks and focus on solving the problem at hand. You can only solve problems when you properly allocate your time and effort according to the importance of each issue. What’s more, you will find that you can come up with new, out-of-the-box solutions when you’re intensely immersed in the work, rather than simply “working hard”.
Take the Initiative
The more difficult a task is, the harder it is to find a solution when you are limiting yourself to just your own tasks. Take the initiative to look at the whole process and if you find a better method, talk to your peers first and work together, even if something is not on your task list. Note that this is not about simply pinpointing problems or criticizing. It is important to dive into the process and collaborate. Only with such efforts will you be able to achieve your ultimate goal.
Embody Professionalism
In order to “Get It Done”, meaning to accomplish the challenging tasks we have before us, each one of us must be professional. A “professional” is someone who regularly achieves outstanding results in their work, beyond what most people can do. And “outstanding results” means the kind of results that greatly exceed the expectations of everyone you work with. Understanding that rigorous standard, you should be striving to confidently call yourself a professional. An organization made from such excellent professionals is an organization that can tackle any challenge that comes its way and ultimately succeed.
Lean & Mean Teams
Lean & Mean Teams refers to creating teams that are efficient, with nothing in excess of what is needed, single-minded in their common objective. A hundred mediocre athletes with middling ambitions cannot beat a team of 10 elite athletes who are determined to win no matter what. We can only create outstanding results when an organization is optimized for a given task, moving in perfect order like one body, battling with a true fighting spirit.
Open Communication, Vertical Decision-making
Most of the tasks you face will have more than one solution. To identify the best solution, open and honest communications based on a deep understanding of the task are essential, regardless of authority, position, age, or experience. In an open environment, team members will suggest ideas to find solutions, and the team leader will listen to them and set a clear direction based on their input. The leader will also take responsibility for those decisions. Team members must trust their leader's judgment and work together to achieve the team's goal.
Keep in Sync with Goals
We work in an ever-changing environment, so our teams need to be able to quickly exchange opinions, adjust the direction according to prevailing conditions, and synchronize their progress with all members in real time. Only then can you promptly respond to any situation, survive and ultimately achieve your goals.
Enjoy the Challenges Together
The more difficult the challenge is, the more important the support of your teammates is. When teammates complement and encourage each other in difficult times, a bond is formed, creating a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts, and an energy that you cannot create alone. There’s nothing like the feeling of accomplishment and pride you get after overcoming challenges together as a team, challenges you once thought were insurmountable when you were on your own.