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SINCA launch event

I joined SINCA event on Saturday, September 29. SINCA, stands for Sharing Innovative and Creative Action, is the project that is being produced by Ms. Yoko Ishikura. The theme of yesterday’s event was “What would you do if you lost your job tomorrow?”.

What would you do if you lost your job tomorrow?
I faced this situation when I was pregnant. I was a TV camera photographer but I could not handle the camera for several years because of my pregnancy and the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred in 2011. The renewed management plan urged me to improve and build the facilities for countermeasures against disasters rather than shooting with a camera. It was a very scary experience that I would lose my job.

Broadening interest and diversifying risk
After that, I decided to acquire the new skills to support myself in the current and future situation. First, I learned business and global leadership in online graduate school. Second, I gained simple IT skills and interested in not only shooting with a camera but also the other field of engineerings. Third, I joined several events and started building a network outside the company. These attempts broaden my interests and distribute risks when the situation in one field got worse.

For the future
It is a lot of fun to input, discuss, and imagine things. I have a lot of things what I want to learn such as technology, design, economy, and philosophy. However Life is not so long to accomplish something in a limited time. Now it is a new phase to develop action plan and implement ideas. “Walk the Talk”. This is one of the concepts of SINCA. While cherishing various networks, I would like to promote prototyping and create something out.

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Tech In Asia Tokyo 2018

I enjoyed Tech In Asia Tokyo 2018 at Shibuya Hikarie yesterday. I heard Arena Pitch Battle. It was so excited.

There were eight pairs of startups as finalists who were selected from Asian countries. As a result of pitch judgment, Ginco, a crypto wallet app, won the championship. Stories about each products and services stuck in my heart.

Three judges, Kengo Ito, General Partner, D4V, Masaya Kubota, Partner, WiL and Ryu Hirota, Principal, Spiral Ventures asked keen questions to finalists and it became a very active place. They discussed feasibility, target, market, competitors, and the most obvious concept. I thought how important it was to communicate in a limited 5 minutes pitch and question-and-answer period.

It was the first time for me to join Tech In Asia. The venue atmosphere was cool and like a live house because of the dark tone and elaborate lightening. I felt it was different from another event hosted by Japanese domestic company. As many agendas were prepared, I would like to have fun next year.

Arena Pitch Battle Finalist
  • Ginco (Japan): The Next Generation Crypto Wallet
  • MaBeee (Japan): Communication dry cell battery developed by Novars Inc.
  • アメグミ(Japan): Smartphone OS Sunblaze specialized for busines
  • PEN Cube by PEN Robotics (Japan): A personal assistant robot equipped with face recognition camera and IoT remote control
  • GPU Eater by Pegara (Japan): Cloud services for deep learning
  • DubHub by Wika Media (Singapore): Provide the solution for viewers looking to enjoy a TV show or movie in a language they can understand.
  • mui by mui Lab (Japan): IoT device adjusts your environment
  • insureVite (Singapore): Chat bot for insurance service
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Joichi Ito Lecture

I joined the lecture by Joichi Ito, a director of MIT Media Lab yesterday. It was meaningful enough to forget the passage of time. The most impressive story was what is going on in the world is connected the “loop”.

The ecosystem is the representative example of the loop. Solar energy raises plants, animals eat plants and plants turn oxigen into carbon dioxide emissions from animals.

Krebs cycle of creativity shows academic loop, that multiples science, engineering, art and design to create something new.

Mr. Ito said the emergence of the Internet had a huge impact in the history of evolution of life. Some loops change more complicate system. For example, block chain, IT, security, terrorism, environmental issue…

One of the keys to adapt to the transformation of the world is changing the education system. The important thing is not to keep learning to replace artificial intelligence but to create your own passion and excitement by intertwining four elements such as science, engineering, art and design. I would like to find such “waku waku” excitement and to support you so that you can find it.

References

Spectrum. (2017). Neri Oxman’s Krebs Cycle of Creativity. Retrieved 2017, from https://spectrum.mit.edu/winter-2017/neri-oxmans-krebs-cycle-of-creativity/

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Join the essay class

I joined the seminar to learn essay in English. Mr. Chutatsu Aono, the professor of Business Breakthrough University taught us. It was very useful for these reasons.

First, professor showed the clear goal. We learn English to express ourselves. When we convince someone, we gather our thoughts and explain the viewpoints logically. After I acquire this skills, I can express myself more effectively.

Secondly, I could learn the frames to write the essay. Basically, essay consists of 3 parts, introduction, body, and conclusion. The simplest essay is gathered into one piece of A4 paper and about 300 words. The most orthodox body has 3 key points. The composition is like a BLT sand. This frame is crucial not only for writing but also speaking.

Thirdly, There is an opportunity to create new network. Classmates have each backgrounds. It is helpful to broaden my viewpoints.

Overall, I am happy to join this class. I will enjoy 3 more lessons.

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SWAN LAKE

I saw the ballet “SWAN LAKE” with my daughter last weekend. It was our first time to see it. It was so beautiful because the movement of the hands and the body was like from a real swan. The music made by Tchaikovsky was romantic. The black swan also attracted us. I heard there were times in which a ballerina plays the roles, Odetto and Odile. My daughter impressed of a Pierrot who jumped so high. It was a wonderful time and I hope I see many tremendous ballet plays with my family.

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Nengajo

Japanese write “Nengajo” or New year cards to show appreciation for the annual relationship. Writhing cards is a little bit hassle. First we need to buy cards at post office. Second we need to print the cards and put some pictures in it. Lastly we need to write a message for many cards.

I consider New year cards change to e-mails because of recently e-mails’ developing. I heard there have been affluent e-cards such as Microsoft publishing.

However this Japanese traditional custom still continues. I don’t know the reason but my grand parents and relatives are looking forward to exchange cards every year. Traditional cards bring some impact and people enjoys to look in one’s hand.

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Elevator pitch comes suddenly

Elevator pitch comes suddenly. However, is there any experience that the inside of the head became white and chance could not be taken? In this way, from the fact that I had a bitter experience, I always want to state what I need to keep in mind.

  • Prepare and practice
    Daily effort bears fruit. Keep up your motivation. These following questions will help us when we image the contents of pitch.

    1. What was the question we tried to answer?
    2. Does our final message answer the question?
    3. Is our final message clear?
    4. Is it well supported by our analysis?
    5. Is our story easy to follow?
    6. Are there any new, innovative ideas?
  • Imagine the several situations

    • Can you pitch anytime? Before the meeting, after the meeting, in a hallway or in a cafe you imagine whenever the chance will come around.

  • Enjoy improvisation

    • Like jazz musicians you open your mind, accept the situation and enjoy.

Reference: Ishikura, Y. (2017). Global Agenda Seminar 2017. Retrieved to Novemver 2017

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Logical thinking helps to generate creative ideas

In the Session 4 Project Management Course, I learned these four significant points, come up with new idea that client has not thought about that, think much more creatively,  think much more practical and specific, and tell what you have found. It was so interesting because I saw creative ideas was not far from logical thinking. Furthermore, logical thinking helps to generate creative ideas because it is able to boarden the choice.

  • Come up with new idea that client has not thought about that

If we have a consulting project, talking to the client is the first step. However we do not list the information that we listened to the client. We need to come up with new idea that client has not thought about that. Client has issues and he/she wants you to beyond and breakthrough that.

  • Think much more creatively

It seems like kind of ideas as far as hear. It was very general things. Holding different events, inviting different speakers and so on is anybody can think about that. We need to think about much more creatively. Creativity is not breakthrough idea. It much more about how do we combine those things. Connecting ideas can lead to creativity.

  • Think much more practical and specific

Practical and general is different meaning. The antonym of practical is abstract and general is specific. Test or give it try and see what you get from the experiences is important.

  • Tell what you have found

It is not easy way but we need to progress. What we said seems general and abstract kind of thing. We need to proposal what is new and what is different for today.

Reference: Ishikura, Y. (2017). Global Agenda Seminar 2017. Retrieved to September 2017

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Laissez-Faire or abdication?

Laissez-Faire leaders have a policy of non-interference and let the group run itself. Leaders empower others by creating a sense of ownership in the task (Dwyer, 2012). However there are lots of situations that the leader keeping neglect while the trouble is born and the trust relationship among the group collapses. Leaders said that it was easy to control but I selected the laissez-Faire leadership style and I trusted the members’ responsibility. I point out it is not real laissez-Fair leadership style and there are some issues that individual problem, communication problem and the problem that Laissez-Faire leadership style is incompatible with the group.

The individual problem is the leader mistaken the leadership and abdicate without empowering. An effective laissez-fair leader may coordinates and supports their activities. The members are expected to make decisions, while the leader coordinates and supports their activities (Dwyer, 2012). As a result, members are more involved and engaged. They are able to see the reasons for what happens at work and the way in which things happen. In contrast, ineffective laissez-fair leaders abdicate of responsibility on the part of the leader; leaders withdraw from followers and offer little guidance or support (Hackman & Johnson, 2009). As a result, the group suffers from productivity, cohesiveness, and satisfaction.

Communication between the leader and members in a laissez-faire group is sometimes unclear and limited. A more positive form of the laissez-faire leadership communication style affords followers a high degree of autonomy and self-rule while, at the same time, offering guidance and support when asked (Hackman & Johnson, 2009). Members are required to actively see the reasons and the way, at the same time, they actively seek advice from leaders when necessary. Leaders support for their self-management.

Laissez-faire leadership style can be effective when it represents guided freedom or when group members have high knowledge, motivation, and experience. However, it is not ideal in situations where group members lack the knowledge, motivation or experience they need to complete tasks and make decisions (Verywell.com Home Page, 2017). If the group members feel the leader abdicates his/her role, laissez-fair leadership style does not suit the situation. Lewin, Lippit, and White (1939) studied the impact of authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-fair leadership communication styles on group outcomes. Each of these styles of communication has unique features that affect how leaders interact with members. The authoritarian leader maintains strict control over members by directly regulating policy, procedures, and behaviour. Democratic leaders engage in supportive communication that facilitates interaction between leaders and members. Leaders should deliberately and creatively use a range of leadership style to suit the particular situation.

Whether the leader chooses any leadership style, leader should not neglect when members seek advice or support. Laissez-fair leadership style is attractive at the point of group’s self-management. Empowerment is the key factor in the way of group works. The five keys to empowerment are sharing information, creating autonomy, allowing team members to become more self-directed, ensuring teams have explicit objectives, and identifying and communicating the team’s accountabilities (Dwyer, 2012). Mintzberg (1999) presents the view that ‘Quiet managers don’t empower their people – “Empowerment” is taken for granted’. They trust members to take responsibility for ensuring serious changes take hold.

Mintzberg identifies the ‘quiet words’ of managing as:

  • ‘Inspiring’, by creating the conditions that foster openness and release energy
  • ‘caring’, by not slicing away problems, by preventing and fixing problems, and by knowing how and when to intervene
  • ‘Infusing’, by changing things slowly, steadily and profoundly, rather than thrusting change upon followers dramatically and in superficial episodes
  • ‘initiating’, by finding out what is going on in the organization, and connecting with those at the base and all levels, rather than parachuting directions down from the top levels.

Empowering groups strengthens the cohesiveness and respect each other. When group members are struggling, leaders should not ignore but grant and empower secretly so that the team can self-manage. Laissez-fair leadership can be utilized by empowerment and revitalized communication.

References

Dwyer, J. 2012. Communication for business and the profession: Strategies and Skills, 5th edition. Australia: Pearson. p220.

Hackman, M.Z & Johnson, C. E. 2009. Leadership (5th ed). USA: Waveland Press, Inc. p42.

Lewin, K., Lippitt, R., & White, R.K. (1939). Patterns of aggressive behaviour in experimentally created “social climates.” Journal of Social Psychology, 10, 271-299.

Mintzberg, H. 1999. “Managing quietly”, Leader to Leader. Vol. 12, Spring, pp.224-30.

Verywell home page Retrieved 23 Sep, from https://www.verywell.com/what-is-laissez-faire-leadership-2795316

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Defining Main Issue

Project Management in 21th century

I joined the seminar leaning Project Management second session.

Project Management key success factor is “Value” and “Productivity”. The value means right issue definition and good, effective, efficient solution.

Even though we came up with a perfect solution, but in the 21th century we need to be able to identify the problem, identify the cause, and come up with a solution as quickly as possible because the things are moving so quickly.

Effective
It gets to heart of the problem and not peripheral causes and reasons

Efficient
It identifies the best soluteon with minimum time and energy or resources

What is the Main Issue?

At the second session, each team shared the understanding of the main issue of the project, hypothesis, their project plan etc. Defining main issue is the most significant thing and teacher emphasized again and again. We prefer to start big picture and then break down.

Main issue

    • Defining main issue is the most important
    • Start big picture

Sub issues

    • List main issue broken down into smaller issues
    • Sub issues are described in the form of question with Yes or No answer

Useful Concept / Tools for Structuring Problem

    • MECE (Mutually Exclusive / Collective Exhaustive): 3Cs, 4Ps, 7S
    • Logic Tree
    • Issue Analysis
    • Pyramid Structure

To set the main issue is important but considerably difficult. Is the main issue which we set getting a point? Does it describe big picture? Is it really an issue? Based on professor’s advice, we redefined the main issue. I think that I cannot master the point of how to identify the main issue with a short period of training. However I desire to improve the ability to identify the main issue, identify the cause and come up with a solution as quickly as possible.