Active Connector's Podcast

Starting a new job in a new company in the midst of a pandemic might seem intimidating but we invited one of our Active Connector Evangelist Filip Mintus to share with us his experience in starting his new job with a new company earlier this year. Let’s listen to how he managed to remain motivated and have a positive outlook despite everything else that has been happening lately.Filip Mintus is originally from Poland and has been living and working in Japan for almost 2 years. He is a Machine Learning Engineer with a mechatronics background having worked on Battery Management Systems’ algorithm development using Python and Matlab for data analysis and visualisation. TOPICS OF DISCUSSION:A.) Filip Mintus’ Career Journey in Japan: How I Found the Right Company FitB.) Job Hunting PreparationsC.) Starting My Job During a Pandemic and Going RemoteQ&A from the participants--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Find English or Bilingual Professional Jobs in Japan check our website:https://www.active-connector.com/jobs/--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Join our MeetUp group for online or offline events for freehttps://www.meetup.com/ACTIVECONNECTOR/--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Support the show (https://www.linkedin.com/company/active-connector)

Trista Bridges is the Principal and Co-Founder of Read The Air, where they work with companies to develop and implement sustainability in the core of their business and operations. She is highly experienced in marketing, strategy and organizational capabilities building.Read her article on Disrupting Innovation Through Impact HERE: https://bit.ly/2WBUjLQThis COVID-19 crisis is set to fundamentally transform how we think about innovation. Join us for an interesting discussion on what we should expect after experiencing this pandemic and how it will affect and shape the way innovation is financed, commercialized and prioritized.TOPICS OF DISCUSSION:A.) Time Frame Issue- How do we tackle the different time horizons for return?B.)Sustainable Innovation- How do we innovate around sustainability?C.) Emerging Social and Environmental Innovations: Q&A from the participants--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Find English or Bilingual Professional Jobs in Japan check our website:https://www.active-connector.com/jobs/--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Join our MeetUp group for online or offline events for freehttps://www.meetup.com/ACTIVECONNECTOR/--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Support the show (https://www.linkedin.com/company/active-connector)

Decision Intelligence answers the question, if we make this decision today, which leads to this action, what will be the outcome tomorrow. Alternatively, decision intelligence is about turning information into better actions at any scale.Our featured speaker is a visiting scholar at the School of Environment and Society, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan. He is also a visiting scientist at the Social Value Decision Making Unit in BTCC, RIKEN, Japan. In addition, Dr. Siddike is a distinguished visiting scholar at IBM Research, USA. Recently, Mr. Siddike has been awarded his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from Graduate School of Knowledge Science in Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Japan. Support the show (https://www.linkedin.com/company/active-connector)

Find out what it takes to build your tech career in Japan. Listen to our online session with Michael Omoto, Engineering Manager at Google Japan, as we discuss building tech careers in Japan.Michael Omoto, Psychologist turned Software Engineer, is currently working as an Engineering Manager at Google Japan. He was also a former Engineering Manager at Mercari, Inc. His main goal was to be able to bring the best parts of Silicon Valley and implement them in Japan. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the speaker do not state or reflect those of his employer.TOPICS OF DISCUSSION:Michael Omoto’s Career Journey3:00 Professional Journey (From Psychology > Tech)7:00 Learning how to program on his own9:15 Getting his first tech job12:20 Experience as a Software Engineer in Silicon Valley17:00 Finding opportunity to move and work in Japan20:00 First Project in Mercari22:00 Aiming to bring the best parts of Silicon Valley to Japan34:20 Work Environment like in Google40:05 Designing Your Tech Career 53:20 Answering Q&A Sent in by RegistrantsDesigning your Career in TechQ&A from the participants--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Find English or Bilingual Professional Jobs in Japan check our website:https://www.active-connector.com/jobs/--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Join our MeetUp group for online or offline events for freehttps://www.meetup.com/ACTIVECONNECTOR/--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Support the show (https://www.linkedin.com/company/active-connector)

Flex time, remote work and personal development day are some of the work conditions that are slowly becoming integrated with today’s current work environment and culture in some of Japan’s offices. Although these have been present in western companies especially in innovative startups abroad, Japan has been known to have long and excruciating work hours because of the excessive overtime culture. In fact it has become so bad that the Japanese government had to create a legal cap on the maximum hours allowed when it comes to overtime work. You don’t even have to be in the C level or managerial level to start this change within your company. Find out how in this episode!TOPICS OF DISCUSSION:2:38- Weakness in Japan’s current HR system and working environment7:15- Effective way of pushing for a better work environment:8:50- Change Management16:35- Support Accumulation22:07- Strong Argument Support23:05- Observe People's Behavior28:14- Mind Your Ego--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Find English or Bilingual Professional Jobs in Japan check our website:https://www.active-connector.com/jobs/--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Join our MeetUp group for online or offline events for freehttps://www.meetup.com/ACTIVECONNECTOR/--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Support the show (https://www.linkedin.com/company/active-connector)

Have you ever pitched an idea to your boss or your project manager in Japan and just got frustrating feedback? Or worse, you get a nod of approval that leads to no action later on? This scenario might not be only limited to Japan, but since Japan’s workforce is getting more and more multicultural, it becomes more difficult when there is a misunderstanding or lack of proper internal communication and transparency.We invited Tokyo’s Diversity and Inclusion Consultant and Leadership Coach, Jennifer Shinkai. To walk us through achieving a more adaptable communication style that produces result and have a real impact towards your actual end goal.CONTENTS:1:23- Jennifer Shinkai's decision to move to Japan2:40- Why did you choose to be a Diversity & Inclusion Coach7:00- Ikigai defined8:22- Japan's Current Work Environment12:00- Root of Miscommunication15:24- What do you do when your ideas are being shutdown?18:40- Why do people lose motivation?24:25- Adaptable Communication used in your advantage31:27- Words of Wisdom34:00- Q&A Sent in by the audience--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Find English or Bilingual Professional Jobs in Japan check our website:https://www.active-connector.com/jobs/--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Join our MeetUp group for online or offline events for freehttps://www.meetup.com/ACTIVECONNECTOR/--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Support the show (https://www.linkedin.com/company/active-connector)Support the show (https://www.linkedin.com/company/active-connector)

Have you heard of the “Teal Organizational Structure”?Can a “No Manager” style be an effective setup for companies here in Japan? How to move from hierarchy & processes to trust & proactiveness? How do you successfully pitch it to your company?We have so many questions. Thankfully Sylvain Pierre agreed to help us out and talk all about Teal Structure applied to Japanese companies. We will be discussing how effective a “NO MANAGER” management style pans out in a very traditional country like Japan and how to successfully thrive under it.CONTENTS:1:38 - Why Japan4:38 - Sylvain’s career journey5:19 - Work environment in France, Vietnam, and Japan9:46 - Teal organizational structure17:18 - Teal applied to Japanese companies23:06 - How to know if a company is ready for teal24:06 - Viability of teal for Japanese companies25:34 - Caution before applying teal27:29 - Possible challenges for employees30:25 - Advice to yourself31:29 - Q&ASupport the show (https://www.linkedin.com/company/active-connector)