Field AI Log #56: The Real Reason Why Famicom-Generation Managers Can't Keep Up with the 'Update-First' Era

In the coming era, value will not lie in 'finished people,' but in 'people who keep updating themselves.'

And the reason we, the Famicom generation, are confused is not a matter of ability, but because the premises we grew up with are different.

When we were children, game software was a special purchase.

A Famicom cartridge bought for us on our birthday or Christmas.

You open the box, plug it in, and turn on the power.

No matter how many years pass from that day, the content of the game never changes.

No new stages are added, and the controls are never improved.

We would think of strategies within those rules and challenge them over and over again.

That was the era when that was the norm.

As a memory, it is wonderful.

Modern games are not 'finished products'

On the other hand, what about games today?

The day you download them is not the completion.

New events start periodically,

new characters are added,

game balance is adjusted,

and improvements continue based on user feedback.

Between yesterday and today, even the same game is slightly different.

Instead of 'buying a finished game,'

we enjoy games that keep evolving.

We have entered such an era.

This change is not limited to games.

It is the same for smartphones.

It is the same for ChatGPT.

It is the same for the SaaS we use at work.

The moment you buy it is not the finish line.

It is not about finishing and being done,

but about the value continuing to increase even after completion.

This has become the norm for today's products and services.

We grew up aiming for a 'finished form'

So, what about ourselves?

We in our 40s and 50s,

learned our jobs,

gained experience,

became fully competent,

and became managers.

We grew up aiming for such a 'finished form'.

That is because it was an era where polishing the knowledge and experience we had acquired once led to value.

Many people have achieved results with that way of thinking.

Therefore, it is no wonder that they are bewildered by new technologies and ways of working.

It is not a matter of ability,

but rather that the premises of the era in which they grew up are different.

However, the premises of the era have changed.

What is required now is not

a 'finished manager'.

It is not about gaining experience and being done,

but a manager who continues to update even after gaining experience.

Here, I want you to remember the 'post-game' in video games.

Even in old games, after reaching the ending,

there was the fun of searching for hidden elements, playing for completion,

or aiming for higher scores and faster times.

Becoming a manager might be similar to 'clearing' a game.

However, you could also say that the real fun starts from there.

Deepening the development of subordinates.

Maximizing organizational results.

Incorporating new tools and ways of thinking.

In other words, it is precisely after becoming a manager that

the elements for deep play expand.

Try using AI.

Re-evaluate your dialogues with subordinates.

Try changing how you conduct meetings.

Try exposing yourself to new ways of thinking.

You don't need to change drastically.

Update yourself just a little more than yesterday.

That accumulation will become your strength in the coming era.

Have you become like a 'Famicom cartridge'?

If a smartphone game company were to say right now,

'We've released it, so we will never update it again,'

many people would feel it's lacking.

Then, what about yourself?

Are you trying to continue working based only on past experience?

'I'm a manager, so I've done enough.'

Could that feeling be stopping your growth without you realizing it?

Conclusion

It's not that the Famicom was bad.

In that era, a 'finished product' was the optimal solution.

However, it is different now.

Products, services, AI, and work as well,

Continuous updating is the premise of this era.

That is why we, too, should not aim for a "finished product," but rather

a person who keeps updating.

It is not because we are in our 50s that we change.

Because the times have changed, we update ourselves little by little.

I believe that such an attitude is the strength required of managers from now on.

Can you become Manager Ver. 2.0?