On 10th April, Key Consulting, conducted an insightful and engaging session, hosted at the wonderful Schick Japan offices that offered both presentations and a panel style discussion moderated by CEO & Founder of Key Consulting, Neal Walters. Schick Japan CEO Hideo Goto & his leadership team generously opened the doors to their newly renovated offices to 20+ business leaders to explore and dive into the topic of “driving transformation” and the recipe for success.   

 

On the day, Goto-san shared his proven recipe for transformation, one he has applied successfully four times before. Facing slowing profits and low morale, Schick managed to achieve a +15% net sales increase and an

impressive +24-point jump in engagement (81%, GPTW certified). His “recipe” included a clear purpose/vision (“make beauty grooming joyful”), a focused portfolio strategy (“fewer, bigger, longer”), and restructuring through simplification and leadership alignment. Cultural transformation was emphasized with daily recognition, quarterly celebrations, and annual awards. Initiatives like Culture Talks, Experiential Training, and Without Wall Day fostered value penetration, driving sustainable change and energizing teams around shared goals.

 

Mayumi Gonome, Head of HR at Schick, highlighted the instrumental role HR played in supporting the company’s transformation journey by embedding its vision through four key pillars:

1) winning the talent war

2) elevating the employee experience

3) investing in top talent

4) strengthening cultural alignment.

She introduced impactful initiatives such as Career Talk Relay, the People Management Committee, Engagement Ambassadors, and Without Wall Day—fostering leadership development, employee connection, and a purpose-driven culture across the organization. Lastly Schick was quoted on the enent and has this to say.

“Schick Japan was honored to partner with Key Consulting on this event.  The theme of transformation was inspiring and hope it touched the hearts and minds of the participants.  Transformation, as we all know, does not happen overnight.  It takes a lot of careful planning.  Also, being in the people function, I know that it takes much perseverance.  I hope to continue staying in touch with those that I fortunately met here so that we can provide each other with professional insights”

Guest panelist, David Karpelowitz the CEO & Founder of Munos and previously with APAC HR Director with Dell, shared that transformation efforts have risen by 85% in the past five years, resulting in widespread change fatigue among employees. He emphasized that change often fails due to negative perceptions and weak leadership. His recipe for success includes building courage, organizational muscle, thoughtful design, and a strong culture driven from the top leaders—while fostering change readiness and a growth mindset across all levels. Munos is a company that is helping firms of all sizes tackle effective change and growth as business environments evolve.

Florian Kohlbacher, currently the Vice President Corporate Planning & Governance of Olympus Corporation offered his insights as a 2nd guest panelist. Formerly a leader in top FMCG brand, Florian simply stressed the importance of anchoring transformation in a clear purpose and vision, setting a strong “North Star” for alignment. He noted that consistent communication across teams and active feedback loops are vital. Empowering individuals to lead change and fostering trust takes time, but is essential for long-term success. True transformation happens when people feel ownership and clarity in the journey.

Key Takeaways:

A number of key and consistent takeaways emerged during the presentations and discussions:

  1. Desire to transform & change: It is important to take everyone along on the journey, how you do this can vary from building purpose or by giving an ultimatum, but it is necessary that everyone is along for the ride.
  2. Setting clear objectives: Understanding why you want to change is important but defining where you want to get to be is integral to any successful transformation.
  3. Being flexible: Plans change as the journey can be rocky, but it is important not to lose sight of the end goal and roll with the punches.
  4. Purpose-Driven: Individuals are much more likely to change when clear purpose is defined, taking time to understand the vision and purpose of the work being done is more likely to succeed.
  5. Failure is an option: 70% of transformations fail, it is important not to take this to heart but important to learn from your mistakes and ensure they are replicated next time.

Conclusion

The Key Consulting Group and Schick Japan event provided some clearer guidance on how to navigate the potential minefield that can be transformation. As we have seen an increase in transformative initiatives performed by businesses up by 85% over the past 5 years it is important you are as well prepared as possible for this. Organisations need to be clear with why the change is happening, making sure teams are speaking and working towards a consistent ‘North Star’. Empowering and trusting employees to be drivers of the change will help to give your organisation the best chance of success.

Lastly, never be afraid to share your journey so others can learn and apply what makes sense to their own journey to ‘change’. Key Consulting are happy to help your firm share your story!

Connect@keyconsulting-group.com  please contact us!

Thank you our gracious hosts at Schick Japan, to all who participated on the day and here is to our next event!