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Hello.

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I'm a toy developer.

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With a dream of creating new toys[br]that have never been seen before,

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I began working at a toy company[br]nine years ago.

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When I first started working there,

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I proposed many new ideas[br]to my boss every day.

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However, my boss always asked

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if I had the data to prove it would sell,

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and asked me to think of product[br]development after analyzing market data.

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Data, data, data.

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So I analyzed the market data[br]before thinking of a product.

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However, I was unable to think[br]of anything new at that moment.

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(Laughter)

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My ideas were unoriginal.

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I wasn't getting any new ideas[br]and I grew tired of thinking.

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It was so hard that I became this skinny.

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(Laughter)

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It's true.[br](Applause)

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You've all probably had[br]similar experiences and felt this way too.

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Your boss was being difficult.[br]The data was difficult.

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You become sick of thinking.

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Now, I throw out the data.

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It's my dream to create new toys.

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And now, instead of data,

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I'm using a game called Shiritori[br]to come up with new ideas.

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I would like to introduce[br]this method today.

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What is Shiritori?

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Take apple, elephant [br]and trumpet, for example.

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It's a game where [br]you take turns saying words

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that start with the last letter[br]of the previous word.

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It's the same in Japanese and English.

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You can play Shiritori as you like:

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"neko, kora, raibu, burashi," etc, etc.[br][Cat, cola, concert, brush]

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Many random words will come out.

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You force those words to connect to what[br]you want to think of and form ideas.

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In my case, for example,[br]since I want to think of toys,

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what could a toy cat be?

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A cat that lands after doing[br]a somersault from a high place?

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How about a toy with cola?

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A toy gun where you shoot cola[br]and get someone soaking wet?

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(Laughter)

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Ridiculous ideas are okay.[br]The key is to keep them flowing.

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The more ideas you produce, you're sure[br]to come up with some good ones, too.

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A brush, for example.[br]Can we make a toothbrush into a toy?

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We could combine[br]a toothbrush with a guitar and --

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(Music noises) --

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you've got a toy you can play with[br]while brushing your teeth.

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(Laughter) (Applause)

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Kids who don't like to brush[br]their teeth might begin to like it.

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Can we make a hat into a toy?

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How about something like a roulette game,[br]where you try the hat on one by one,

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and then, when someone puts it on,[br]a scary alien breaks through the top

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screaming, "Ahh!"

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I wonder if there would be[br]a demand for this at parties?

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Ideas that didn't come out while you stare[br]at the data will start to come out.

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Actually, this bubble wrap,[br]which is used to pack fragile objects,

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combined with a toy,[br]made Mugen Pop Pop,

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a toy where you can pop[br]the bubbles as much as you like.

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It was a big hit when it reached stores.

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Data had nothing to do with its success.

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Although it's only popping bubbles,

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it's a great way to kill time,

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so please pass this around

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amongst yourselves today and play with it.

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(Applause)

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Anyway, you continue to come up with[br]useless ideas.

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Think up many trivial ideas, everyone.

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If you base your ideas on data analysis[br]and know what you're aiming for,

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you'll end up trying too hard,

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and you can't produce new ideas.

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Even if you know what your aim is,

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think of ideas as freely as if you were[br]throwing darts with your eyes closed.

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If you do this, you surely will hit[br]somewhere near the center.

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At least one will.

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That's the one you should choose.

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If you do so, that idea will be in demand

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and, moreover, it will be brand new.

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That is how I think of new ideas.

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It doesn't have to be Shiritori;[br]there are many different methods.

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You just have to choose words at random.

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You can flip through a dictionary[br]and choose words at random.

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For example, you could look up two[br]random letters and gather the results

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or go to the store[br]and connect product names

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with what you want to think of.

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The point is to gather random words,

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not information from the category[br]you're thinking for.

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If you do this, the ingredients for[br]the association of ideas are collected

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and form connections[br]that will produce many ideas.

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The greatest advantage to this method[br]is the continuous flow of images.

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Because you're thinking[br]of one word after another,

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the image of the previous word[br]is still with you.

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That image will automatically[br]be related with future words.

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Unconsciously, a concert will[br]be connected to a brush

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and a roulette game[br]will be connected to a hat.

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You wouldn't even realize it.

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You can come up with ideas that[br]you wouldn't have thought of otherwise.

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This method is, of course,[br]not just for toys.

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You can collect ideas for books, apps,[br]events, and many other projects.

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I hope you all try this method.

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There are futures that are born from data.

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However, using this silly game[br]called Shiritori,

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I look forward to[br]the exciting future you will create,

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a future you couldn't even imagine.

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Thank you very much.

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(Applause)