Two months have passed since the start of the 48th fiscal year. As I mentioned in the last CEO Diary, the keyword for this fiscal year is "a self-sustaining fighting force," and the theme is "time and health."

■CONTENTS 01: What is a fighting group?
■CONTENTS 02: Self-driving

■CONTENTS 03: Practical skills, time, and health
■CONTENTS 04: Drifting but not sinking

CONntents 01: What is a combat group?

CONTENTS 01: What is a battle group?

As I mentioned in my last President's Diary, "battle" does not mean fighting with customers, other companies, or opponents.

It is a battle against the external environment, a battle against value creation, and a battle against your company and yourself.

In my opinion, a "fighting group" is one that does not fight head-on, but faces the same direction as external stakeholders, works hard together, and creates value together.

Our goal this fiscal year is to collaborate and cooperate with our stakeholders to take on the external environment, our company, and ourselves, and to actively engage in activities that create value.

In order to create value together with our stakeholders as a fighting group, we must have a sense of tension with each other, be proactive, and have a strong desire to create something.

It is also important for all employees to be aware that they are a fighting force.

CONTENTS 02: Self-driving

CONTENTS 02: self-propelled

It is important to have the awareness of being a fighting group, but we must not forget that we must also be self-sustaining.

We believe that the foundation of the "good mindset," "good awareness," and "practical ability" that we have cultivated up to now will enable us to become self-sufficient.

Okafoods is now gradually acquiring this kind of human strength, and this is beginning to be reflected in the evaluations of external stakeholders.

The other day, a customer who knew the old Oka Foods visited our company and, upon observing our employees' actions, commented that he felt there had been an evolution and change.

By allowing customers to experience our philosophy and policies through our employees, I realized that Oka Foods is evolving into a self-sustaining organization.

However, this evaluation is based on comparisons with the old Oka Foods and other companies. On the other hand, it is also true that not all employees have reached the same level. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. My role is to create a system in which as many employees as possible can provide value in their areas of expertise.

Furthermore, "strategic thinking" and "speeding up" are also necessary elements to survive in the current environment. Adding learning, practical ability, knowledge, and skills to this will lead to value creation.

The reason for the need to "speed up" is to respond to changes in the external environment. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the situation in Russia and Ukraine, the risk scenario has been shortened by about five years in the past year, and if Oka Foods cannot adapt to the changes in the environment, it will be swept away by the rough waves.

Strategic thinking and speed become more important when fighting the environment.

The key is how well you can put it into practice.

CONTENTS 03: Practical skills, time, and health

CONTENTS 03: Practical skills, time and health

So how can you improve your practical skills?

Assuming that the basic thinking and mindset have been aligned with the philosophy and policies, there are two factors that hinder practical ability.

One is the lack of time.

The second reason is that they are not in good physical and mental health.

This ties in with this season's theme , "Time and Health."

This is the third time I've addressed this topic this term, but until now it's just the time and health given to me by the company.

This time, I would like each employee to think about time, health, and practical skills.

And in order to acquire practical skills, there are many things that cannot be understood just by thinking about them in your head.

Many experiences lead to personal growth.

By increasing the number of employees who repeat trial and error and accumulate small successes, we can turn a crisis into an opportunity.

If we do nothing, we will remain in a pinch.

This season, I believe it is very important to turn a crisis into an opportunity and make the right efforts to seize that opportunity.

CONTENTS 04: Drifting but not sinking

CONTENTS 04: floating but not sinking

Once you face time and your health and become a self-sustaining fighting force, you just have to keep running.

Now we must act to avoid being swallowed up by these rough waves and sinking, while also thinking about our next steps and moving forward.

Even large companies are assuming the worst case scenario, thinking of ways to survive, and taking on new challenges with determination.

Even if people say "That's great!", there are always problems ahead and I never stop thinking about it.

It is a constant struggle against dissatisfaction and dissatisfaction. Otherwise there will be no evolution or change, and you will not be able to respond to changes in the external environment and will sink.

Drifting but not sinking...these words perfectly describe Oka Foods' determination to weather the rough seas.