At TEDxTokyo this past weekend, Garr Reynolds talked about lessons from Bamboo. It was great presentation (what else do we expect from the master of Presentation Zen?). What impressed me was the story itself. He touched upon Aikido briefly as another example demonstrating the natural flow, resilience etc.
This morning I went to Aikido class after missing one class last week. During the one before, I had a hard time doing the Front Roll and hit my neck, head, elbow, you name it, hurting all over my body. I was a bit discouraged as I could not get the hang of it during the class and I felt that I could not do it! But then I remembered Garr’s presentation and the story of bamboo (I was also inspired by Black’s presentation of Yo Yo and his story that Yo Yo was something he could do though he hated all the sports when he was a kid and pursued his dream of becoming a world champion), I decided to give it a try.
I ended up feeling refreshed and energized (we did not do front roll today!), as Aikido reflects the concept of natural flow so well and as a result, I regained my interest and passion about Aikido.
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.
