Thanks to you, our "Resilience" series has received a lot of hits.
This is a conversation between Shinichi Yamaguchi, an economist and associate professor at the International University of Japan's GLOCOM, and Kazuhiro Ohashi, General Manager of ITOKI's Advanced Research Division.
How should we treat our own hearts in order to survive in these times with flexibility?
This time, we will introduce the third point for adapting to new ways of working.
What kind of person is a "path-maker"?
Ohashi:The third point was "ways of thinking about 'how to do it' or 'methods'."
Yamaguchi: Yes. In the previous article about "initiative," I talked about the importance of thinking of your work as something you are "doing yourself." This time, I'd like to take it a step further.
I think that a person's originality is strongly expressed in the "method" they take to do something. For example, suppose you receive instructions on how to do a certain job. People tend to fall into two categories: those who do it diligently as they are told without questioning it, and those who try to think, "Is there a more efficient way?"
In order to respond to new situations that "no one has ever experienced before" like the ones we are currently facing, creativity, including "ways" and "methods," is extremely important.
After all, this is a situation that even managers have never experienced before. No one can tell them "what to do." In situations like this, they have to think for themselves how to improve their performance and solve the problem.
For this reason, we need to rethink the nature of "school education" in the future. Rather than everyone doing the same thing, education needs to change to one where each person can think about "what route to take" when a goal is given.
Ohashi: I'm also very interested in education. It's true that in the past, education was mainstream in the "age of mass production," teaching people to "do the same thing in a disciplined way according to the correct answer." But now, that's changing dramatically. We need education that turns 180 degrees from "being the same as everyone else" and teaches people to think for themselves and create their own path.
I myself value this perspective, and I tell my children, "I want you to think for yourself, make your own choices, and do what you're interested in." I didn't receive that kind of education, and the things and knowledge I learned as a student are now outdated and no longer valid. What is required by the parent generation and the child generation is completely different... That's what's happening.
An educator once said that, compared to the rest of the world, Japan's education system has been a success in the sense that "everyone has equal access to a high level of education." However, when presented with a topic that they have never learned at school or from their seniors, many children and adults respond, "We weren't taught that." He said that this is "a failing part of Japanese education."
Yamaguchi: That's right. Furthermore, the difference between "knowing" and "thinking" is also important. For example, if you just look at information on the internet and think you understand it, it's not that different from a situation where a teacher is teaching you one-sidedly, so it tends to end up being just "knowing" knowledge. Instead, in order to "think," it may be necessary to make it a daily habit from a young age.
Ohashi:However, we must also consider that not everyone likes or is good at being creative. I am a curious person who likes new things, so I like to think for myself and take on new challenges. On the other hand, I am not very good at doing the same thing over and over again. But in "work," it is not good to always do new things.
On the other hand, there are times when it is important to always work steadily and steadily. When you think about it that way, I think it's good to have "various ways of working" and "ability to demonstrate." However, the situation may change with the rise of new technologies such as AI. In that case, you have to think about where you find your value. It may be important to always ask yourself where your effectiveness and contribution lie.
Yamaguchi:Yes, that's right. Just as mechanization caused a large number of people to leave their jobs in the past, there are times when things just don't go as planned. Organizations will need to decide how to entrust these people with tasks and how to follow up with them. To be honest, no one has a clear answer to this question yet, so it may become a major theme for any organization in the future.
However, in this COVID-19 pandemic, everyone is reexamining how they work. Not only have their working styles changed, but many people are asking themselves philosophical questions such as "What is work?" and "Who am I?"
In that sense, we could say that everyone is in the same situation right now.
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A new education for living in a new era. Children who will soon become adults may show growth far beyond our imagination.
When you think about it like that, doesn't the future make you really excited?
Next time, we will talk about the final point to consider when adapting to new ways of working: respect for others.
