Self-management strategies for engineers

Machine Translation from original Japanese presentation Self-Management Strategies for Engineers

• 2018-03-24 Keynote presentation at MANABIYA
• Presentation material(PDF)
• Self-management strategy for engineers_Reference.
• I received the following comments from Mr. Hiroshi Yuki, author of “Math Girl” and other books. Source: hyuki

  • This is a great lecture material. It is good to read not only for engineers. Many tips for learning in the modern world.

Self Management Strategies for Engineers

2018-03-24 MANABIYA keynote speech 2018-04-17 Revised the diagram

Technical Advisor, Cybozu Labs/BeProud Director, Mito Corporation Doctor of Science / Master of Technology Management (Professional) Yasukazu Nishio

Self Introduction 2

Technologies Supporting Coding 3

Released in 2013 Focuses on knowledge that is less likely to become obsolete Still selling 5 years later.

For elementary school students 4

“You can do it in 30 days! Co-authored with Mr. Kawai (colleague) of “Introduction to OS Self-Making”. This book is like a version of “Technologies Supporting Coding” for elementary school students. Released on 2018-03-28

5 The Amazing Evolution of the Miura City Agricultural Cooperative: From 8 Hours to 1 Second of Shipping Work http://wedge.ismedia.jp/articles/-/12062

• Yasukazu Nishio received his PhD (Science) in 2006 at the age of 24.
• He has been engaged in research and development at Cybozu Labs, Inc. since 2007.
• His publications include “Natural Language Processing with word2vec”.
• He received his Master’s degree in Technology Management in 2014.
• He has been a board member of Mito Corporation since 2015.
• Since 2017, he has been working as a technical advisor for machine learning at BProud Corporation.

Cybozu Miura City Agricultural Cooperative Distribution System Algorithm - We have developed an algorithm that automatically creates a distribution plan for which items and how many cases to load on each truck when delivering shipments from each farmer to about 50 markets. - I supervised a course on machine learning for PyQ.

Be Proud PyQ machine learning course supervision - PyQ is a service that allows users to learn Python by actually working with it, through a system that allows Python programs to be written and executed in a browser. https://pyq.jp/

Lecture material “From if statements to machine learning” For the audience who are not familiar with machine learning, this lecture will make the connection between if statements and machine learning by going step by step. Notes on using it in practice in the second half. Popular lecture material with over 80,000 views since published in September 2017.

A major turning point 7 years ago 7

2011-04 to 2014-09 As a working graduate student Entered professional degree program in Technology Management, Graduate School of Innovation Management, Tokyo Institute of Technology → Completed

There was a big change in the way I think and how I see things.

Want to know what I learned? 8

What did you learn in the Technology Management major? There were requests for details, but I didn’t know how to tell them.

It is difficult to convey what I myself learned over three and a half years in a limited time of about one hour. →This time, I’ll focus on the “first step” and explain it.

Objective 9

-To improve your life in the future. Not today, not tomorrow, but 510 years from now.

-Sow the seeds for this now. Focusing on the first step of action.

-Follow-up for those who want to learn more.

How follow-up works 10

I’ve created a group on Facebook called “Self-Management Strategies for 180324 Engineers”.

I will post the lecture slides to this group later. Answer questions, post additional information, etc.

Learning something new 11

What is often said in front of a new subject to learn? ‘I feel like I should learn, but I don’t have time.’

Parable of the woodcutter 12

The parable of the woodcutter: “Cutting down a tree is hard work. It takes so much time, I’m exhausted.” The traveler: “You’ll get more done if you take a break and sharpen your saw blade. The woodsman: “I’m too busy cutting to have time to sharpen the blade.”

7 Habits Stephen Covey

Anxiety about new things 13

- I'm [[anxious]] to do [[something new]].
- I'm anxious because I'm unclear about what I'll get out of it.
- Mental strain because it's unclear how long it will take to do something new.

Basic strategy:Limit the amount of loss 14 - When making investments with uncertain outcomes, limit losses to a small amount. - Bad example: I want to understand everything in this book. - Good example: Let’s look at this book for 15 minutes first. - Good example: I’ll listen to an hour-long lecture first. - →Even if it’s a failure, you’ve just lost an hour. You have made a decision to listen to a lecture to learn about business strategy.

• ref. Real Options.

What is business strategy 15

Decision making on what to allocate limited resources toResource allocationResource allocation

There are a multitude of definitions, but this time we’re going to delve into one point instead of explaining it broadly and shallowly. - Strategy Safari

Same for corporations and individuals 16

Whether you are a corporation or an individual, you have limited resources. It is the same for both corporations and individuals.

Focus on your own personal management 17

• This time, I’m focusing on my personal management, not a corporation.
• It is difficult to run something big. Try something small and simple to gain knowledge.
• Even in learning programming, learn by experimenting with small code. Start small.

Self-Management Strategies for Engineers 18

• “Personal Resource Allocation”. -What do you mean by “resources”? -[] [] [] [] [] [] []

Doubt the enumeration 19

• When you see an enumeration, ask, “Is this all there is?” When you see an enumeration, ask, “Is this everything?
• If you assume that something that is not the whole is the whole, you will unconsciously overlook the options.
• You are here because you have allocated time to acquire knowledge. In other words, “time” is a resource.

What do you want to get out of your allocation?

• What you want to get out of it is determined by management.
• Profitability, competitiveness, employee satisfaction, …
• You decide what you want to get out of it.

You perceive the value of knowledge.

-In the time it takes to listen to an hour-long lecture. I could work part-time at a convenience store and get about $1,000.

-You allocate your limited “time” to the acquisition of “knowledge. You are here because you made the decision to allocate your limited “time” to the acquisition of “knowledge.

-That is, you value knowledge. Be aware of your values and business decisions.

The Difference Between Knowledge and Money 22

• Your “investing in the acquisition of knowledge” is a good business decision.

• Money is lost when you spend it, but knowledge is not lost when you spend it.

• If you use your time to acquire the “minimum amount of money needed to live

• The strategy is to invest the remaining “spare time” in the acquisition of knowledge.

ref. Drucker, “Post-Capitalist Society”

Knowledge Acquisition Strategy 23

Let’s verbalize this and dig deeper.

Three types of knowledge acquisition 24

• 1: Ask to be taught
• 2: Act on your own
• 3: Create a network of knowledge exchange

Related: Dependence, Independence, Interdependence (7 Habits)

Learning to be taught 25

Knowledge Teacher → Student

-The burden is concentrated on the teacher -The flow of knowledge is one-way

Reading a book by yourself is equivalent to this

Learning through self-initiated action 26

• Action → Environment → Result.

• Learning through action and experimentation and seeing the results

• Burden is concentrated on oneself

Learn from the results of your actions 27

• PDCA Cycle: Learn by doing and checking the results

• Lean Startup. Build a minimal product quickly and learn from customer response

• How Programmers Learn: Write a program, run/compile it and learn from the results

[Learning by knowledge exchange.

- [[knowledge flows in both directions]]
- Burden is distributed.

You can learn from people with little knowledge.

necessary condition for knowledge exchange=knowing different things from others 30

Learning the same things as those around you will not enable you to exchange knowledge. Learning the same things as those around you does not make you capable of knowledge exchange #Distribution of knowledge.

The more people offering the same thing, the weaker the provider’s position becomes 31

Competitive advantage

• Seller advantage You advantage

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• Buyer’s advantage Your disadvantage

ref.Michael Porter’s Five Forces Analysis

[Enter through the “narrow gate. - I asked around, “What do I need to learn?” Many people ask, “What should I learn?” and try to learn what everyone else says is important… - Many people ask, “What should I learn? For the gate that leads to destruction is great, and many enter through it.” * * - Investing your limited time in “what many are learning” is unlikely to lead to competitive advantage. - (There is the advantage of low market development costs.) *Matthew 7:13.

Create an external exchange partner 33

-Requirements for knowledge exchange: “I know different things than they do.” -Tend to share knowledge with people in your company. -If you are from a different company, different industry, etc., you can easily have a “knowledge exchange relationship”.

Participate in external study groups 34

Half of them are realized in the form of study groups.

-Exchange of knowledge with people in different positions -Temporary group during the study session x -The presenter does most of the information dissemination, so it is not a knowledge exchange.

→I want to create something more sustainable and interactive.

Creating a network for knowledge exchange 35

-A place for two-way and continuous communication for efficient knowledge acquisition -We want a group of people in a relationship who understand each other’s situation and give each other knowledge. -The first step towards this: The first step: create a small informal group and be your own transmitter.

I’ll explain why this is a good idea here

I’ll explain here first.

Create a small informal group and you become the originator.

Why small groups?　 37

-The words “group” and “community” tend to conjure up images of something big with lots of people. -This is because larger groups are easier to observe. -There are disadvantages to being large.

*There are many small ones, but most of them are not in your field of vision

Example of answering the question 38

• If the group is large, the words and the situation are disconnected
• If there are countless people asking questions, you can’t spend time understanding the questioner’s situation
• Responding to the questioner’s words without understanding the questioner’s situation ref. Learning embedded in the situation.

Benefits of situational understanding1 39

- Comparing when the respondent understands (does/doesn't) what and how much the questioner knows
- Decreases the cost of answering and increases the probability that the respondent can provide what the questioner really wanted.
- Efficient knowledge exchange

Benefits of understanding the situation 2 40

• When Mr. A asks me for advice about X, I say When Mr. A asks me about X, I remember, “Mr. B did some research on X before,” and connect Mr. A and Mr. B.
• This requires an understanding of “Mr. B”.
• This “intermediary” facilitates a two-way exchange of knowledge.

Putting up a gate 41

• One useful way to create a small group: place a gate (limit who can join)
• What’s the difference between not having a gate (anyone can join) and having a gate? #gatedcommunity

Generation of free riders 42

• Suppose there is a useful group without a gate
• People are attracted by the usefulness
• Most people come to “take” and do not “give” to the group
• Most “takers” will eat up the limited resources available.

Information sharing is the exception, whether there are 10 or 100 takers It’s a tragedy of the commons. ref.The Tragedy of the Common Ground.

Duality of the OSS community 43

- The solution to this problem [[dual community]].
- You are free to join the user community, but you are not free to become a committer.
- Only those who have done "giving" activities to enrich the place within the community are selected to enter the gate.

Let’s take a look at this

Explanation so far 44 Create a small informal group and you become the transmitter.

Instructions from here 45 Create a small informal group and you become the originator.

Why create your own group?

• “If someone has created a group that 46 - The chances of someone creating a group that you can join and that is not too large are very small. -If it’s in the form of a private group, you won’t even know it exists. -So, you have to create your own.

You can start out quietly and informally.

-There are too many hurdles if you try to build a solid organization from the beginning. -Start small! -Starting quietly can act as a gate in itself.

To make it a mutually beneficial community 48

-You have to be the “giver” first. -Give & Take starts with Give. -Begin by telling other members what you saw and heard at this event. Give & Take starts with giving - Start by telling other members what you saw and heard at the event. -If other members give, you’ve succeeded!

Next Step 49

-Create a small informal group and be the originator. -Belong to more than one group -Set a reminder trigger.

Why multiple groups? 　50

-Belonging to multiple groups with different members makes you a pipe for knowledge to flow through. -Knowledge, unlike water, can accumulate in intermediaries.

Value creation through intermediation 51

-Transmit the knowledge you gained in Group A to Group B, who is hungry for that knowledge. People in Group B will be happy = customer value creation -By gaining practical experience in mediation, you will develop the ability to determine what is worth mediation. -Mediating on information that can be obtained by Googling does not lead to value.

Supplementing from Questions Copying the answers is futile.

Benefits of belonging to an organization of numbers 52

Knowledge exchange requires that you have knowledge that others do not have What if there is more than one of these “surroundings”?

Knowledge exchange is possible in each organization 53

Give this, get that. If you repeat this…

Human resources who know more than one field 54 Also known as “continuum specialists” or “pi people.”

55 Q: But I often hear that “it’s important to develop your expertise”?

Sea level rise due to technological progress 56

With the advancement of technology, the level of “readily available knowledge” (sea level) is much higher than it was 10 years ago.

We need to be above this sea level to participate in knowledge exchange. That’s why they say it’s important to develop expertise.

Level of Expertise 57

But this word “expertise” is vague, and it’s not clear to what level we should go. To emerge from the surface of the ocean, we need to have knowledge that is not available by Googling.

• It’s a much lower hurdle than the word “expertise” implies.

Like two wheels of a car 58

Gaining knowledge through action

• Gaining knowledge that cannot be googled through action and experimentation

Exchange knowledge with others

• Give knowledge that can’t be googled, get knowledge from another

Next step 59

- Create a small informal group and you become the originator
- Belong to more than one group
- Set a reminder trigger.

Why triggers? 　60

• Sometimes we understand value after time has passed*.
• Long-term memories are more likely to stick if you touch them again after six months or a year of forgetting.
• When you first start a group, you are very excited and active, but it usually lasts three days.

That’s why I remind them when time has passed and they have forgotten.

*When people ask me right after completing MOT, “How did it help you? I replied, “It broadened my horizons” and “I made different decisions based on the book I wrote. Addendum: The word is ripe Haste in output leads to degraded copy.

Triggered after one year 61

• No posts, no notifications because there are no posts. No one remembers the group, so they don’t post, and the cycle
• Sometimes a post brings it back to life again.
• Use “it’s been a year” as an excuse to post

Filtering after a year 62

• When you have a lot of free riders
• Create a new “enrichment group” with Givers based on one year of activity
• If there are more people who think the enriched group is better, the activity will take place in that group, and the old group will disappear naturally.

Unofficial groups are not only cheaper to create, but also cheaper to terminate because they can disappear spontaneously.

Opportunities for Review 63

• Many things will fail.
• When something you’ve started doesn’t work out, don’t just forget about it. We can learn a lot by looking back a year later.
• But we forget easily, so set a trigger to remind us when we start.

Summary 64

Managing Yourself 65

• You have made a business decision to “invest time to gain knowledge”.
• You are repeating this kind of resource allocation decision every day, this is management.
• There is a lot of discussion and knowledge in business administration about the importance of knowledge acquisition.

Your own knowledge acquisition strategy 66

• There are three types of learning: “learning by teaching” and “learning by doing”.
• What is often overlooked is “knowledge exchange”.
• In order to do this, you need a group of people who understand each other’s situation and give each other knowledge. How do we create them?

First step 67

• First, create a small informal group, and you will be the transmitter.
• Join multiple groups and become a pipeline of knowledge.
• Set reminder triggers and look back a year later

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