[Special Feature: 30 Years of SFC] SFC and Me: Thinking About How We Think

2020/10/07

SFC celebrated its 15th anniversary while I was a student. It feels strange to think that my alma mater has now doubled in age since then. At the time, I couldn't imagine at all what I would be doing ten years after graduation. My current situation is simply the result of choosing options that seemed mostly satisfying from those that luckily appeared before me while I struggled with the environmental changes of each moment. That said, there is no doubt that the SFC-taught concept of "thinking about how we think" has been useful at key turning points.

I would like to mention two features of SFC that I particularly like. One is the high degree of freedom.

SFC has very few required subjects, allowing students to create their own schedules as they please from the spring semester of their freshman year. Additionally, dozens of student organizations are newly formed every year, and off-campus activities are constantly encouraged. To accelerate the metabolism of these activities, you can easily talk to professors you've never met during office hours based on your interests. This is a wonderful thing, but at the same time, it is quite terrifying. If you cannot verbalize your own direction from the first week of enrollment, you won't even be able to register for classes.

Students are constantly asked what they are doing now and what they intend to do next. At the same time, they ask their classmates the same questions. The more interesting the answer, the more respect one earns among peers. At SFC, regardless of which direction you are facing, the further you are from "normal," the higher you are placed in the school hierarchy. It is an oasis for outliers.

Behind the attitude of taking this high degree of freedom for granted is a strictness toward those who cannot think for themselves and a tolerance toward those who take action. As outliers attracted more outliers, I'm sure the professors and office staff were often frustrated or alarmed by the students' audacity. If you have a guilty conscience now, please reflect on it individually. However, I believe that atmosphere was the driving force that nurtured graduates active in many different worlds. Whenever I faced difficult choices, having a constant answer to the question of how I wanted to be was very helpful.

The other feature I like is the concept of "Problem Finding and Problem Solving." This enhances one's ability to adapt to change.

Since I enrolled, I had a vague desire to study the themes of "technological development" and "international relations." My graduation thesis focused on internet governance. My majors were Information Society Theory and Security Studies. Now, I specialize in impact assessment and social implementation of new technologies. To narrow it down to this point required long and painful contemplation for "problem finding." I devoted much of my time to research, which became enjoyable only after overcoming that hurdle.

When asked the standard job interview question, "What did you focus on during your student days?" I answered honestly: research. Many interviewers told me that was unusual. It was terrible. When I indignantly replied that it was fun, I was rejected by most Japanese companies. Truly terrible.

In the end, the first place I chose to work was an American network equipment manufacturer. I worked there for nearly seven years, mainly in public sector sales. Next, seeking a position where I could make proposals less tied to specific products, I became a management consultant. After working there for nearly five years, I looked for a place where I could balance planning and execution in a growth area, which led to my current role in planning for an e-commerce site.

These may all seem like different fields, but the way I use my head doesn't change much. Based on internal and external situations, the only difference is whether the final output is "please buy this," "let's invest here," or "we will implement these measures with this goal." In all cases, what matters is problem finding and problem solving. The industries have changed from manufacturing to services to retail, and the job types have varied from sales to research to planning. Despite this, it is interesting that the content of the work changes significantly just by changing the "hat" I wear, without fundamentally changing how I think. Problem finding is the process of clarifying the issues that should be addressed. This skill, which I first acquired at SFC, has an extremely wide range of applications and is incredibly flexible.

I am aware that the campus undergoes various changes over time. Nevertheless, attempting problem finding and problem solving in a free environment will continue to be one of SFC's roles. That is why, no matter what is happening in the world or how much the appearance of the school buildings changes, I think the spirit remains "business as usual." I hope SFC continues to be a laboratory for change. After all, by the 40th and 50th anniversaries, the world will still be in turmoil and society will still be in the midst of upheaval.