[No. 164] Go Tokushige

While I was a student at Keio Senior High School, I had thoughts that would be utterly unforgivable to students studying hard for university entrance exams elsewhere—luxurious, lukewarm, and not seriously considered, they could hardly be called worries. "My grades are probably good enough for any faculty except the School of Medicine." "I like math, so maybe I'll just go for the Faculty of Science and Technology." "But I'm not that fond of physics and chemistry." "Since I like social studies and arithmetic, maybe the Faculty of Business and Commerce or the Faculty of Economics would be good." "SFC (Shonan Fujisawa Campus) seems interesting, but it's just been established, so I don't really know much about it." Amidst all this, when I heard Professor Fukukawa from the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering speak at an information session for the Faculty of Science and Technology, a small force acted upon my lukewarm self. "Industrial and Systems Engineering"—a field of study that views society as a whole system and derives solutions through a scientific approach! For someone like me who loved social studies and arithmetic, this was irresistible input! I want to go to the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering! That's why I'll go to the Faculty of Science and Technology!

When I was promoted to my fourth year, I joined Professor Zentaro Nakamura's laboratory (the IE Lab). Since I continued on to the master's program, I spent three very intense years in the Nakamura Lab. Almost every day, Professor Nakamura would persistently ask me, "What is the problem!?" I now understand that he was continually giving us students, who tended to focus on solving small, partial issues or just using methods learned in class, the opportunity to think about the "essence." At the time, my classmates in other labs were fiddling with statistical and OR methods they had just learned, and I remember thinking that was a bit cool. During my master's research, I tried using the Quantification Theory Type 3 statistical method to classify the relationship between component characteristics and assemblability (ease of assembly) in a machine part assembly process. The results were all obvious things that didn't require fiddling with a troublesome statistical method: "components that are easily deformed take longer to assemble because they must be handled with care," and "when the hole for assembly acts as a guide jig, assembly is easy." After staying up for several days to study Quantification Theory Type 3, writing the program, and running the data, I reported these results to Professor Nakamura. He grinned and said, "Tokushige-kun, you've managed to learn about statistical methods, programming, and the absurdity of statistics all at once." From that moment on, I was completely captivated by Professor Nakamura.

A method is just a means to an end. If you delve into the essence of a problem, you'll find that in many cases, the cool methods learned in class are not a good fit for the solution.

The Nakamura Lab was a place where we would pursue the essence of a problem (while getting scolded by our professor... lol) and even develop the optimal means to solve it. I was proud to be in a lab like that! I even remember talking about this with Professor Inada, who was in the Doctoral Programs at the Nakamura Lab at the time, over drinks.

There is one more important concept that Professor Nakamura drilled into me: "genba-shugi" (a focus on the actual site). The truth is always hidden in the "genba" (the field, the actual place where work is done). I now rephrase this slightly as a "hands-on feel" in my daily activities. After completing my master's program, I worked at Sumitomo Bank (now Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation) and as the COO of a medical IT venture, and I am currently working as a consultant at Nomura Research Institute, Ltd. For 20 years as a working professional, I have consistently been involved in the fields of new business development and innovation, and what I have consistently valued is this "hands-on feel." Business development that has lost its "hands-on feel" is empty; it's just pretending to develop a business. I believe that by being nimble, visiting the field, interacting with people on-site as "human beings," and sensing the "pulse of their hearts," businesses are created and innovation occurs. A business often comes into being not just because it is strategically a winning move, but equally or more so because the right person was in the right place at the right time. If that's the case, then increasing those situations and increasing the number of "at-bats" should lead to more hits and home runs.

In a world where the future is uncertain in many ways, I am trying, from my position as a management consultant, to create mechanisms and opportunities that allow people to live their lives with excitement. The keyword is a "hands-on feel," and its origin is "genba-shugi." It all started at the Yagami Campus. I believe that one's student years are a time not only to learn specialized skills but also to build a foundation for how to perceive and think about things and the world, and how to engage with it. Looking back now, I feel honestly lucky to have had such experiences as a student.