にほんブログ村
Hello, this is Yasui, president of a company specializing in the inspection of high-pressure gas facilities.
Here are a few books I highly recommend!
1. Naoki Hyakuta – A History of Japan
This book provides an easy-to-understand overview of Japanese history from ancient times to the present. While it includes Hyakuta's personal interpretations, it's an excellent introduction for anyone wanting to grasp the broad flow of Japan's history. It may even leave you feeling grateful to have been born in Japan.
2. Piyopiyo News – World History Even Elementary School Students Can Understand
History repeats itself. That's why I recommend learning not only Japanese history but also world history. Start with the big picture, then dive deeper into the topics that interest you.
3. Tadashi Yanai – Face Reality
In this book, Uniqlo founder Tadashi Yanai explains what it truly means to "face reality." It encourages readers to develop a broader, more objective perspective. Since Yanai is also an avid reader of Peter Drucker, I believe his ideas are well worth studying.
I recently switched vehicles, which meant moving equipment around and preparing tools different from the ones I normally use.
It had been quite a while since I had managed a periodic self-inspection project directly with the client, so I spent a great deal of time preparing.
Working directly with a client is very different from working under a general contractor.
When there's a general contractor, they'll usually tell you things like, "You don't need to prepare this," or "Please make sure you bring that."
But when you're the one leading the project, no one gives you those instructions.
You have to prepare everything from start to finish without overlooking anything—and it's often wise to bring a little more than you think you'll need.
Normally, if you're using the same vehicle for the same type of work over and over, simply taking that vehicle is enough.
This time, however, things were different.
The vehicle that had been used for this type of work wasn't one that I currently manage, so I had to gather equipment from several different places.
To make matters more complicated, some of that equipment had already been unloaded at another job site.
So I kept checking my preparations again and again.
Even then, I couldn't help thinking there might still be something missing.
There's always the possibility of arriving on site and saying, "I wish I had brought that."
Fortunately, I prepared detailed checklists and compared everything against them, so I think I'll be fine.
Still...
Even though I used to perform this kind of work at my previous company, it's been nearly ten years.
That's long enough to make anyone feel uneasy.
When you're anxious, it's tempting to hand everything over to someone else.
But if you do that, you'll never overcome that anxiety.
The key is to treat it as your own responsibility.
Become personally involved.
When you do, you begin to notice many things—from preparing the right tools to communicating with your customers.
As your understanding grows, your anxiety gradually begins to fade.
That said, preparing equipment has made me think more seriously about my vehicles.
Including the equipment already installed in my current vehicle, what's the best combination?
How can I minimize the amount of loading and unloading between vehicles?
These are questions I now need to answer.
As I continue my daily work, I'd like to reduce the amount of "work before the real work."
I need to clearly separate what is necessary, what isn't, what should always stay in the vehicle, and what doesn't need to.
Ultimately, I need to ask myself one simple question:
What is the core of my business?
Once I have that answer, I can rethink which tools truly deserve a permanent place in my work vehicle.
That's what I'll be working on next.
Thank you very much for reading!
See you next time!
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