FIELD MANAGEMENT STRATEGY Hosts Workshop to Cultivate 'Next-Generation Consultants' for the New Era

FIELD MANAGEMENT STRATEGY Inc. (FMS; Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Kentaro Nakamura), which prides itself on being 'Japan's leading strategic consulting firm for human resource development,' held an internal training program for young consultants called the 'Consult Code Workshop' on Tuesday, March 17th. ■ Background of the Event FMS is a strategic consulting firm that commits to solving issues by adopting the perspective of 'management staff' regarding the challenges faced by executives. At FMS, we place importance not only on logical and hypothesis-driven thinking but also on daily behaviors and thought processes that build a professional attitude. In cultivating young consultants, we are dedicated not only to the acquisition of knowledge and skills but also to refining their approach to work and the quality of their thinking and actions. Based on this philosophy, the 'Consult Code Workshop' is held as an opportunity for employees to reflect on their own code of conduct in addition to their daily projects, and to learn while using practical cases as subject matter. ■ Workshop Details and Observations In the workshop, we utilized the book 'Consult Code: 48 Professional Behavioral Norms' written by Nakamura. By having young consultants present the real challenges they face in the field and their worries regarding growth, and by having partners, including Representative Nakamura, join the discussion with their own practical experiences, we directly pass on the professional mindset and conduct that can be put into practice starting the next day. At the session held on March 17th, heated discussions took place centered on the following two themes out of the many behavioral norms. 【Theme 1】Taking actions linked to a 'Responsible' mindset —To grow and find clues to solutions in any situation, one must perceive all phenomena as one's 'own responsibility.' Only by abandoning the 'blame-others mindset' regarding things beyond one's control and acting from oneself as the starting point can concrete, solution-oriented actions be taken.— Young employee: 'If I am too conscious of self-responsibility, I worry that I will assume everything is my fault, which might have a negative impact on my mental health. Are there any tricks to keep growing healthily while maintaining a stance of self-responsibility?' Representative Nakamura: 'It is important to set your goal as "personal growth" rather than "evaluation by others." By doing so, even unreasonable situations can become fuel for growth, and your mental state will remain stable. Also, to protect one's mental health, ingenuity from the management side providing guidance is indispensable. Rather than bluntly denying them, by making the subject clear—such as "from my perspective, it looks like this"—when giving feedback, the psychological damage received by the young staff can be significantly reduced.' 【Theme 2】Concentrating on noticing the other party's true intentions —To understand a client's true requirements, it is important to focus not on superficial words, but on the reasons and background behind "why they said that." Only by thoroughly listening can you grasp the true intentions that even the other party has not yet been able to verbalize.— Young employee: 'When a client is unable to verbalize their thoughts themselves, even if I throw a hypothesis at them like "Is this your intention?", I cannot draw out their true intentions well. What approach is effective for accurately grasping the other party's true intentions?' Representative Nakamura: 'When you throw your own hypothesis at someone who hasn't been able to verbalize their own thoughts, the other party is often pulled by your hypothesis, and their response ends up deviating from their original intention. Therefore, instead of interpreting the other party's statement immediately, it is important to go back to specific events and backgrounds by asking questions such as "What were you looking at when you thought that?" or "What was the trigger?" It is not uncommon for phenomena, causes, and solutions to be mixed together in the other party's story without being organized. Gently unraveling such states while going back together to the starting point where the other party began to think is effective in grasping their true intentions.' ■ Future Prospects and Thoughts on Human Resource Development FMS will continue to commit itself to the growth of each individual consultant as 'Japan's leading strategic consulting firm for human resource development.' By providing growth opportunities not only in consulting skills through daily projects but also in mindset and behavioral aspects, we will produce true professionals. As each employee gains trust under their own name, FMS will become a 'group of trusted consultants,' thereby contributing to the growth of client companies and, by extension, Japanese companies. ＜About FIELD MANAGEMENT STRATEGY＞ A strategic group that upholds the 'management staff' perspective, challenging the trend of industry-wide firm bloating and consultant dilution. By limiting the organization size to 150 people, we maximize the 'density of the elite few,' and as a professional firm where people grow the most in Japan, we train them starting from their Japanese language proficiency, which serves as the foundation of thought. 【Company Overview】 Company Name: FIELD MANAGEMENT STRATEGY Inc. Representative: Kentaro Nakamura, Representative Director Established: September 2009 Address: 4th Floor, Front Place Chiyoda Ichiban-cho, 23-3 Ichiban-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo URL: https://site.field-mgmt.com/