QUESTIONS / ISSUES (1) “Why is it that most Japanese go to conferences and always stay and sit together in a corner and talk to each other, without including any foreigner into their conversation? … there are no other country citizens behaving that way !!!
(2) “Why is it that the Japanese participants never dare to raise a question or give some comments in a workshop or at the Q&A session in a conference”? … other Asians from China, Singapore, Taiwan, India, etc. are very different in this regard !!!
(3) “Why is it that many of my Japanese colleagues and friends have to take a vacation when participating in a conference or think-tank overseas”? … the Western people consider this to be part of the business activities !!!
(4) “Why is it that most Japanese go to international conferences without a specific objective and measurable results in mind”? … Most other country participants have very clear targets to meet a certain number of suppliers, customers, etc., in order to end up with specific new business proposals !!!
(5) “Why do most Japanese companies not like to see their employees writing and publishing industry articles or even books with other colleagues in their professional domain, even if they do it in their spare time over the weekend and the evenings”? … in the Western world we consider this to benefit the company and the employee, as it demonstrates domain expertise vis-a-vis potential customers and peers in the industry !!!
(6) “Why do Japanese speakers in international events and conferences only present or ask in Japanese (there are always a few exceptions to the rule)”? … it is common practice the government officials may speak their own language at an event in their own country, but most of the time, Japanese also do so in international conferences overseas !!!
(7) “Why do all the conference participants or students keep their hands down and lower their heads when the professor or speaker asks a question that everybody is able to answer”? … there are always a number of Europeans who have good answers or questions, while many Americans will raise their hands even before the question ends, whether or not they have a full or only a partial answer !!!
(8) “Why is it that most Japanese executives only see the differences, risks and threats but never look at the similarities or opportunities?” … it always leaves a strong sense of pessimism and no optimism, hence, how can you advance personally or as a nation with such an attitude !!!
(9) “Why is it that most Japanese people and senior executives are scared to call for serious changes in their organizations or even in the nation”? … without constant changes, you cannot adapt to the ever rapidly changing world around us, hence, you are left behind !!!
(10) “Why is it that Japan and its citizens will only be able to change or are willing to change when the country will either hit the wall, or will experience a total market crash, or is about to disintegrate completely”? … a common answer by some of the highest ranked corporate officers, association or some government leaders, whom I spoke to during the “Japan Night” in Davos !!!
オバマ大統領も、この時期にWashington DCで年頭の一般教書State of Unionの演説をしましたが、直後の支持率は55％であり、立派なものです。誰もが納得する政策などありません。長い歴史を知り、時代の流れを感じ取り、しかし、まったく新しいグロ?バル世界の変化に、するべきことをする知性と勇気、それを進めていく政策の明確なPriority、国民と世界への説得力ある語りかけ、この辺が世界で見られているところが、この世界なのです。
私は、まずHarvard大学の「IdeasLab」に参加。Dr David Ellwood, Kennedy SchoolとDr Mohsen Mostafavi, Graduate School of Design と2人の学部長 (Business School DeanのDr Nohriaは参加できず)、GACの「Ageing Council」Chairの Dr David Bloom、司会はSingapore Management UniversityのAnnie Kohさん、という布陣です。「Breaking Education’s Boundaries」、いろいろ議論に参加して楽しい時間でした。
いくつかのセッションに出ましたが、アイデイアもいくつも出てくるし、素晴らしい人たちに会えますし、話も弾むし、新しい分野の新しい友人も出来るのは楽しいことです。いつか、何が起こるかもしれませんからね。Design、Arts and technology、Science frontierなど、グローバルな課題に対してかなり面白い展開が見えてきています。
昼からは例年のことですが化学工業大企業のGovernors会議にゲストとして出席。例年のことですが、今年は、三菱化学の小林さん、テイジンの大八木さんなどが参加され、面白い議論が聞けました。私もShale Oil、「Global to Local」などについていくつかコメントさせてもらいました。企業トップとの話はこれもなかなか勉強になります。
夜は、Japan Night, Korea Night, Indonesia Nightとはしご。Indonesiaが会場としては１番良かったですが、10時すぎに伺ったので、人が少なめでちょっと残念。Japan Nightが一番盛況でした。これはプラス。
26日は朝からいろいろなセッションに出る。特にIdeasLabは面白いし、いろいろなインスピレーションを得られることが多いので、「Design for the New Reality」に参加。ここは、日本からの仲間では石倉洋子さん、西山浩平さん（「Product Design」のdiscussion leaderとして）、またHarvardのToshiko Mori教授が「Scarcity-driven design」。私はGACでこの数年「Innovation」で一緒に議論をしているAdam Blyのがとても面白かったので、この議論に参加。とても面白い、そして新しいドメインを開拓しつつあります。このように指摘レベルのきわめて高いプレゼンの議論に参加するのはとても楽しいです。
この本は「Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother」で、2人の娘の育て方を「Chinese mother」として、多いに問題提起の本になっていたのです。
以下に、子供には「してはいけない、許さない」ルールがあるのです。 ? attend a sleepover ? have a playdate ? be in a school play ? complain about not being in a school play ? watch TV or play computer games ? choose their own extracurricular activities ? get any grade less than an A ? not be the No. 1 student in every subject except gym and drama ? play any instrument other than the piano or violin ? not play the piano or violin このほかにもいくつか大事な原則があります。まだ、本は読んでいませんが、さすがというか、彼女によれば「20年前のJewish motherともいえる」ともいっていました。
