Japanese tidying expert Marie Kondo has been listed as one of Time’s 100 most influential people in 2015. At the core of her tidying method and philosophy is the idea of sparking joy, an expression you might have come across over the past few years. After her Japanese bestseller book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up has been translated in various languages, she had opportunities to go abroad and see houses and families around the world.

According to this Japanese interview , it is during this time that her desire to contribute to the world through tidying up grew stronger, which she captures in the purposeful expression of Organizing the World. She elaborates her purpose below.

Mission

Our goal is to help more people tidy their spaces by choosing joy, and we are committed to developing the simplest and most effective tools to help you get there.

Bringing the mission to life
To bring the mission to life, her company does three main things.

  1. Her books
  2. Her own line of products such as these storage boxes (current sold out)
  3. Seminars including ones that trains and certifies KonMari Consultants

She also has a Netflix show released in last month, which has made some noise in social media. Here’s an interview from LA Times where you can learn more about the show as well as her origins.

On a related note
This method-centered business model method brings to mind David Allen’s GTD (Getting Things Done) company. His company has a David Allen Academy which certifies coaches and trainers on his time management method. This model is fascinating as the methodology is given away; you can learn the essentials from the Internet or buy the book, which doesn’t break the bank. The secret ingredient of the business, however, is sustained by a network/platform/community built around this method.

Speaking of sparking joy and decluttering, I think we’re seeing a movement towards this on the digital sides of things as well. Cal Newport, author of Deep Work’s, upcoming book Digital Minimalism is about this.

 

Purpose Link of the Week
10 Steps to Creating Core Values That Your Company Lives By A blog post from the folks at Delivering Happiness about how to create core values with a simple and clear roadmap infographic.