Navigating Ambiguity

The other day, I tuned in to a live press conference following a major accident in Japan. The officials, representing the relevant authorities, responded to inquiries from Japanese reporters based on the limited information available from the authorities’ secretariat. However, many of their responses deferred to future confirmation, unable to provide conclusive details. Regrettably, numerous reporters persisted in seeking confirmation on aspects that were currently ambiguous and unattainable at this stage. The pressing concerns of the public, such as grasping the overall situation of the accident, forthcoming investigation procedures to determine its cause, and immediate actions concerning those affected, were challenging to glean from this session. This event underscored the importance of refining the skills of those asking questions, emphasizing the need for higher-quality inquiries that focus on problem-solving perspectives.

Popular posts from this blog

Rediscovering Purpose in Retirement

Image
  The other day, I received a message from one of my social media friends saying, “I have just retired, and to be honest, I do sometimes feel a lack of purpose.” Immediately after reading these words, I felt sympathy for his despondent mood because I have been through a period of experiencing a sort of burnout syndrome, even though I eventually found relief from heavy work stress. During that time, I learned from another social media friend that it is very helpful to ask oneself three questions to create a bucket list for post-retirement life. These questions are as follows: 1.     What have you enjoyed doing the most? 2.     What have you been doing that made you shine the brightest? 3.     What things have you left behind so far? Surely, asking these three questions worked effectively and enabled me to discover new reasons for living in the rest of my life.
Read more

The Power of Mind Mapping

Image
When I used to receive an oral briefing on something unfamiliar or entirely new from someone, I made it a habit to create my own-style mind map instead of simply taking traditional verbal notes. This allowed me to quickly grasp the overall concept. To be honest, it took me several years to develop the skill of creating practical mind maps through hands-on work experience. However, once I acquired this skill, it significantly improved my abilities in explanatory presentations, fact gathering, problem-solving, and strategic project planning and execution. This is because visual representations, such as diagrams, matrices and graphs, provide strong reinforcement for verbal and numerical information.
Read more

The Wisdom of Japanese Proverbs: Leading by Example in Parenting and the Workplace:

Image
There is a Japanese quote, “Ko wa oya no senaka wo mite sodatsu,” which can be literally translated into English as “Children grow as they look at the back of their parents.” This suggests that parents should lead by example, both in their words and actions, when raising their children at home. In this context, reflecting on my experiences at work from the perspective of my personal growth, I believe I have learned much more from observing my bosses' actions and attitudes than from their verbal advice. Returning to the Japanese quote, from my own interpretation, the reason it uses “the back of their parents” rather than simply “their parents” is to emphasize the importance of actions over words. In this sense, I am now pondering whether I can serve as a good role model to my younger colleagues by setting an example through my own actions.
Read more