Up to last time, we've been talking about how the thing itself was made, and about the cover. This time, let's talk about the story. "Bringing the isekai-style…
Up to last time, we've been talking about how the thing itself was made, and about the cover. This time, let's talk about the story. "Bringing the isekai-style…
They're about three years into the company, and apparently their headcount jumped to around 150 people last year alone. They were fired up about hitting around…
Starting this April, I'll be serving as an Accompany Runner (AR) for NEDO's NEP (NEDO Entrepreneurs Program). This position provides hands-on support for…
There was once, I think, a time when people could say without irony that white-collar workers were the winners. Get an education, wear a suit, type away in an…
My desk — belonging to a self-proclaimed voracious reader who rarely lets books pile up unread — has ended up looking like this. There are two reasons. One was…
There is an organizational risk I watch very closely when I work with a company as an advisor or consultant. It's whether people use phrases like "the XX…
To organize the situation a bit, the people who bring this kind of question are usually founder CEOs or executives at rapidly growing companies. What started…
Most people who come to me with this kind of consultation follow the same pattern: "I want to quit management and go back to being an engineer." There are…
This topic is for people who have built up some career experience but aren't confident their current job is leading to growth, or who, if anything, have…
It's a common story for owners or management to fill in on operations. Especially in companies with limited funds and staff — small and medium-sized…
I once quietly remarked, watching the behavior of a certain CEO in Silicon Valley, that it felt like "playing Power Pros." At the time his company had just…
"Referral hiring" means hiring someone through the introduction of an existing member of the organization. In most cases, this means bringing in a former…
Over lunch with a fellow entrepreneur, T-kun, at the Gakushi Kaikan in Hibiya, he told me, "You know, what I wanted to build was a startup with the atmosphere…
As mentioned in another section, gathering people with aligned context works very effectively when speed is the priority. Here I want to talk about character…
When people whose own work history is entirely full-time employment come to me for advice, they very often talk about "it's hard to secure talent" and "it's…
This is a common situation, not limited to startups but seen in many small and medium-sized companies. The executive handles nearly all the work, while staff…
I get this kind of consultation a lot, in various shapes. If the question is something like "technically, is A better or B better," you can just thoroughly…
My old friend S has a father who's a university professor, and apparently, while telling S how brutal power struggles inside a university can get, he also…
This is a question I get asked often. Bluntly, there is no way. (I could stop there, but let me continue.) Let me explain why you cannot retain a superstar.…
This is a consultation I often receive from member-level staff rather than from executives or leaders. I also often hear leaders grumbling, vaguely sensing…
One thing that changed my values significantly after moving to Silicon Valley is a vague sense of openness: "there's no one I can't meet." You could even call…
Startups contain a surprisingly diverse range of people. Some are young, ambitious, full of energy, and look exactly like what you'd picture when you imagine…
A title that makes you go "what is this guy talking about?" but it's a genuinely important thing. The phrase came up the other day in conversation with a…
In startups, the phrase "exploitation of passion" comes up often. Even when a business offers plenty of fulfillment, a cash-strapped startup often can't pay…
In my work I interact with many business leaders — sometimes chatting about business as friends, sometimes collaborating as work partners, and sometimes…
That's true. But depending on the situation, an "equal team" can clearly be undesirable. An early-stage startup is a good example. To sum up the image of an…
This is a worry common to everyone who works. I get asked this kind of question, or consulted about it, because I hate meetings. (I say this openly.) First of…
This is a simple question I sometimes get from people who work at fairly large companies and are scheming to launch a new business inside their organization,…
I have almost no regrets about my career. That doesn't mean I've never failed. It means both my failures and my successes have become nourishment. Life demands…
This is a commonly cited challenge. There's one thing I tell my children over and over, especially my eldest son, who's in elementary school. Lately he's…
I'll confess something here: I've been told by team members that I'm "too top-down." Not just once. Several times. Not every time, but close. When you become a…
This is a slightly different kind of topic, but I've been asked about it a lot lately, so I'm writing it down. A portfolio worker, by the way, is someone who…
I already hate meetings, so there's no way I'd sit through an unproductive one. lol So what exactly is an "unproductive meeting"? There are several patterns,…
It's more of a beginning, really. Let me just say it, at least for the benefit of anyone thinking "if I quit the big company..." I'm sure plenty of people at…
People ask me about this often, so I'm putting my thoughts together here. First, as a premise: a company can run fine without any personnel evaluation system…
We have four children, and not one of them gets put to sleep by us. The eldest son is 8, the eldest daughter is 5, the second son is 3, and the second daughter…
A while back, a certain "vague worry" came up in conversation, and I gave my own comments in response. Looking back afterward, I felt the content had broader…
The other day someone asked me, "Why does America have so much remote work?" I didn't have much time, and looking back, I don't think I gave a very good…
A junior from my university asked me about this, so I figured it was a good opportunity to organize my thoughts. First, some background on me: I joined a large…
Being here, my network of Japanese contacts keeps expanding in various ways. Let me organize the various "ways to make the crossing to Silicon Valley" that…
It's been about a year and a half since I started working at an American company. My colleagues include Japanese, German, Turkish, and other nationalities, but…
By the way, I'm a hardware guy. The hardware perspective, the software perspective Among colleagues and friends, this sometimes turns into something like a…