Hello.
I'm Tatsuta, the head of the marketing department.
Coding Factory's first book was released on April 26, 2017.
Coding Factory (hereinafter referred to as CF) is celebrating its 10th anniversary since its launch in 2007.
In this memorable year, we were able to release a book that can truly be considered the culmination of our work to date.
Then, on June 19, 2017, we held a seminar to commemorate the publication.
Through the publication commemorative seminar, which is scheduled to be held in Osaka in August, we would like to introduce CF's thoughts about the seminar.
→【August 7th: Osaka event confirmed】 Click here for details on the publication commemorative seminar.
History of the CF seminar.
CF's goal is to hold a seminar at least once a year.
The first seminar was held in 2009. It was attended by 14 people and was held in the large conference room of our Yoyogi office.
Since then, we have held seminars across the country on seven different themes, 28 times in total, with a total of 2,200 participants.
In this history, there was a seminar that marked a turning point and had a major impact thereafter.
That was the coding guidelines seminar we held in 2011.
This seminar was held periodically over a period of three years, with a total of 1,043 participants.
This seminar was a huge success and was of great significance to the business development of CF. It was the catalyst for a sudden rise in awareness in the web industry, and had such an impact that the term "CF means guidelines."
You could say that this seminar built the foundation of our current business.
And there is another important meaning to the Coding Guidelines Seminar.
That means coders are now teaching.
The seminars up until then had been taught by CEO Hayashi and Vice President Nagai, both of whom were accustomed to speaking in public.
Starting with this seminar, we decided that coders would take on this role.
Coders who do programming work are considered to be technical professionals.
I have no experience in public speaking and it's definitely not my forte.
It is now commonplace for coders to serve as seminar lecturers.
However, at the time, it was a decision that required real courage for both the coder who was the instructor and the manager who was overseeing the seminar.
The amount of effort required to prepare for the seminar was far greater than any seminar I had held up until that point.
You also have to deal with the tension and pressure that comes with having no experience.
If you prepare a detailed text or script, it may be possible to have someone experienced in speaking speak in your place.
But since 2011, coders have been a fixture in speaking at seminars.
Why do coders care about talking?
Let me try talking about this from a slightly different angle.
As someone who has many opportunities to speak in public, I often receive questions like this.
"I get nervous when I speak in front of people (seminars, presentations, morning meetings, etc.). What can I do to be able to speak without getting nervous?"
That's it.
At that time, I always give a certain answer.
"It's better to be nervous. If you're not nervous, you won't be able to convey your feelings. I'm still nervous right now."
That is what it means.
Because I get nervous, I work hard to prepare, and because I get nervous, I can speak as hard as I can.
And ultimately, because you speak with great effort, your message gets across to others.
When speaking in front of others, the idea that "you should speak without being nervous," "you mustn't stumble," "you mustn't falter," and "you must speak fluently" are all "misconceptions" that are a kind of stereotypical obsession.
Incidentally, I was one of those who had this misconception.
It was in my second year of working life that I realized this might be a misunderstanding.
As someone who used to work for a consulting firm, I had many opportunities to speak in public.
Like many others, I was wondering how I could speak without getting nervous.
At that time, I happened to see a series of these stories on TV.
"Comedians who don't get nervous won't be successful."
The people who said this were Kinichi Hagimoto (Kin-chan) and Sanma Akashiya (San-chan).
Each is a different program.
"Even entertainers who I thought were the epitome of not getting nervous in front of people get nervous. In fact, if they don't get nervous, they won't be successful..."
It was like a revelation, my common sense had changed, and I felt like I had a clear idea of what I needed to do.
For the past 10 years or so since then, I have believed that feeling nervous is a good thing, whether it's when I speak myself or when I support my members in speaking in public.
As a result, I am convinced that this way of thinking is correct, or rather, that it is the truth when speaking in public.
My own interpretation is this.
"Be well prepared"
"Speak as hard as you can to convey what you've prepared."
If you can do these two things, which are the cause and effect of tension, without running away, you will become a great speaker.
Thinking about this, the answer to who should speak at a CF seminar becomes clear.
Who is the person who can speak to the audience with all their might?
This is, after all, the fault of the people involved: the coders.
There is nothing better than the actual story, the real voices from the field, and the genuine truth from the people involved.
In the end, the winner will be decided by whether the real person can tell the truth with all their might.
That's why CF seminars are committed to having coders speak, even though it requires a lot of preparation.
Prepare for the storm.
As you can see from the above, being a teacher is tough.
The people who took on that role this time were department manager Kojima and director Matsubara.
Both of them were members who played central roles in the publishing side of things.
( Project report article leading up to publication )
Kojima has experience giving seminars, but this is Matsubara's first time as a seminar lecturer.
It was my first time creating a seminar text and my first time speaking using a microphone.
Moreover, this time, because it took a long time for publication to be finalized, we had less time than ever to prepare.
Meanwhile, preparations for the furious start began.
There are many things that need to be done in preparation, such as creating a seminar concept, considering the overall structure, writing the text, preparing a script, etc., but the most important thing is to practice giving the talk.
Public speaking brings more stress and pressure than you might imagine.
By simply practicing repeatedly, you will be able to prepare so that the content can be conveyed clearly to the seminar participants.
This time, we practiced about 10 times, including self-study.
They practiced using a cardboard box as a podium and a homemade microphone made from a plastic bottle held together with duct tape.
And then, the day of the seminar arrived.
This seminar was held in the evening to accommodate a more convenient time for people to attend.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the program lasts two hours, starting at 7 p.m. and finishing at 9 p.m.
On the day, all members involved in the CF entered the venue.
The venue was a seminar room at Mynavi's headquarters in Takebashi, Tokyo.
It is in a prime location overlooking the Imperial Palace.
CF coders gather in the lounge to enjoy the spectacular view.
We all worked together to prepare for the event, together with Mynavi Publishing, the organizer of the seminar, including setting up the equipment and distributing the textbooks.
And then the doors open.
As always, this seminar was well attended.
We received 97 applications, far exceeding our planned capacity of 80 people, and had to expand the venue to accommodate all participants.
Finally, the course begins.
The theme of this seminar, like that of the book, is "What is really needed in the field for fast and accurate web production?"
In an increasingly sophisticated and complex web production environment, we have structured our courses to focus on content that only we, the coders, can convey.
Both the first and second courses break down the content into practical content that can be used in the workplace starting tomorrow.
First, the first lecture will be by Kojima.
As web production becomes more complex, it is becoming easier to overlook items that should be included in the specification design. In the first course, we explained each item based on a checklist created to eliminate such oversights.
The lecturer for the second course will be Matsubara, who will be making his seminar debut.
The second course explained how to use web production tools, which are essential for fast and accurate web production, and how to use them effectively.
His extremely nervous expression is quite charming.
And the seminar ended.
It was a hectic month, but thanks to everyone who participated and to our organizers, Mynavi Publishing, we were able to successfully conclude the seminar.
Why continue the seminar?
Many seminars are held every day in the web industry.
However, CF seminars are a little different.
While many seminars are aimed at sales, ours aims to transmit know-how and technology from engineer to engineer.
Completing one seminar is extremely difficult, both physically and mentally.
However, I would like to continue even if it means pushing myself a little.
At the root of this, and perhaps it may sound presumptuous, is the desire to "improve the web industry."
When CF started in 2007, productivity in the web industry was by no means high.
I've heard some derogatory comments about it.
One of the themes that we considered as we continued our business was what we could do to change that reality.
The trigger to put this theme into practice was when we came to understand our position once again.
The CF position is primarily responsible for coding for web production companies.
Through our daily work with web production companies, we gradually accumulate know-how and experience. This is because, above all, we are entrusted with projects.
"We give back what has been accumulated little by little, and let employees use it to increase productivity."
We believe that giving back is what we can do.
I am pleased that this has now been realized in the form of a publication and seminar, and I hope to continue this activity in the future.
Finally, it was decided that this seminar will be held in Osaka .
The performance will take place on Monday, August 7th at 6:30pm.
We look forward to your participation from the Kansai region.
And here is the book filled with the CF members' passion.
TATSUTA Yoshihiro
I am in charge of Web & Digital Solutions, project manager of website construction, and bartender at the bar in the office. I enjoy working with our clients and members while hanging out in various places.