Expand Your Scope of Work Consciously

Time just flies by as you go about your daily business. But there is a part of you that wants something different…

We’ve all have that experience. What to do about it, and knowing the root of why you want something else in the first place… Recognizing the importance of this will broaden the scope of your work in the future.

When I was still at the beginning of my career in finance, I was working in an operations-related department.

That was at a time when even the financial industry was not yet all electronically run.

For example, there were huge vaults and various documents were carried by dedicated delivery people on bicycles.

I remember one time, we temporarily lost a coupon for just one key piece of credit, and the team searched for several hours in this huge safe.

Eventually it was located at the end of the cabinet and we were able to finalize the matter safely.

After about 7 years of operational work-related and management experience, there was a time when I was considering expanding the scope of my career.

I had been working in this business field for a long time, but how could I broaden my work and remain in this industry?

The timing of this came around when I was thinking of returning to Japan from Singapore.

A project management position became available in the Tokyo office, and I was wondering if I could apply for that position. Before I even applied, I received an offer for this position.

I had been aware of this for some time and had always said that I wanted to challenge myself in a different field at the management level, and the timing of my return to Japan matched it, so I decided to take on the challenge of project management, a completely new field for me at the time.

I still vividly remember that I thought it was a great opportunity to broaden my field of work by getting an overall view of the company and being involved with various departments.

Now I have many years of experience in project management, but I don't think I would be where I am today if I didn't know about operational related work.

For example, what if there was a project to improve operations flow and I didn't know anything about what happens on the operational level?

What if we were to proceed with things in the name of a project without understanding how important the work at the end of the line is and the various details involved?

In my case, I am certain that I would not be where I am today.

I believe from here and on, people will have to think for themselves and make moves according to their own personal instructions.

I think it is very important to be aware of this, not only at work, but also to broaden one's visions.

To do so, I think it is important to always have your antennae up and to put yourself in an environment where you can see new perspectives.

In this context, I am considering offering a new service, where I can provide support for interviews and presentations in English. I will keep you posted on the details.

The weather in Tokyo has been like early summer for the past few days. Please be careful not to get sick due to the sudden changes in temperature!

For those of you in other countries and regions, please continue to take care of yourselves during this time of change.

May this week bring you a lot of smiles!