The Organization That Made Me Reevaluate Japan: The Release Management Laboratory

Tebanasu Management Laboratory is an organization or community that made me, someone who moved to Taiwan due to being fed up with the norm of 12-hour workdays and strict hierarchical relationships in Japanese workplaces, rethink that working in Japan might not be so bad after all. This time, I will introduce the Tebanasu Management Laboratory (hereinafter referred to as “the Lab”). However, the Lab’s content is very extensive, making it difficult to convey every interesting aspect and advantage in one blog post. Therefore, this time will be limited to a simple introduction, and I will provide a detailed introduction of the Lab’s content in several future posts.

*“Tebanasu” mean release

Table of Contents

1. The Management Philosophy of the Tebanasu Management Laboratory
2. The Background of the Lab’s Establishment
3. Business Activities
4. Member Composition
5. Operational Content
6. Next Post Preview

The Management Philosophy of the Tebanasu Management Laboratory

In Lab terms, the management philosophy call WWH (Why, What, How).

Why: How we contribute to society and our existence

A world awakening in happiness

What: The specific value society and customers receive

Weaving differences

How: How we deliver that value

More fun, a little quirky

In other words, the Lab aims to “weave the differences of people and organizations to create a world awakening in happiness by working in a more fun and a little quirky manner.”

The Background of the Lab’s Establishment

The Tebanasu Management Laboratory is an online community created to explore how organizations and companies can grow sustainably amidst significant societal changes such as population decline, environmental shifts, and the diversification of values. The concept of “release management” aims to reduce top-down directives and control, emphasizing the autonomy and creativity of individual members, thereby enhancing the flexibility and speed of the entire organization. Through this style, the goal is to create organizations where employees can work happily.

Business Activities

• Research and dissemination of information about the “release management” style
• Operation of the “DXO program”
• Research and dissemination of new organizational forms such as Teal organizations and Holacracy
• Hosting seminars, and workshops with business leaders and experts

For an ordinary graphic designer, organizational theory is not very familiar, and there are some unfamiliar terms on the Lab’s website. However, since around 2018, I have heard the term “Teal organization,” which seems quite similar.

Teal organization: There are no leaders with centralized power; members make decisions on-site as needed. Members in a Teal organization are equal to each other (flat relationships), and the organization is considered to belong to all members. HR Trend Lab

Holacracy: A method of decentralized management and organizational governance, where power and decision-making are distributed through self-organized teams, rather than belonging to a hierarchical management structure. Wikipedia

Member Composition

• Facebook online community members: 2,940 (free)
• Slack researchers: 124 (monthly fee of 1,000 yen)
• Operational members: Approximately 6–8 people (I am not exactly sure)

Numbers as of May 8, 2024

Now, I will introduce the operational content of the Institute. For the content that has a website, I have included the links. So if there is any content you are interested in, please open the links directly to check it out.

Operational Content

YouTube Channel

• CEO, I will gonna cut-off your armor today again
  Business leaders unravel their mental models with Mikako Yusa, author of “The Mental Model”

• Shin Management Theory
  A podcast where management thinker and social system designer Kozo Takei discusses how to better manage one’s life, company, society, and the planet
• Takahiro Bando’s Poi! Release Management Lab
  A podcast program that transparently delivers the reality of the Lab’s exploration of new management styles
• Release TALK LIVE
  Talk live events with business leaders, held both in person and online (open to non-paying Lab members)

Workshops

• DXO Experience/Practice Sessions
  Programs that use digital tools to unleash the individuality of workers and design organizations in a flexible manner similar to living organisms
• Ascension of Management Paradigm
  A learning space for new-style business leaders, navigated by Kozo Takei, a leading expert in autonomous decentralized management in Japan
• Ascension of Management Theory
  A learning space that redefines “history,” “society,” “economy,” and “currency,” updating perspectives and ways of thinking, while focusing on corporate management

Facebook Community

• Announcements of online/offline event information
  (open to non-paying Lab members)

Slack

• A communication space for Lab researchers,
  including personal channels
  (for paying Lab members only)

Zoom Events

• For each area Lab members on/offline gathering
• Online bar gathering
• NVC Book Club
• Other self-exploration single events

Email Newsletter

• Daily emails from the four operational members of the Lab, sharing their candid concerns and thoughts about the daily operations

Next Post Preview

Next time, I will introduce DXO, the Lab’s main content, filled with elements that make people and organizations happy without them even realizing it.
For those interested in the Tebanasu Management Laboratory or Japan’s Teal Organizations, any questions or comments are very welcome.