Shizenkan’s program – MBA in Design and Leadership for Societal Innovation – is designed upon our view that our current economic system, and the overall human society at large, is facing a critical turning point of its history, and thus, we need leaders who tackle the challenges of shaping the future.

The fundamental assumptions of 20th century business schools have been shaken from their foundations, as business, economy, and society face new challenges. There are serious questions regarding mass production and mass consumption based on ever-growing economy, as well as large, hierarchical organizational structure, filled with middle managers and functional specialists who are equipped with specialized skills and economic incentive-based management skills.

Global society now widely share concerns for sustainability of unlimited pursuit of economic growth, as we face extreme weather events erupting around the world, and experts point out we have reached the planetary boundaries. Increasing attention to initiatives such as United Nations’ SDGs, ESG investment, and impact investment exemplify such concerns. The shift from linear economy to circular economy is fundamentally altering economic activities towards small-scale, more localized, production and consumption; this shift has deep implications on society that go beyond addressing climate crisis. In this context, people have started seeking a future in which they can connect with each other in their local communities, live in harmony with nature, and experience a sense of wellbeing.

Further, rapid progress of science and technology in various areas such as generative AI, quantum computing, and life science, and resulting innovations, are also rapidly reshaping the world we live in. The source of value creation has been shifting from occupying resources, markets and knowledge as well as pursuit of economies of scale to creativity and entrepreneurship, which generates a vision of new future and facilitates risk-taking initiatives to realize the vision. Accordingly, the requirements of next generation leaders shifts from administrative skills to operate an organization based on their position power, with carrots and sticks, to leadership abilities to mobilize people and teams based on trust and empathy.

We also face a much larger turning point from a perspective of global human history. State sovereignty, democracy and capitalism have served as fundamental politico-economic system that underpin the development of human society for centuries. However, they are now facing serious challenges, as globalization comes with increasing economic inequality and collapse of communities, as well as the world faces increasing tension in international relations and geopolitical risks. At the same time, the hegemony of the West, which lasted for 200+ years, is now swinging, due to the significant growth of Asia in the 21st century, particularly in China and in India. Furthermore, the rise of Global South, including African countries, poses questions on the Western-centric paradigm that underpinned 20th century business school education.

At this critical juncture of human history, Shizenkan aims to develop next-generation leaders, who have a passion to shape the future of themselves, the organization they work for, society, as well as the world, through its unique, whole-person management leadership education.