[Self-Introduction Part 3] Theory is betrayed in the field. Why I, at 64, chose 'AI' as my final partner.

Introduction: The 'missing' list faced by a graduate school alumnus

In 2004, after returning from Australia, I joined an educational company in Okinawa called ◯◯.
With over 100 employees and 1,500 students, it was considered a major organization in the local education industry.

The week after I joined, I was quietly, yet surely, shaken.
There were no monthly management meetings. No annual management policy presentations. And no personnel evaluation system... none.
The founder was a wonderful, passionate person. Their love for the students was genuine. However, the 'systems' had not kept pace with the rapidly growing organization.

Into this environment was thrown a 42-year-old man who had been drilled in the latest management theories at a graduate school in Perth. 'If I analyze the organization using the Tuckman model and design KPIs, I can solve this.' In front of me, who believed this, the field showed a completely different face.
The theory is correct. However, people do not move.

What really helped was the grit of my 20s
What saved me from the predicament was not my graduate degree.
It was the gritty management experience I had been drilled in at a mainland-based vocational school during my 20s and 30s. Those days in Fukuoka and Kumamoto, where I calmed older subordinates, chased numbers, and kept the organization running.

Listening to the complaints of difficult senior employees for two hours at an izakaya at night. Re-proposing systems that the field disliked in a different form. Cultivating trust not through words, but by accumulating small achievements.

Not a 'smart correct answer,' but a 'sweaty, convincing solution.'
Basing things on MBA theory and revising them with the voices from the field (PDCA). Introducing something, failing, and returning to the field. My 20 years in Okinawa were a repetition of this. They were days spent sweating profusely between theory and the field.

Turning point: My 60s, struggling with the 'Black Ships'
At the beginning of 2023, with retirement in sight, the world was buzzing with talk of 'ChatGPT'.

While many of my generation avoided it, thinking it looked 'difficult,' I jumped on it immediately. 'This is not an enemy that will steal my job. It will become my strongest

staff officer

.' That was my intuition.
I started by creating greeting messages and correcting student essays. While marveling at its high productivity, I 'cheated' again (laughs). Seeking more natural Japanese, I exhausted Claude, and as of 2026, Gemini is my main partner.

Actually, at first, I was disappointed with Google's AI and left it alone. However, in a training session where I served as an instructor, a brilliant participant told me, 'The analytical power of the current Gemini is amazing.'

I used it again and was shocked.

Learning the latest tools from someone in their 20s and changing my own methods. 'Listening to the voices of the field and changing flexibly' applies to one's own tools as well. That was the moment I realized this was also 'field knowledge.'
Now, I create everything from PEST analysis for management strategy to the drafts for SWOT analysis by brainstorming with AI. Tasks that once took until 2:00 AM are finished in an instant.So, what do I do with that free time?That is the core part of the 'Field Knowledge Workshop'.

Philosophy: Why a 'Workshop (Kobo)' and not a 'Research Institute'?
In April 2027, I will go independent and launch the 'Field Knowledge Workshop'.
Why not call it a smart 'consulting firm' or 'research institute'?

At the 'Kariyushi Juku,' where I have served as the main instructor for 13 years, young employees experience the process of making appointments with local farmers, being told harsh things, and still bowing their heads to win trust. That overlaps with the image of a loofah farmer in Haebaru Town going to Taiwan for selective breeding. It overlaps with the image of a Yomitan Village farmer polishing substandard carrots and turning them into products.

AI can provide a 'plausible correct answer' in 3 seconds. However, if you bring that into the field, people will not move.

When I was called a 'Donkey Japanese' in Perth and was lost, it was a Japanese international student in their 20s who taught me how to ride the bus. The door only opens when you discard the pride of 'not being able to rely on others' or 'not being able to show weakness.'

That is the same for organizations, regions, and individuals.
It is precisely within the 'clash between humans' that AI cannot replicate that enthusiasm, trust, and true growth reside. That is why I want to be a'craftsman'who sweats in the field.

Conclusion: As a 64-year-old craftsman armed with AI
The night at 40 when I kept solving English compositions from midnight.
The humiliating morning when I was called 'Donkey' and called a taxi from a public phone in Perth.
And that afternoon when I whispered to my wife under the dappled sunlight, 'This might be the happiest moment of our lives.' Everything is connected to this moment now.

Drawing a 'logical map' with AI and carving out a 'path in the field' with human power. Producing happiness for everyone involved: producers, processors, consumers, and trainees. That is the answer I have arrived at.

64 years old. I am not a digital native. In general society, it might be an age to reach retirement and play it safe. But I am convinced that the current me, with 40 years of gritty experience and the latest AI as a weapon, can do the most interesting work.
This is my 'challenge toward the future.'

'Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.'
I understand the meaning of those words now.
'Field Knowledge Workshop.' From here, new craftsmanship begins again.
(Self-introduction series, complete)

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It was I who was the klutz.