Friday last week, I had a series of interaction with young people–regardless of the nationalities or background. First was the session and Q & A over lunch on “Information/Research for issue driven problem solving.” I invited a guest (my professional friend) to do a session, after which we had Q & A session over lunch so that students can ask questions.
Then my former student at ICS, Hitosubashi, visited me at my new office. As I wanted my KMD students to have some interaction with him (he is from India), I invited them to join us. Three joined us and we talked, and made a tour of KMD (it was the first time for me to see some rooms full of robots, etc.)
Then I had an interview with another young man originally from Korea but before this, we (my Indian friend and I) ran into Korean friend at Tully’s by chance, and it turned out to be a mini-G3! (just three of us representing three countries!) We talked for a while about many things ranging from the power of connectivity and Arab Spring.
I wonder now whether Tohoku or Japan Spring will take place, as Japan is so advanced in terms of connectivity and technology. What is missing? Why Arab Spring and other movement is taking place in many parts of the world, while things seem to be rather quiet in Japan? We now face unprecedented opportunity (& crisis). Whether we can turn the danger we now encounter into opportunity to have a clean break from the past or not is up to us. It is youth that should lead the initiative and I think they have all the power in their hands as they ARE digital native. (I will do what I can do, not as digital native as I am not one, but as half digital alien!)
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.
