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These were the words I chose for one of our young members who, before going on assignment to a public organization, asked me to give them some advice. I tried to imagine what their feelings would be as they trained in this new place, an environment that would be worlds away from our start-up culture. I said, "Respect the culture you are in, and be willing to learn", and “Stick with this assignment and see it through to the end no matter what.”

Perhaps because of my relative position, I am often asked by talented young people who are eager to grow, "If you were in your 20s or 30s today, what would you do?"

These days, seniority systems and lifetime employment are things of the past, and the simple formula of "If we do it this way, it will work!” has lost traction. In all honesty, I wonder how much meaning there is in my own N=1 opinion in an age where work is no longer everything, and different ideas about values are gaining acceptance.

Still, it would be insincere of me to go without answering, so, if I had to go back and talk to my younger 20-something self, what advice would I give him?

“Firstly, do your best at the work in front of you.”

It may sound obvious and preachy, when I listen to the experiences of great business leaders around me, I think, "There may be other ways too, but in the end, I feel this is the fastest route to growth.”

There are very few people who are blessed with being able to do, let alone knowing what they want to do, in their 20s. (If you've already figured it out, stick with it! You are one of the lucky ones.)

When I graduated from university, I wanted to work in "manufacturing" and do a new job using the Internet, so I joined Sony, but was disappointed when I was assigned to the accounting department. Sony is a large organization, so looking back, I understand that being placed like that was inevitable in some way. However, it didn't seem like that at the time… (painful lol).

Looking at it from the side assigning jobs, giving someone with no skills and no experience a position that’s “no fun and not interesting” is, in a way, the natural course at a big corporation, as young recruits can’t do too much yet. Still, when in this situation, if you face that “boring” job in a straightforward way, before long you will find yourself connecting with opportunities for positions that are “enjoyable and interesting”, and even more rewards will start coming your way. I think this kind of potential will increase in the future.

Try to find the silver lining instead of focusing on the gray clouds, and think to yourself, “I’m still inexperienced, so now is the time to hunker down and build up my strength until I can fully contribute in other ways.”

Eventually, you will begin to see beyond to the users that benefit from what you do that you couldn’t see before. We can begin to see the issues that users are facing, and the issues society is facing too. When your perspective broadens from seeing and thinking of only yourself, you find that your viewpoint is enhanced.

No matter how high a mountain may be, the first step is always to climb steadily up to the first station. As you huff and puff on your way, before you know it, the scenery has changed, and your legs grow stronger. I believe that work skills come to us in the exact same way.

When you start up the mountain, you can only think of yourself and what’s immediately around you, but as you climb, the world and scope you are able to see expands. As you do your work, it is the same. When you come to see the issues users and society face, it piques your interest, and you begin to consider "How can we solve these issues?" As your strength and abilities increase, so does your vision.

Also, even when you think you are struggling by yourself, the people around you may be watching over your steady efforts more than you realize

Bad rumors spread in an instant, but good rumors spread in time. When someone’s reputation is slowly growing within a company, people say, "I hear they work hard." Then, when an interesting opportunity arises, everyone will remember, "Oh, that one! They work so hard”, and your reputation will allow you to meet more interesting people as you pick up interesting opportunities.

While advancing steadily on such things, I think it is also important to look for the chance to take action on your own and jump into opportunities.

When I was in my third year after starting in the accounting department, I focused on what was in front of me and thought somewhat calmly, "If I just continue to hone my skills here, I won’t gain experience in manufacturing and creating my own business like I want." So, I began to seek opportunities to grow beyond my assigned duties. Then, as my course of action, I chose to offer my services in other departments while still taking care of my own work.

In order to be able to do this concurrently, of course, I had to finish my assigned tasks quickly, so I worked extremely hard. As a result, I was able to learn more about the challenges of the accounting business, which was my main focus, and this in turn became the backbone of Money Forward when it began. I deeply feel that there is no such thing as a wasted experience, and Steve Jobs puts it well when he talks about “Connecting Dots”.

While not skimping on the work you have front of you and giving it your all, I encourage you to raise your hand for other things when you have a chance, if you feel you want to work harder and grow faster.

In this day and age, it is difficult for supervisors to simply ask, "Why don't you try this as well?” Since circumstances, such as how people are raised as kids, change with time, it helps supervisors to have employees express their willingness to work, as well as how much they can and want to commit to the job. This in turn means that interesting (and maybe demanding?) duties come around for those wanting to take them on.

Your greatest weapon in your 20s is time.

Even if you cannot match the knowledge or the speed of your seniors at this point, you should not lose out on the "time" that is available to you. Back in the day, it didn't really register with me either, but now that I am in my mid-40s, I have come to understand the preciousness of this asset.

Take full advantage of the time available to you: read books, meet people, and voraciously absorb input on subjects that interest you.

There is certainly a muscle strength that can only be developed in one's 20s, when one is mentally flexible and can take time for oneself, and I feel that this will determine how high one can jump in one's 30s and 40s.

I envy the variety of content channels now available, such as web articles and YouTube, and the expanded opportunities for learning if you seek them out.

Conversely, now can be seen as an era in which there is a tremendous difference between those who do something and those who do not. In that sense, times may be very tough. So, I hope you will make the most of this finite asset called "time”.

Also, there’s one more very important thing that I didn't realize when I was in my 20s.

The people we meet now through the work we do in front of us - the relationships we have with colleagues, customers, business partners, and so on - have the potential to lead us into the unimaginable distant future.

When I was in my 20s and I had no choice but to run hard, I was only concerned with what was in front of me, and I thought my work relationships were simply for the present.

After 20 years in the workforce, many of the people I met then are those who are with me now as members of Money Forward, and I have been blessed with several relationships that continue to this day as collaborators and business partners. I am very happy and proud that we have the kind of relationship that goes beyond work.

And it is still mutual trust and enjoyment that creates these relationships between people.

So, I will do my best and enjoy the work in front of me, together with the people in front of me, to the best of my ability. In doing all these things, work deepens into something more enjoyable and valuable. You will be able to attract the career you want, and your life will be enriched. Moreover, the people we have worked hard with are also those that we can make memories with, and we can support each other in tough times, building stronger relationships of trust.

I think that working hard on the job at hand, though it may seem roundabout, is actually the fastest way to grow. It's something I've been thinking about lately, finally, after gaining a lot of experience. Of course, there are those who are going to say, "It's not all that neat and tidy" (and I am sure I would have said the same when I was younger.) Still, there are times when the path you thought was a shortcut actually isn’t at all, and the path you thought was a foolish detour turns out to be exactly what you were looking for the whole time.

Perhaps the words I said to that younger member, "Focus on what’s in front of you" are the words I wanted to say to myself 20 years ago.

Such is the challenge I face year after year in the unknown, and I can't afford it every day! (lol) For me, this year's theme is to be a "modest & learning animal”. I would like to make 2023 a year in which I can humbly learn many things, take on many challenges, have a good time with everyone, and provide much value to our users. Let's all do our best!

(Translated by Victoria Koyama; Reviewed by Nagisa Hashimoto)