Hello. I'm Hata Mine from the Coding Factory (CF) department.
Today I would like to introduce Kazuhiro Kojima (also known as Zico), who is also from the same CF club.
When I joined the company, Kojima-san was already known as "Zico." The head of the CF department was also called "Kojima" using different kanji, and it was easy to confuse them, so they started calling him "Zico." When I first joined the company, he seemed busy with things like the company anniversary party committee, and I got the impression that he was someone with a strong presence in the company.
I became close with Zico when we were both stationed at a client's company. He looked young, so I thought we were about the same age, but he's actually five years older than me. However, I had more experience in the web industry, so we ended up working together, with me teaching him about coding and direction.
Although I mainly taught him how to direct, Zico is a senior in life. His various work experiences shone through everywhere. I also realized something by teaching Zico, and I think we both grew as a result.
After work, we would often go out drinking together, under the pretext of a reflection meeting for the day. We would talk about ways to improve on mistakes and praise each other for things we did well. We reflected on our work, but we also talked about our personal lives, trivial matters, and other things that only men can talk about.
In fact, most of the time we were just talking about nonsense.
The details are too trivial to go into here, but we often had fun together.
What became clear was that Zico appears to have had a wide range of experiences both in his work and in his personal life.
He grew up in the downtown area of Tokyo and is a true Edokko. He says that he worked part-time at a monjayaki restaurant when he was a student. His hobby is surfing, and he once worked as a salesman for watches and speakers.
So, while Zico cooked monjayaki at the monjayaki restaurant where he worked part-time, we asked him about his time "before Monosus." What emerged from the conversation was the experience that shaped his work ethic, which is still relevant today. We'd like to introduce Zico's work ethic and his experiences to date!
"Someone who can think positively!"
One time, we decided to work together on a production in an area where Zico had little experience.
What surprised me at that time was Zico's forward-thinking and positive attitude.
He would ask questions about things he didn't understand, but when I pointed out parts where he misinterpreted something, he would honestly internalize it. As a teacher, I remember feeling happy watching Zico change so much.
Also, to brush things up, I once asked Zico to do something unreasonable: create a procedure manual for a task that I didn't know the procedure for.
I asked them to "try writing first," and they wrote it while feeling their way around.
It's a lot of work just to create a manual so that the production team can proceed smoothly, but I imagine it must have been really difficult to have to create a manual for something that you don't even know how to do.
Although there were some mistakes in the end, the finished manual was full of various ingenuity. Some of the methods were better than my own, so I learned a lot.
At first, I was only interested in helping to create the procedure manual, but I think the reason we were able to create something that was good enough for me to learn from him was because of Zico's strong positive attitude, which led him to approach the job by making full use of the knowledge and experience he had at the time.
That's Zico. He has experience selling speakers and watches. I've also had experience in sales, and the toughest times are when the products don't sell.
We asked her how she managed to stay positive during such a difficult time.
- What did you do when you weren't selling?
Basically, I worked hard to provide customer service and make an effort to create repeat customers.
Also, we asked furniture stores to include the speakers in their furniture layout. Many customers who came to look at furniture noticed the speakers and ended up buying them.
--Is that really possible?
That's possible (laughs).
In addition, we had a store in a department store, so we proposed to the department store to hold a trial event for noise-canceling headphones and had customers experience how the noise was actually cut out. Because it was a foreign-owned company, there was a culture where even the sales staff were free to come up with various plans, and they kept proposing things.
Zico's staunch positivity... may come from his experience as a salesman, where he turned adversity to his advantage.
"Someone who completes their goal!"
Zico is someone I feel comfortable working with.
They have a strong sense of responsibility and are able to get the job done even in tough situations.
At Monosus, we hold an end-of-year party early and the members who have finished work go on vacation. This was the end of 2016, when Zico and I first worked together.
After the year-end party, the mood shifted to holiday mode, and fewer and fewer members came to work, but Zico and I were still focused on our work.
An invitation to go drinking from someone who has finished work for the year... I feel like I can't resist.
Maybe it's possible to postpone the remaining work to next year if you want to...
While I was feeling uncertain, Zico suggested to me, "Let's finish what we can before the end of the year," and the two of us finished it without leaving it for next year.
We had a bit of trouble at the beginning of the year and we would have been in a rush if we hadn't finished by the end of the year, but thanks to a word from Zico we were able to deliver the product with ease.
As a coder, it's very rewarding to be able to complete a job and meet a deadline with a sense of satisfaction.
It seems that Zico also had similar moments of accomplishment after completing a job during his time in sales.
--Have you ever had a dramatic experience, such as a happy moment or a miraculous purchase, while working as a speaker seller?
I was very happy when our largest home theater was sold for civilian use.
I think it was when a customer who was building a new house asked me to look at the blueprints of the house to confirm things like whether the size would fit and where the wiring would come from.I checked each item one by one, and the customer made the purchase on their fifth visit to the store.
-Do you even check the wiring by looking at the blueprint?
That's right. Most people buy large home theaters to fit their new homes, so I studied the blueprints and made suggestions. It's always nice to see a customer satisfied with a product that fits perfectly in their new home!
It goes without saying that you need to acquire the knowledge necessary for your job and complete your tasks. However, the high motivation and determination to complete your work to the very end may come from wanting to help customers.
"He's the kind of person who doesn't give up easily even when he fails!"
This happened when we were working together at the company we were stationed at.
We had a 15-minute morning meeting every day, which also served as a meeting with customers.
However, I was the one doing most of the reporting, and Zico struggled to find the time to talk to the customers...
Realizing that this was not good, Zico checked and simulated what he would say every day before the morning meeting. He also held a debriefing session after the meeting. As he continued practicing like this, Zico finally became able to take charge of the meetings and conduct them smoothly.
Zico, who works hard every day through trial and error to master things, is not the kind of person who will just get up even if he falls.
A photo from Niijima 10 years ago
Zico has been surfing since high school, and has a side to him that is not related to the company.
His strength to not give up even when he fails may come from his experience in surfing.
- Have you ever been in any danger while surfing?
When I was a beginner, I tried surfing on a typhoon day, but I was carried further out to sea than I expected and almost drowned. I stopped riding my surfboard and swam desperately to the breakwater, clinging on and somehow managing to survive.
-- Yes! Why did you not give up even though you were scared?
Because I love surfing. And because of that experience, I am careful not to get into any dangerous situations.
I decided to check four things when I go to the beach. First, I check if other surfers are catching waves. How many waves the people in the ocean are catching is one benchmark. Then I check the ocean current before entering the sea. Once I'm in the sea, I check how much energy I have left to go in, and check how far I need to go back to the shore.
By checking like this every time, I no longer feel scared (laughs).
When I feel a sense of unity while riding the waves and catching the wind, I feel the greatness of nature and want to be grateful for everything. Also, saltwater boosts the immune system, so if I'm feeling unwell, I can just go surfing and get better!
Also on Niijima
Who would have thought that surfing could improve your physical condition? Perhaps Zico's positive attitude comes from the power of the sea. Even in his hobby, he repeats trial and error, and makes sure to use his failures as a learning experience. I think he is someone who can turn things in a positive direction even in bad conditions.
He's a "life mentor who also does it as a dad!"
Zico's son was born in October last year and he took a month of parental leave.
It seems that as a first-time father, he was extremely busy, doing housework, shopping, and cooking.
I'm sorry for assuming you can't cook... (laughs)
She said that it was hard to raise her child because she had to feed him milk every two hours, regardless of whether it was morning or night. She was advised by her doctor to "go to a cafe to calm down because you will reach a point where your stress will explode after two weeks of childcare," but just as she was told, her stress exploded after two weeks.
I can't imagine that stress would explode in the workplace, so I felt that raising children must be really difficult. If I ever have a child in the future, I'll ask Zico for advice.
However, when I look at my child's face, I seem to enjoy it very much and can watch it for a long time.
At that moment, the "Zico = doting parent" flag was raised in my mind.
Although he is my junior in the industry, Zico is my senior in life.
I'm grateful that you always listen to the opinions of someone younger than me.
Now that Zico has a child, we have fewer opportunities to go drinking together, which makes me happy but sad at the same time. I also hope that once the child rearing process is over, we can go drinking together like we did when I was still a permanent resident!