A Vision Drawn in the ToC Becomes a New Business. - Japan Medical Design Center (General Incorporated Association) -

How can we organize the organization's very wide-ranging activities and envision, through the ToC, the future we are heading toward?

The Japan Medical Design Center (Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture) is a pioneering organization in medical design in Japan. It creates innovation through the combination of 'medicine x design,' provides design consulting to medical institutions, and has built a network of healthcare professionals across Japan. Its signature event, the Medical Design Summit, is also actively held (in 2025, it took place in Osaka on November 9).

'We want to organize how we can make sense of our very wide-ranging activities, and envision the future we are heading toward.' Over the two months from August to September 2021, I facilitated an intensive ToC creation workshop with two board members and myself: nine sessions in total, each three hours long. Because of the pandemic, every session was held online via Zoom. We also gave a presentation reporting to the board of directors.

The ToC became a support so that leaders would not lose heart, and led to the birth of a new business

Once the ToC was completed, the organization's future strategy became clear.

Even in a chaotic business environment, the ToC can be used for both defense and offense.

On defense, the ToC is useful. After the ToC was published on the Japan Medical Design Center's website, some time later I received a very encouraging message: 'Mr. Tanabe, even when we face harsh management conditions, the ToC keeps our leadership from losing heart.'

The entrepreneur 家入一真 has said: 'A company breaks when the president's mental state breaks.'

On offense, what is truly astonishing is this. When the ToC was created, the idea of 'a medical design center established within the grounds of a university medical school' was a dream. In December 2024, however, a medical design center opened at the University of Tsukuba Hospital.

'Medical Design Center Tsukuba' opened within CIME at the University of Tsukuba Hospital.

By visualizing an organization's invisible value through the ToC, a dream took shape, and a new business was born.

The Japan Medical Design Center is recruiting Design Management members and supporting members. There are many attractive benefits, and we would be grateful if you would take a look.