Fujiko Suda / Reflection

Thank you, Patrick!

Patrick is leaving our company to attend USC for MBA. He is 8 years younger than me, and he was my boss for nearly three years. As I reflect on how we worked together, I realized that because of him, I was able to really do things that I felt was good for myself, client, our company, and we ended up with great results.

Our personalities are just about totally opposite to each other's. My personality is very much like that of his wife's. (Guess it was good.) I read about, hear about people who succeeded by of having someone who is opposite to their personality that gave them balance. I think Patrick was such a person for me over the past three years. I truly want to thank you, Patrick!!

I talk about environment, importance of "ba". Well, without people that have good chemistry together, it means nothing. Knowing this from experience will be such an asset to my job in helping companies to create nurturing environment.

It's all about learning from experience. But I love the poetic way Paulo Coelho puts it in The Fifth Mountain:

"He who maketh no choice is dead in the eyes of the Lord, though he go on breathing and walking in the streets.
'Moreover,'the angel continued, 'no one dieth. The arms of eternity open for every soul, and each one will carry on his task. There is a reason for everything under the sun.'
Elijah again raised his arms to the heavens.
'My people fell away from the Lord because of a woman's beauty. Phoenicia may be destroyed because a priest thinks that writing is a threat to the gods. Why does He who made the world prefer to use tragedy to write the book of fate?'
.....
'Thou knowest not whereof thou speakest," the angel replied. "There is no tragedy, only the unavoidable. Everything hath its reason for being: thou needest only distinguish what is temporary from what is lasting.'
'What is temporary?' asked Elijah.
'The unavoidable.'
'And what is lasting?'
'The lessons of the unavoidable.'"

Thanking old and new friends in Europe

Thank you, Catherine, Annemieke, Ina, Pierre, Jacques, Matoba-san!
You all have made my trip to France and Netherland very, very special.

Yes, being a Steelcase team member makes me biased toward our company, but we really do have great workplaces and worklife in so many parts of the world! I just love our facilities in Grand Rapids, Michigan, our Arena Station, Patterson Building, Steelcase University, <a href="http://www.dgunning.org/architecture/Meyer%20May/index.html">Meyer Mayhouse</a>, and our related company, IDEO's San Francisco and Palo Alto offices. But I fell in love with our Netherland office. Why, it's a cross between IDEO San Francisco and Palo Alto offices. Marlenheim may be out of way, but I love it's quaintness. Steelcase Paris. It was very impressive, practicing what we preach, and Jean-Marc Heme's worklife showroom tour touted same story I tell in Tokyo. I was really happy to hear that Steelcase Paris will move out of La Defense area into central Paris. Makes it even better. Talk about history, I thought Arena Station with 100 year-old building was impressive, the buildings in central Paris are REALLY old! Like the one <a href="http://www.avence.com">Avence</a> is housed. I think the building is over 200 years old, isn't it?

Real people doing real work. I thought it interesting that marketing and consultants I met of Steelcase Europe team were mostly women, most of them mothers like me. I couldn't meet George due to transportation problem in Paris due to general strike, so I missed meeting one man who consults.

Matoba-san and I met from sitting next to each other along with a lady from Romania, and had interesting talks during our long (loong) flight from Tokyo to Amsterdam. He's doing some great work in IT consulting, and when I asked him if he would give a little talk to my young group (yes, wyuki-san, Sakakida-san, Kubota-san, Sasaki-san!), he has kindly agreed. He's more genki than me!

Okay, if anybody wants to see my summaries of creating knowledge based workplace based on Europe examples, especially on using arts to create ba for interaction, and to maximize the use of colors and visuals, call me! E-mail me! We'll get together.

Thanking New And Old Friends

Thank you, Catherine, Annemieke, Ina, Pierre, Jacques, Matoba-san!
You all have made my trip to France and Netherland very, very special.

Yes, being a Steelcase team member makes me biased toward our company, but we really do have great workplaces and worklife in so many parts of the world! I just love our facilities in Grand Rapids, Michigan, our Arena Station, Patterson Building, Steelcase University, Meyer Mayhouse, and our related company, IDEO's San Francisco and Palo Alto offices. But I fell in love with our Netherland office. Why, it's a cross between IDEO San Francisco and Palo Alto offices. Marlenheim may be out of way, but I love it's quaintness. Steelcase Paris. It was very impressive, practicing what we preach, and Jean-Marc Heme's worklife showroom tour touted same story I tell in Tokyo. I was really happy to hear that Steelcase Paris will move out of La Defense area into central Paris. Makes it even better. Talk about history, I thought Arena Station with 100 year-old building was impressive, the buildings in central Paris are REALLY old! Like the one Avence is housed. I think the building is over 200 years old, isn't it?

Real people doing real work. I thought it interesting that marketing and consultants I met of Steelcase Europe team were mostly women, most of them mothers like me. I couldn't meet George due to transportation problem in Paris due to general strike, so I missed meeting one man who consults.

Matoba-san and I met from sitting next to each other along with a lady from Romania, and had interesting talks during our long (loong) flight from Tokyo to Amsterdam. He's doing some great work in IT consulting, and when I asked him if he would give a little talk to my young group (yes, wyuki-san, Sakakida-san, Kubota-san, Sasaki-san!), he has kindly agreed. He's more genki than me!

Okay, if anybody wants to see my summaries of creating knowledge based workplace based on Europe examples, especially on using arts to create ba for interaction, and to maximize the use of colors and visuals, call me! E-mail me! We'll get together.

Days in Europe 2

How about it? Two entries in one day! Arrived Paris a few hours ago, and making this entry at an internet cafe behind the hotel I am staying for the night: Cluny Square Hotel. But gotta go look for another hotel, since the place is so noisy from the street traffic. The noise shocked me when I entered the room, especially after beautifully serene days at Poitier, Strasbourg and Amsterdam.

I'm typing this at snail's pace, because the key board is French, and A, Q, M, W, numbers and commas and such are all in different places from US or Japan.

The very first impression of Paris: How very elegant! So artistically built! The buildings, public arts, colors of gold and red so impressive. The air feels so different compared to anywhere else I have ever visited. No wonder artsy people just fall head over heels over this place.

Meeting with George Roux of Steelcase Paris tomorrow. Can't wait!

It is so true: failure is beginning of success. Success beginning of failure. I received the highest score for the performance rated by peers at Steelcase Japan. Responsible, hard working... And I am destroying that by this visit to Europe. Didn't notify everybody at the office, with messed up laptop, can't respond to all inquiries coming in, not keeping promises of some deadlines... Just messing them all up.

Was it worth it, mess up my good reputation to come here? Absolutely! Feel so alive!

Van Gogh tore his ear off during his bout with epilepsy. Not from moment of conscious passion. He commited suicide because he felt his life was a failure, becoming an artist after failing as a clergyman. But he was so engrossed with his work earlier. Gave me a lot to think about...

Days in Europe

Amsterdam is sunny and beautiful today! It was really hot when I arrived last Friday, but today, it is much cooler. Probably yesterday's rain helped.

I am on a learning trip for Steelcase Workplace Consulting method and process to incorporate them into my consulting work in Japan. Also, to develop a community of practice among workplace consultants and those of us who share similar goals and objectives in work, life.

It has been great!

I am about to hop onto the airport shuttle from Hotel Okura. My next destination: Paris.

Terrible time with connecting to internet with my laptop. But hopefully, I will have chance to write some more during this trip.