What I felt and thought after spending an extraordinary year that has become a part of everyday life

This is Sato Dai from the Development Department

Let me just say this first

"Sorry for talking about such a mundane topic and making it boring."

The first state of emergency of 2021 was declared on January 8th, just after the New Year

After that, if you think it has been released, it will repeatedly enter again,

It was a year dominated by four states of emergency until the end of September

If we include the period of the Manbou (Infection Prevention Act), the peaceful days will last until the end of September

It was a year that didn't even last a month!

https://www.kwm.co.jp/blog/state-of-emergency/

To be honest, the sense of tension has somewhat faded as state of emergency declarations have become a part of everyday life

This year has seen substantial restrictions on daily work and personal activities, and our behavior has changed significantly

Unlike last year, when I was confused about the type of work I would be doing,

The whole world has changed dramatically as we've become accustomed to ways of doing things that don't involve meeting people in person

So that's it

This time, I decided to write a blog at the end of the year,

I'll write about what I felt and thought during this unusual year, which has now become a part of my daily life (who needs this?).

Thoughts on development work in 2021

The requirements definition process, which used to involve face-to-face interaction with clients,

Online meetings and chats have become the main focus

I just spoke with a promising young engineer

Are you able to clearly share with the client the image of how the system being developed will be used in the field?

Chat is useful for small exchanges,

In addition to the fact that misunderstandings are already more likely to occur when dealing with a lot of complicated matters ,

each other'sfeelings, so this is something we need to think about carefully.

 

Sometimes customers don't reply to chat messages

That's when I thought

Since our work involves sitting in front of a computer,immediate responses are the norm.

Butthe customers mightfeel differently.

Some customers may be out on business or not used to chatting

Recently, I have been reluctant to talk to people directly by phone

I sometimes think that it might be something that needs to be re-evaluated

Many of our employees are young engineers who started their careers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Hasn't the current way of doing things (during the coronavirus pandemic) become the norm?

We consider the best method of communication for each customer on a case-by-case basis

Don't rely too much on convenient tools, but use them appropriately

I believe it is necessary to think about and educate people about this

By identifying the convenient aspects of online and digital, and the advantages of offline and analog,

It would be great if we could aim for a hybrid work style that truly makes full use of the tools .

Thoughts on sales activities in 2021

The state of emergency was lifted in October,

The meetings were mainly held online, which has become a well-established method

Over the past few days, I've been out visiting customers for the first time in a while to say hello at the end of the year

I'm happy to be able to meet people in person, even for a short time, and it makes me feel like I'm actually doing my job

I realized I had forgotten something

Online is certainly convenient

There's no space before or after, so it just looks boring no matter how far you go...to me

 

However, I can't say that,

This year, we're moving away from the Showa-era strong style where meeting customers is everything .

I've been thinking, rather out of character , about how we could create inbound tourism demand.

We even launched our own website for the development department

https://sekarakulab.beyondjapan.com

To be precise, I didn't do anything myself, but it turned out looking really sharp

With a talented marketing team

This is all thanks to the development team who worked hard despite being busy with their regular jobs and complaining along the way .

thank you!

One more (bonus)

I feel like I'm relying more on books for information and knowledge than I used to get from meeting people in person

Reading is my hobby, so I read it here and there,

This year, I read more than ever before because I had more time at home

And so, just as I was forcing the flow..

Three books this year

・Entrepreneurial Genius
Hiromasa Ezoe: The Man Who Created the 8 Trillion Yen Company Recruit,
by Yasuyuki Onishi, Toyo Keizai Inc.
https://str.toyokeizai.net/books/9784492062166/
I read this book because I wanted to know what the Recruit scandal, which I had only heard about in words, was all about.
Reading this book, I was most surprised this year to learn that cloud services could have been born in Japan!
At the same time, I felt a sense of stagnation in Japan's IT industry, which is still largely dominated by large corporations, and it really hit home...
The only thing that bothers me is...
the words on the book jacket, "You guys, become more shady"...

That's not what Ezoe-san said..

- How did the unpopular manager Hiromitsu Ochiai change the Chunichi Dragons? (Bungei Shunju, by Tadahira Suzuki) https://books.bunshun.jp/ud/book/num/9784163914411

The book reveals what manager Ochiai was thinking and how he made his decisions, through individual anecdotes about each player.
The opening anecdotes about Kenjiro Kawasaki and Morino were particularly impressive.
When the book describes the view that only Ochiai could see through his fixed-point observations, it's thrilling and inspiring.
Personally, this is the best book I've read this year.

- The Last Shogun
, Bunshun Bunko edition, by Ryotaro Shiba
https://books.bunshun.jp/ud/book/num/9784167105655

This is a book that makes me feel like it's way too late, and I wonder why I hadn't read it until now...
I hardly watch historical dramas, but I've always thought he was an amazing person, sorry.
Yoshinobu's decisions that lay behind the history of the victors.
The flow of the times and the situation that only Yoshinobu, who was called a great hero since Tokugawa Ieyasu, could see.
All the things I had thought of him as a weak-willed shogun were turned upside down.
As expected of Mr. Shiba, I read it in one sitting!

 

summary

This past year has made me strongly realize just how adaptable humans are

I'm an old-fashioned person no matter what

Based on analog communication and relationships

The idea is that digital technology and IT are meant to complement and make things more convenient

That way of thinking has been reversed

I've become too reliant on digital technology and IT.

In 2022, I intend to return to basics and make it a year where I don't get too used to tools

As someone involved in digital and IT development

that there's something we shouldn't forget,so I decided to write about that topic this time.

As usual, I wrote this in a rambling manner..

If you are interested in these three books this year,

Please take your time to read it over the New Year holidays

Here are some of the keywords I'm currently working on for next year: NFT , e-Sports , IoT

Please contact us here for inquiries!(Second time)

https://sekarakulab.beyondjapan.com

 

So,

Thank you all so much for your support this year

We wish you a happy new year

Thank you for your continued support next year!