Sports PR × Management × Fatherhood: A Day in the Life of a Leader with Three Roles

The cherry blossoms that were in full bloom during the entrance ceremony have now completely turned to lush green leaves. The refreshing breeze swaying the young leaves of the ginkgo trees lining the path from Sendagaya Station makes one’s step feel somewhat lighter.

In the midst of Golden Week, which can last up to 12 consecutive days, many of you are likely enjoying “fun commotions” such as leisure activities and watching sports.

In this installment of our “Member’s Day” series, we follow a typical day for Mr. Ishiguro, who is in his ninth year since joining as a new graduate and belongs to SUNNY SIDE UP’s 5th Business Unit (Sports), which handles numerous sports-related projects.

While serving as a sales representative for clients, Mr. Ishiguro also manages members daily as a leader in the Social Relations Department (SR Department), which handles media relations. He is also the father of one child.

We present a day in the life of a man who gives his all, both on and off the clock!

Member Introduction 🥚

▲ Makoto Ishiguro, Leader, Group 2, Division 2, 5th Business Unit (Sports), Public Relations Business Headquarters / Group 2, Division 3, Social Relations Department. Driven by his love for sports, especially soccer, he joined as a new graduate in 2018. He is an outdoors enthusiast who belongs to the company’s futsal club and enjoys marine sports with local friends when visiting his hometown.

A Typical Daily Schedule 🔍

| 8:30 AM: Taking the child to nursery school

The day begins with the nursery school run. After finishing breakfast, it is my responsibility to take my daughter to the nursery school.

| 9:00 AM: Checking emails

Working from home

After safely dropping off my daughter, I return home to check emails and Slack. Since multiple projects are progressing simultaneously every day, there is a high volume of communication. Some days, I have meetings first thing in the morning.

As I switch the TV channel from educational programs to news programs, I transition from being a father to a PR professional. I check media coverage here before heading to the office!

| 10:30 AM: Arriving at the Office

I check news sites while commuting by train. I often continue checking media exposure following the news programs or look up sports match results.

| 11:00 AM: Regular meeting

In the SR Department, which is responsible for building relationships with the media, each group holds weekly meetings.

As a leader, I catch up on the progress of members’ work and provide advice on “approach strategies” and “proposal angles” according to their respective situations. I strive to create a friendly atmosphere where members can discuss and help each other, rather than just one-way communication from the leader or one-on-one interactions with individual members.

I try to hold “Group Regular Meetings” in person as much as possible so that everyone can discuss while seeing each other’s expressions. Since these can easily become routine progress updates, we once met outdoors for a change of pace at the request of the members (laughs).

An “Open-Air Group Meeting” held for a change of scenery

| 12:00 PM: Meeting with a client

Regular meetings with clients occur on average once or twice a day. Sometimes I visit the client’s office, and other times, like today, I conduct them online from the office or a satellite-type shared office.

The frequency of meetings varies depending on the client and the project phase; recently, some projects require meetings about twice a week. I organize the agenda in advance to report progress and coordinate before events, and after the meeting, I create a To-Do list to ensure no tasks are overlooked.

| 1:00 PM: Lunch

The SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP office is conveniently located in the Sendagaya/Kita-Sando area (commonly known as “Dagaya-Sando”) and Yoyogi area, where many restaurants are located. However, I usually eat in the office to avoid the lunchtime rush.

Daily food trucks are a great ally for those who prefer lunch in the office. I often go to buy lunch with colleagues from my starting year, as well as seniors and juniors including supervisors, which serves as a moment for a change of pace and communication. My favorite is the Friday omurice, which I buy almost every week!

On this day, I had lunch while exchanging information with members of the 6th Business Unit (Sports) who happened to be sitting nearby. This kind of casual interaction across departments is a unique benefit of our hot-desking system.

| 3:00 PM: Location scouting

Heading to a theater in Tokyo for an upcoming event!

Unless it is a place I have used before and already understand the structure of the facility, I basically conduct location scouting for every event. Due to the nature of my department, I also visit sports facilities such as stadiums.

Even though it is the preparation stage, many people are involved, including client representatives, facility staff, and sometimes agency staff. I work with an awareness of the schedule to ensure we finish during the brief intervals when general guests are not present. The key is to check everything from the entrance to the venue, guest dressing rooms, and the backstage area to form a concrete image of the setup and flow on the day of the event.

| 6:00 PM: Meeting

After returning to the office, we hold a member assignment meeting with the department head and leaders of the 3rd Division of the SR Department. With the launch of new projects, we assign SR Department members as media representatives.

When deciding who to assign to which project, I try to respect the wishes of members who volunteer as much as possible. Additionally, to make a comprehensive judgment considering individual schedules, the balance with current duties, and respective aptitudes and strengths, it is necessary to observe each person’s situation on a daily basis.

Separately, there is a meeting where all department heads and leaders from the 1st to 3rd Divisions of the SR Department gather. This meeting, called the “Management Regular Meeting,” is held weekly, and once a month, the SUNNY SIDE UP management team also participates! We review the status of each department, group, and member.

At the end of every month, a general meeting for the entire SR Department is held. Each month, members from each department volunteer to present their project results to the entire department, sharing their learnings and innovative points.

| 7:00 PM: Document preparation

Since meetings are often scheduled during the day, I usually prepare documents from the evening onwards.

While most documents created in the first or second year of employment are press releases or event invitations, what I am creating here is a proposal for a client. Proposals for competitions that occur several times a year can span dozens of pages and require several days of preparation.

I once received a request for a proposal addressed to me personally from an overseas professional sports team for which SUNNY SIDE UP had previously handled PR and communications for their Japan tour. It is a moment of joy when I feel that trust has been placed in us based on our past performance!

On this day, I worked in one of the focus booths located in the office. There are fully private focus booths and those partitioned off; I used the latter this time.

While working, I am often approached by members for advice on media relations, invitations, or workload management. When providing advice, I first encourage the members to think for themselves. I feel that what I learned from my supervisors and seniors when I was a newcomer is being applied to my current management style.

| 8:00 PM: Leaving the Office

After clocking out, I switch completely to off-duty mode! I watch soccer on my smartphone while commuting. I also utilize the Super Flextime system to leave early and pick up my daughter, or to participate in futsal club activities at a rented court near the office.

On this day, I attended a reunion with colleagues from my starting year for the first time in a while. Members working in remote locations also joined, and we shared updates while discussing our reflections on reaching our ninth year with the company!

A commemorative photo with colleagues taken at the previous year’s group kick-off presentation.

| Extra: Days Off

Members of the SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP are passionate about entertainment, including sports, movies, and games. I am no exception, enjoying “fun commotions” both inside and outside the company, such as participating in marathon events, private futsal tournaments, and watching J-League matches.

My greatest joy is spending time with my family! It is not always possible to have a slow family dinner every day, so I refresh myself on weekends by playing with my daughter at a nearby park or going to theme parks with the family. As I progress through different life stages, my perspective has broadened, and I feel I am gaining more and more knowledge as a person, a parent, and a business professional.

Using passion for sports as a weapon, he transforms even changes in life stages into depth as a PR professional.

SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP provides an environment where individual passions and experiences can be channeled into professional work.

This series will continue to focus on our diverse members, so please stay tuned!