Category Archives: Japan

Tech Fluency

Contributed article by Yvonne Burton of Burton Consulting International and Silicon Valley Alliance Associate.

Technological fluency is a major part of global business skills and in the age of remote work, the need for companies to have Tech Fluency has become more and more apparent. I work mainly with Japanese companies and although many major corporations are proactive in utilizing technology to the fullest, I find that an equal number are not. Whether, small, medium, or large, many Japanese companies are behind in using technology tools for maximum benefit and suffering for it.

This first article provides a general introduction to the theme,  a look at what is missing and the state that a lot of companies found themselves in when the pandemic propelled all of the world into remote work. Some companies seamlessly adapted, but for many others, it was and continues to be more of a challenge. Going forward, I will be writing more on this theme and what companies can and should be doing to increase fluency.

‘Tech Fluency’ was first published on JapanCulture-NYC where, as Business Editor, I write a bi-monthly column. I am re-posting the complete article here.

Technological Fluency

That is a mouthful. I call it Tech Fluency.

What is Tech Fluency?

Let me define it by looking at its components.

Technology: Techniques, skills, methods, and processes used in the production of goods or services or in the accomplishment of objectives.

Fluency: The quality or condition of being fluent. In addition, it is also defined as the ability to express oneself easily and articulately. It is usually applied to languages.

In this article, I am taking creative license and applying fluency to the language of technology to describe the level of proficiency and/or comfort in using the technological tools and applications that are needed to perform work responsibilities.Continue reading→

Wellbeing Doesn’t Always FEEL . . . well . . . WELL!

Here’s how I’m facing this year’s daunting challenges. Who’s in? – Kimberly

With all of the hatred unleashed in the 2016 US elections, I’ve been struggling to regain my send of wellbeing. Then I remembered . . .

WELLBEING ISN’T NECESSARILY EASY. Sometimes I fret that “wellbeing” will be misinterpreted as “Life should always be easy.” How dull would that be?!! My work mostly involves tackling challenges that most people claim are very difficult, highly unlikely, or darned near impossible, and I find the work absolutely exhilarating! Yes, I feel quite “well” when I’m in the midst of such circumstances, meeting tough challenges while shaking in my boots, staying committed to results that seem unattainable. Wahoo! For me, wellbeing isn’t endless days of paddling a lazy canoe toward my ultimate resting place (RIP). While I sometimes enjoy the tranquility of a quiet stream, I’m sure I’d go completely bonkers if I had to experience peace, calm and tranquility every moment of my life. Truly.Continue reading→

Becoming Global-Minded by Kimberly Wiefling (Wiefling Consulting)

HeartWorld-iStock_000018974106XSmall

(This article is first published in Japan in the English Journal by my agent ALC Global Leadership and Talent Development Division.)

QUESTION:  “My subordinates are younger than me, but they seem much more global-minded. I know I need to change, but I’ve never worked abroad, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to change. How can I become more ‘global’ and continue to be a leader at our company when the world is changing so quickly?” Continue reading→

Working Remotely … Face-to-Face! by Kimberly M. Wiefling, M.S.

Business Team Meeting by Ambro

(Originally posted on ProjectConnections.com)
Image courtesy of Ambro/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Globalization in today’s business world is rapid and inescapable. As a result, many projects these days involve geographically dispersed teams comprised of members from a wide variety of countries and cultures. While language barriers, decision-making style, and time zones are well-recognized challenges, the positive benefits of global teams continue to drive this trend.Continue reading→

Leadership Lessons from a Heart-wrenching Tragedy

Originally published on ProjectConnections.com April 2011.

Pardon me if I’m not my normally humorous self. I’m obsessing on disaster these days after the recent quake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant tragedies in Japan. While there have been plenty of tragedies in the past that could have consumed my emotional bandwidth (see the complete list on Wikipedia if you don’t already feel like self-medicating with tequila), this is much more personal. Just about every month for the last five years I’ve flown to Japan to work for a couple of weeks. From my home in the Silicon Valley, Japan seemed a long way off. Until now, that is.

On March 11 at 4:00 AM the iPhone on my bed table rang. It was my dad calling from my parents’ home in Florida. “Get up! Your friends are in trouble,” he said. I don’t know what he thought I could do about a natural disaster occurring over 5,000 miles away, but that’s my dad—no matter how dire the circumstances, he always thinks there’s something a person can do to make a positive difference.Continue reading→

Collaboration is Killing Me!

A lot of my work in the past couple of years has been consulting with a company in Tokyo called ALC Education.  It’s the biggest project of my life, with the longest time horizon of anything my A.D.D. brain has ever had to wrap itself around.  The goal of this project is nothing less than planetary transformation, something I’ve had a hankering to work on since my youth, but lacked the personal vision of exactly how to go about it.  All kidding aside, the senior executives who lead this company have told me quite matter-of-factly that they intend to transform the Japanese economy for the better, for the good of the world, through shifting the mindsets of leaders in international Japanese businesses.  When pressed, they estimated that it will take somewhere around a decade to get some traction on this whole mindset shift that will enable their clients to “solve global problems profitably”. Continue reading→