Why Has the World Become Such a Volatile Place?

The pace of recent global changes has been intensifying ever further.

Terrorism, currency, defaulting risks and disease pandemics… Have we ever known an era where the risks were so prevalent and spread so rapidly?

“Volatility” is the perfect term coined for such violent metamorphoses.

With the entire world interlinked by finance and IT, temporal and spatial “characteristics” and “distinctions” are gradually disappearing.

What’s the Mind “Framework” to Forecast an Uncertain Future?

Consequently, the events of today can never be the same as yesterday, or even tomorrow. People face a reality where things can be turned upside down each passing day and must specifically address and act on such changes to survive.

“Something must be done to save Japan from its doomsday!”

This concept suddenly sparked the author into life in 2005, to voluntarily leave the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, his long-time workplace, in a serious quest to find the answer. The cumulative and challenging study and thought engaged in ever since finally spawned the ultimate thinking “framework” or mindset - key to surviving the crisis of uncertain times or inspiring new ideas in humanity of all temporal and spatial locations. This framework is “analogy”.

What is “Analogy” - the Ultimate Thinking Method?

Alongside “deduction” and “induction”, “analogy” is a traditional Western form of reasoning and compared with Aristotle’s “apagōgē” or “abduction” by Charles Sanders Peirce. Unfortunately in Japan, “analogy” is not taught in school, although the other two are included in the mathematics curriculum.

However, the analogy “framework” is precisely what the most influential global elites use to handle all aspects of global events. With this approach, they have actually overcome unstable and critical times by squeezing out innovative ideas to form new ages.

Over the past decade, the author has been devoted to studying effective “analogy” techniques, the results of which support his on-site leadership in human resource education for Japanese companies. More importantly, all these programs are based on his own constant and hands-on observation of the framework; actively in use in various global operations.

Why You Should Read This Book?

This book invites you to identify issues in real time, as well as presenting the author’s studies and educational achievements in an accessible format. The contents you find here include what Japanese companies really cannot afford to ignore, in highly volatile times, when drastic breakthroughs are crucial for their workplaces.

The long-lasting stagnation is finally over, with both chaotic changes and opportunities on the horizon. Finding the way forward amid high waves will require completely new types of people for Japan, who can exploit the global standard framework called “analogy” and detailed in this book.

Contents

Chapter 1: What is Happening in Japanese Corporations?
-- Issues Facing Japan, Tossed at the Mercy of the U.S., Europe and China

• Tragedies Hitting Nationwide Manufacturing Sites 
• Why Frameworks Are Valued by American/European Businesses?
• Is It Only Frameworks That American /European Businesses Value?
• Can Japanese Manufacturing Find a Breakthrough in the Chinese Market?
• How Does China View Japanese Technological Prowess?
• The Essence of Innovation Required by Japanese Businesses 
• What is the “Analogy” Mindset Exploited by American/European Elites?

• The Meaning of “Awareness” Japanese Companies Must Know
• A Search for Awareness Dating Back to the Philosopher Aristotle
  Deduction
  Induction
• “Apagōgē” as a Method to Invoke Hypotheses, Transcend Deduction and Induction
• Abduction Originated from Apagōgē and Developed by Peirce
  Analytic Inference
  Ampliative Inference
• The “Analogy” Mind Framework That Brings Awareness
• Can Design Thinking (which resembles Analogy) Elicit True Awareness
  Understanding
  Observation
  Visualization
  Evaluation and Improvement
  Realization

• Discussion on Creativity which Originated During Japanese Post-War Prosperity
• The Japan-Originated “KJ Method” as a Primitive Form of Analogy
• “Kozane Method” by Tadao Umesao, Equally Valued as a KJ Method in Japan’s Post-War Prosperity
• “Equivalent Transforming Thinking” Spawning Awareness and Innovation
• Manufacturing Innovations Reasoned by Equivalent Transforming Thinking
• Why Thinking Methods Proposed by Predecessors Did Not Take Root in Japan

• Why Analogy Can Pave the Way for Action Based on Future Forecasts
• An Overview of “Analogy” as Applied at Business Forefronts Today
  Retrospect
  Causation
  Synchronicity
  Awareness
  Backcasting
  Goal Setting
  Leadership
  Innovation
• Can Anyone Become An Innovation Originator?

• Thinking Methods Practiced by Global Elites
• How Global Elites Apply Analogy
• History of Studies on Analogy in the U.S. and Europe
  The Trap of “Responsibility”
  The Trap of “Dependency”
  The Trap of “Overactivity”
• How Awareness Obtained via Analogy is Shared in the U.S. and Europe
• How Scenarios are Developed to Share Awareness in the U.S. and Europe
• Why the Framework Analogy Has Rooted in the U.S. and Europe

• Concrete Steps Japanese Can Use to Master Analogy
  Sound Sleep at Night
  Early Morning Wakeup
  Skim-read the Same Internet Media Source Daily While Taking Notes
  Contemplate Correlations Among Noted Matters
  Search for and Read More Information on Topics that Fascinate You
  Create Your Own Scenarios
  Apply Your Scenarios at Your Workplace While Visualizing Them
  Verbalize Your Scenarios for Sharing as a Leader
• How to Master Analogy Just Like Water Drops Slowly Drill Through a Rock