I recently went to the concert by St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra at Suntory Hall in Japan. Yuri Temirkanov, Artistic director and Chief Conductor, began with “IL Barbiere di Siviglia” Overture by G. Rossini, followed by Violin Concerto in E minor. OP. 64 by F. Mendelssohn (with Sayaka Shoji on violin) and Ballet Music, “The Rite of Spring” by I. Stravinsky.
What impressed me most, however, was the last piece the orchestra played in addition to the program: it was Edward Elgar’s Nimrod. I truly felt that I live for this moment when I heard it.
Yoko Ishikura is a Professor at Hitotsubashi University ICS in the Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy in Japan. She has held positions as a professor at the School of International Politics, Economics and Business of Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo, as a consultant at McKinsey and Company Inc. Japan and a visiting professor at Darden School.
Professor Ishikura is a consultant to a number of multinational companies and has been a frequent speaker at management conferences, seminars, and workshops throughout the world. She was a member of the Regulatory Reform Committee for the Japanese government and the International Competitiveness Commission for METI. She is currently a Forum Fellow of the World Economic Forum.
She is the author of Strategic Shift from OR choices to AND paradigm, Building Core Skills of Organization , and the co-author of the following publications: Managing Diversity in the 21st Century, Strategy for Cluster Initiatives in Japan , and Building a Career to the World Class Professionals – all in Japanese. Her books in English include: Asian Advantage, Hitotsubashi on Knowledge Management and Trust and Antitrust in Asian Business Alliances.
Professor Ishikura’s current research interests are focused on global competition, innovation, and knowledge management. She received her BA from Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan; MBA from Darden School, University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia; and DBA from Harvard Business School.
