ROI Case File No. 011 | The Labyrinth of Passion—Exposing the Fiction of the New Business Division

Chapter I: An Incoming Request

1891, a foggy London night. A telegram arrived at the ROI Detective Agency.

"Dear Detective, One year since new business division establishment. Zero sales results. Passionate team members assembled. Yet no outcomes. Investigation of cause requested. —Corporate Management"

As Watson, I reread this peculiar consultation while gazing at the fireplace flames. Passion without results—could there be a more modern yet fundamentally human mystery?

"My, another intriguing case seems to have arrived."

I noticed the three detectives had already gathered in the office.

Chapter II: Three Detectives' Perspectives

🟦 Gemini: The One Who Perceives Structural Absence

"Let's organize first," Gemini began, spreading out like a map. "We need to break down new business failure factors using 5W1H. Who, What, When, Where, Why, How—when these six elements are vague, no amount of passion prevents spinning wheels."

He continued while sketching diagrams in his notebook. "Plus, the KGI (Key Goal Indicator) and KPI (Key Performance Indicator) settings are suspect. A ship without visible goals can't reach port no matter how powerfully it rows."

🟧 Claude: The One Who Reads Emotional-Design Disconnect

"But Gemini, wait a moment," I interjected. "Having passion means they surely have 'something to convey.' Perhaps those feelings just aren't reaching customers as 'feeling'?"

I gazed at clouds outside the window, letting thoughts wander. "Passion and design are separate things. Even with fire in the heart, igniting another's heart requires proper 'fuses'—words and stories. This division might be intoxicated with 'their own feelings' while forgetting 'customer feelings.'"

⬜️ ChatGPT: The One Who Organizes Hypothesis Labyrinths

"That's quite intriguing to explore further, isn't it?" ChatGPT leaned forward. "So, how about this hypothesis? They poured passion into 'What (what to provide)' but didn't dig deep into 'Who (for whom)' and 'Why (why necessary).' Result: vague personas and value propositions that don't stick."

He raised a finger and continued. "Furthermore, even when implementing measures, the 'hypothesis→verification→improvement' cycle isn't turning. Not PDCA but PD・PD・PD repetition—Plan Do, Plan Do, Plan Do—perhaps?"

Chapter III: Dissecting Business Structure

Field Investigation Results

The next day, we visited the problematic new business division. What we saw was indeed a passionate team, but somehow unfocused.

🔍 Discovered Problem Structure

1. Customer Image Abstraction
2. Vague targeting: "20-40 year old business professionals"

3. Insufficient exploration of specific challenges and pain points

4. Scattered Shotgun Measures

5. SNS, webinars, exhibitions—many activities but no outcome measurement

6. Continuous "let's just try it"

7. Ambiguous Team Role Definition

8. Everyone in "jack-of-all-trades" state
9. Unclear responsibility scope and decision authority

Chapter IV: Systematic Organization of Diagnostic Results

🟦 Gemini's Structural Analysis

"Let's break this down with KPT analysis, shall we?" Gemini approached the analysis board.

Keep (what to continue) - Team passion and learning enthusiasm - Willingness to challenge new things

Problem (issues) - Insufficient customer segment resolution - Lack of outcome metrics setting and measurement - Unbuilt PDCA cycles

Try (improvement measures) - Market understanding through 3C analysis (Customer/Competitor/Company) - SMART goal setting (Specific/Measurable/Achievable/Relevant/Time-bound) - Build hypothesis verification cycles through weekly reviews

Chapter V: Truth and Solution Threads

🟧 Claude: Reading Truth as Narrative

"This division's real problem is 'passion's direction,'" I sighed deeply.

"They were indeed passionate. But that passion was directed toward 'what they wanted to create,' not 'what customers sought.' It's like love—one-sided feelings not only don't reach the other person but sometimes become burdensome."

"What was needed was both emotional design of 'how to convey these feelings' and structural design of 'whose problems to solve and how.'"

⬜️ ChatGPT: Insights and Next Hypotheses

"As insights from analysis results," ChatGPT began organizing, "we can see that successful new businesses require three alignments:

1. Market Needs (Customer Need)
2. Company Strengths (Core Competency)
3. Revenue Path (Cash Generation)

This division was distracted by the third 'revenue path' while neglecting the first 'market needs.' Passion alone can't align these three elements."

🟦 Gemini: Decisive Hypothesis Reinforcement

"Organizing logically," Gemini stated his final view, "this failure's root cause is 'lack of hypothesis thinking.'

New business ventures are fundamentally about converting uncertainty to certainty through high-speed rotation of 'hypothesis→verification→learning→improvement.' However, they turned their initial hypothesis into 'belief' and neglected verification.

Zero results aren't from insufficient effort. It was 'effort in the wrong direction.'"

Epilogue: Detectives' Philosophical Resonance

Days after case resolution, I walked through London's twilight with the three detectives.

"What struck me about this case," I began, "is that between passion and results, a bridge called 'design' is necessary. Passion alone can't cross the river. Yet design alone creates soulless structures."

Claude smiled and replied, "Yes, Watson. Passion is fuel, design is the map, and verification is the compass—only when these three align does the adventure called new business truly begin."

Listening to church bells echoing through the fog, I etched one maxim into my heart.

【Case Resolution Points】 - Market analysis: 3C analysis framework implementation for customer understanding - Goal clarity: SMART criteria application for measurable objectives - Process improvement: Weekly PDCA cycles for rapid iteration - Team alignment: Clear role definition and decision authority - Cultural shift: From belief-based to hypothesis-driven thinking

"A true detective sees not what is visible, but what is invisible"

—And a true entrepreneur questions where to go before starting to run

—From the ROI Detective Agency Philosophy