Second 2012 Tailor Made Baton Zone Educational Program Lecture: Special Lecture by Leaders of Development
01 Jun 2012
The second Special Baton Zone Lecture was held on May 10 as part of the 2012 Tailor Made Baton Zone Educational Program. Dubbed a special lecture by a leader of development, the talk was conducted by Hiroshi Fujiwara, Chairman, CEO and Representative Director of BroadBand Tower, Inc., and President and CEO of Internet Research Institute, Inc. who gave a talk last year as well.The lecture was titled Making a Living as an Engineer and Entrepreneur, and was based on Mr. Fujiwara's own post-graduation experiences in finding employment, changing jobs, and starting and running his businesses. He spoke of the significance of mastering technologies, belonging to an organization, and starting a business.
- Establishing the Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation, a private research commission led by Koichi Kitazawa, former Chairman of the Japan Science and Technology Agency, which seeks to identify the root problems uncovered by the Great East Japan Earthquake and propose solutions for Japan;
- Establishing the Space and Astronomical Science Research Initiative Foundation to provide support for basic research into space exploration, an area which receives paltry government funding; and
- Establishing the Mathematical Society of Japan Hiroshi Fujiwara Prize for Academic Excellence.
According to Mr. Fujiwara, some of the most important lessons he learned through experience were: when looking for work, don't decide based solely on how high the pay is; it is important to constantly strive to learn about state-of-the-art technologies through your work; technologies you develop only reach their potential once they are released to the world and actually used; it is up to you to make your best effort; and always seek to lead the big projects even if it seems like you might be taking on more than you can handle.
If you reach a point where you cannot perform the work you want to do in your current position, or if you feel you are in the wrong place, that's when you should set up your own business, says Mr. Fujiwara. Having established and run his own businesses, he believes that the flexibility of online type management will become a vital business model. Although there is the risk of losing corporate value through the most unexpected of causes, he believes the important thing is to uphold the basics of business administration, i.e., a dedication to pursuing innovative technology and industrial revolution to bring about a new era and change for society. Those who eventually find success, Mr. Fujiwara enthused, are those who utilize every ounce of wisdom at hand, and who do not run, hide, or tell lies.The lecture concluded with examples of a number of contributions to society that Mr. Fujiwara has been involved with. These initiatives are designed to identity the real causes behind the reactor meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and the government's policies in the wake of the event, and to provide generous support for basic scientific research in the hope of sparking a fourth industrial revolution, this time in the field of energy and the environment.
Participants were given a clear message: "the world is an unforgiving place, and it is important that you dig deep and give your all in the moment of truth" - surely an appropriate message for the Tailor Made Baton Zone Educational Program.