The Message for New Employee (Extended)
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by Muabeyond
Right after 2 months I got accepted as a new employee in the company, the company made an arrangement for the all of the newcomer having a short interview with the director and some section manager. That is a tense situation for a new employee to meet one of the most important people inside the company.
I believe the purpose of this meeting was to understand more about the new employee. I felt so much pressure on that meeting. However, there is a moment that I never forget from that moment until today. The message from director.
[Everyone, the new employee, has a great potential and high spirit as well. But from me to all of you, never lose that spirit, keep learning and become a global level employee. Don’t forget to learn English and master your English. When the first moment I enter this company, maybe the same age as all of you, our company still made a ship. Years later, we were not only making ship and made another thing. Now, our company is completely not making ship anymore. Everything changes. We may not know what happen, 10 or 20 years in the future. The only things that we must do right now is to predict the future, adapting with society needs without losing our identity] is the message that the director said to us.
After that meeting, I thought about that message for months until I officially become the new employee. After thinking and trying to find what is the real and hidden message from director, I believe there are 5 things that we must have an attention to that message.
1. Human Life and Need always change
Before the modern life happen, thousands years ago human survived by hunting animal around us. Living as a group, without proper technology, a spear is enough for surviving in the harsh world.
Moving forward, we learned that living by hunting is not enough. We could survive in the short period. But, How about long period? How about the future? Our son, our grandson? Once again, human needs change. Human starts to realize that they need to build a community and changing lifestyle from hunting to produce. The growth of human civilization starts.
Moving further, humans started researching about science for supporting the new civilization. Many theories and discovery were found. This movement brought the technology to achieve something that's never been reached before. Machine and many things that make life become easier was starting to be applied in life.
Surprisingly, It doesn’t stop there. When steam engine found on early 70, every aspect of life turn 180 degrees. Industry, transportation and many aspects were being replaced with machines. The revolutionary steam engine motivated every researcher and scientist to boost innovation more and more.
And, right now, we enter the future, the industry revolution 4.0 that we are not only competing with human, but we are competing with the robot, the AI and every machine that smarter and faster compares than human capabilities. Human is always changing their lifestyle and needed according to what brings most benefit to them.
2. The current me is not enough
Remember the story from the beginning of this article, about the director experiencing how the company involve through the time? Yes, I believe we already understand what this point means.
This company history said that for the first time this company made, the company was created for shipbuilding purpose. through the years, no one doubt that this company was one of the best shipbuilding company in Japan.
To become a great company, we need more than just one speciality. This company did the same. For completely self-sufficient purpose, we also produced engines, boilers, bridges and many other businesses.
However, with one or another reason this company no longer builds a ship and completely running waste treatment plants, industrial plants, precision machinery, industrial machinery, steel mill process equipment, steel structures, construction machinery, tunneling machines, and power plant business.
Can you imagine how the world changes? Even we are one of the best in our speciality doesn’t mean we must satisfy with our current condition. Director and everyone that made of the decision of the company fully understand about this condition, that’s why they try to expand the speciality of the business.
Having one speciality is good, however, involving and innovating needs to be done for adapting with the society needs.
3. The big and global company status doesn’t not guarantee anything
The big company syndrome becomes more more dangerous this time. So many companies are being closed and taken down because they are too comfortable in their “big and global company” status and forget many aspects that made the company survive.
We all understand that in this era, Innovation is the most important thing that the company needs. Not only for the survival rate of the company, but also to create something better, something more efficient and something more creative to provide many solutions for human and earth problem.
There is a case, on 2000-era, one of the best phone company at that time, Nokia, was closed because losing a competition with their new competitor, Apple and Samsung. Who doesn’t know Nokia? A legendary brand that sold more a billion phone in the last decade and always become the leader of innovation.
However, when Apple told their new innovation with the iPhone and IOS and Samsung launched Smartphone with Android, Nokia didn’t want to accept those two innovations. Nokia still believes that their status as a leading company would make customer still need their product.
But, that is not how the reality works. People just wants the best thing that they have. Loyalty to a brand somehow can be swung by a new great thing with many features. Then, as being predicted, everything changed.
Android and IOS provided many features that can’t be used on Nokia’s phone. Nokia that known as the leader of innovation now only become a sidekick brand that quit the competition. Nokia refuses to accept new innovation and they paid with high price.
Ourselves, our company and our society will always crave for the innovation. There is no satisfaction, word for innovation and there is always new demands, new technology and new knowledge. We need to prepare everything. We need to be ready for the new things and new competition in our field.
4. Predict the future is an important thing to do
Until this time, so many examples has been shown about how a big global company has slowly become a mediocre company because wrong in decision making. No one can blame a company that late in joining the race of innovation, but once you are late, it is hard to stay in the competition.
Predicting the future trends and needs is one of the best strategy of every company to become stronger and bigger. A community involves with the time and always craving for a better, more efficient, more Eco friendly and cheaper for everything that they need.
For the example, 20 years ago, usage of internet is really low compare today. Internet at that time was something that sound luxury and had many limitations. However, the creator of Internet believes that the Internet will become one of the most important things in the future.
Everyone with the same perspective starts to develop their own engine on the internet. many years later, the prediction hits the jackpot. Everyone really loves how the internet can support and help many problems and life. For example, sending mail or chatting with a low price or free, having a video calling for free, shopping service directly from the house and many more. In fact, nowadays, everyone in the world almost can’t live without the internet at all.
When we can adapt and understand how the community and the environment works, we will see the image of the future that maybe will happen in the future.
5. We must proud to be ourselves
We can’t deny that globalization happens around the world made a unique phenomenon called global citizen. So many people that live outside Japan comes to Japan for the purpose of working and vice versa. The working environment has now become a global environment.
There is a proverb saying that “When you are in Rome, act like a Rome”. However, I believe this is only 50% correct. It is correct that when someone comes to a country with so much different in culture and regulation, we need to respect every single of their culture and the regulation because it is part of the lifestyle.
However, everyone has their identity that they carry before coming to Japan or leaving Japan. We must respect diversity among us, but doesn’t mean that we forget about our own culture and just blend 100 %.
We adapt to the environment and still be proud with our own culture and history.
I understand completely that all of 5 things are not something easy to implement in every employee, especially new employee that still learn about the company life and culture. However, I believe that we are already living in the future where everything become faster and bigger. Our community changes fast and nothing can’t stop it. Ourselves and our company needs to support these changes for bringing useful value to society with technology and sincerity to contribute to a prosperous future.
