Introduction (Overview of Activities)

We started the "Manabi-no-Michi-no-Eki” at KINTO Technologies!

So you'd ask, what is "Manabi (learning) + Michi-no-Eki (roadside station)" about? At our company, we do our best to foster a culture of output by hosting different activities including this Tech Blog, by presenting at events, or promoting various other initiatives.

So, what drives our focus on output?

We believe that input, or what we have learned, is a crucial prerequisite for output. That is why we created a team dedicated to strengthening our internal learning capabilities, initiated by volunteers within our company.

The name "Michi-no-Eki (roadside station)" incorporates various ideas as well. Have you ever been to roadside stations in Japan? It gathers products from local communities, provides rest for travelers, and serve as hubs where you can encounter unique experiences found nowhere else.

That's where our idea of Manabi-no-Michi-no-Eki (Roadside Station of Learning) comes from: a desire to create a unique place where everyone on the journey of learning can drop by, be thrilled by new encounters, and come together to be uplifted.

What Does the Manabi-no-Michi-no-Eki Do?

As a "roadside station" where study groups and workshops intersect, we aim to support internal activities centered around study sessions:

• Engaging in internal communications
  • Letting everyone know what study groups are being held.
  • Sharing what the current study groups are like.
• Supporting study groups
  • For those who say, 'I want to start a study group', but I don’t know how to.
  • For those who are organizing study groups but want to improve them.
  • Offering advice on other concerns.

Asking the Organizers: What Ideas Led to the Creation of 'Manabi-no-Michi-no-Eki'?

Nakanishi: I have always believed that life is about learning. People constantly seek knowledge to find meaning in life, to find a place of solace in their hearts, and to energize their lives. The most fascinating people I have met so far who impressed me the most are those who are constantly learning new things; they shine the most. We believe that creating a company-wide space for colleagues to gather would enhance our daily work output. However, we began receiving feedback about the scattered information on internal study groups and a desire to understand the available learning environments. This prompted the launch of this project.

HOKA: Working in human resources, I often hear during employee interviews a common desire for increased communication across different groups. This sparked a feeling that I wanted to do something about it. At the same time, through my work I have observed that successful people in KINTO Technologies often participate in study groups. These two points intersected, sparking the idea of creating a system where people could interact with each other while learning. When I discussed this idea with my boss, he introduced me to Kinchan and Nakanishi-san, and that is how the "Manabi-no-Michi-no-Eki" project was born.

Kinchan: I have been involved with the culture of study groups on various occasions over the past 15 years. When I joined KINTO Technologies, I found that the company already had a good culture where learning is an integral part of everyday work. I wanted to expand this positive culture even further and contribute to the growth of people, our organization, and our business. That is why we've decided to take action by gathering information about study groups across the company.

Establishment

Step 1: Compile information on internal study groups!

KINTO Technologies is an organization where voluntary learning activities led by employees such as study groups and reading circles are very active.

Various study groups are held within the company, but questions often arise, such as 'where and when are they held?'. Some employees want to learn more about what's available. Having heard many voices, I wanted to give them more visibility. This was the starting point of our activities.

We quickly gathered information and discovered that there were about 40 study groups. We were also aware of the existence of other hidden study groups, so we estimated that there were probably more than 60 groups in the company, including smaller ones.

The three of us who found amazing that there were so many active study groups, started discussions at the end of November 2023.

Step 2: What shall we do?

In our first meeting, we listed what we wanted to do. Should we just storm into these study groups? Should we post about them on the Tech Blog more often? Many ideas came up, but we settled on the premise that it would be important to let people know about us internally first.

So, we decided to participate in an in-house LT (Lightning Talk) event, which was to be held three weeks later on December 21. Without mentioning the "Manabi-no-Michi-no-Eki" yet, each of us three took the stage at it, and Kinchan won (yay!). First, we took action to make ourselves known to people within the company.

Note: For more information, please see our Tech Blog article about the LT Event. ↓↓

We Held an In-House-Only LT (Lightning Talk) Event!

Step 3: Make an inception deck!

At our December 27, 2023 meeting, we realized the need for guidelines because we have so many things we wanted to do. We decided to create an "inception deck" from the beginning of the year. Inception deck is a software development tool to ensure that all team members have a common understanding of and goals for the development of a project. In ours, we clarified the following four points:

• Why We Are Here
• Elevator Pitch
• Not-To-Do List
• Our A Team

By talking through the above, the name "Manabi-no-Michi-no-Eki (Roadside Station of Learning)" naturally came to mind, and we were able to decide on it without hesitation.

In the process of creating our inception deck, we each shared our thoughts on learning with discussions of cooperative learning and about Peter Koenig’s Source Principle. It was a moment when I felt that the process of creating the inception deck itself was also a learning experience for us.

And now: Let's Start the Engines!

The inception deck was completed in late January 2024. When it was finished, we were a little impatient. We had a clear idea of our goals and tasks, and we were eager to get started right away. Kinchan, who proposed the inception deck, was probably secretly pleased, saying, 'just as expected.'

As a first step to get things moving, we announced the birth of "Manabi-no-Michi-no-Eki" at the monthly All-Hands meeting with all KINTO Technologies members!

At the same time, we also started the "Joining the next door study group" series.

On February 22, we gathered everyone running study groups in a meeting room to interview them. Without having prepared any interview questions beforehand, we just pulled out our phones and recorded on the spot. Both the interviewers and the interviewees were very surprised. Although there was some confusion, they cooperated with us. (Thank you all!)

We later edited unnecessary segments so that it could be played as a podcast, and we were able to successfully launch it to all employees via Slack on March 13.

Our Next Steps

We then run three study groups, published two podcasts, and published two blog articles, while reflecting and discussing our future!

• What do people want to know?
• Are they interested in the study groups?
• What do the organizers want people to know?

As a result of the discussion, we came to the conclusion that "the purpose and needs of each study group are different. It would be better to individually assemble a story tailored to each of their characteristics."

Moreover,

• What would be the role of our podcasts?
  • Content as an advertisement for the study group?
  • Content as internal newsletters?

After considering these points, we came to the conclusion that "KINTO Technologies holds so many study groups," that to sum it up, "our goal will be achieved if we can give visibility to how rooted our study culture is." As for the future, we have decided to proceed with the activity of creating podcasts, running study groups, learning from any failures, and expanding wherever possible!

In fact, I was a bit nervous about this agile approach—iterating, correcting, and steering things in a better direction. Before joining KINTO Technologies, I worked for a company with rigid rules and flows for handling information.

As one of the organizers of 'Manabi-no-Michi-no-Eki,' this is an opportunity for me to learn about KINTO Technologies' development style of 'Make Small, Grow Big' while working in HR.

The "Manabi-no-Michi-no-Eki" has just begun. We look forward to keeping you updated about it on the KINTO Tech Blog from time to time. Thank you very much for your support!