Is becoming a high-ranking executive the only way to change the situation? I don't think so.

Hello, this is Potato.


Today, I'd like to talk about
choosing a path you can carve out yourself rather than relying on others or the system
.

For those of you working in companies, isn't this the time of year when many of you receive internal notifications regarding personnel changes?



Recently, in my own main job, I've been using words like
"Review of this term" and "Looking toward next term" repeatedly,
(since I'm in a planning role in name only lol)



so I'm in a situation where I can't help but wonder every day, what will the structure be like next term?
In the midst of this, I remembered something a senior colleague I worked with until last March said.
It was just about this time last year.
Probably when we were discussing the policy for the current term.



When I expressed how difficult it was to move due to the company's position, structure, and organization,
they said,




"Well, we're salarymen. If you want to change things, you have to become a high-ranking executive and change it yourself."




"That's why I'm working hard."
At a meeting table slightly away from the "island" where everyone sat in rows,


that senior colleague said it as if it were a matter of course.
I remember well the feeling of being surprised that they thought that way,


while at the same time feeling a strange, indescribable emotion of, "Well, that's true, but..."They were good at jokes, kind,had expertise,
had been in this department for many years,and I felt they probably had the widest network in the departmentand were well-liked.
The senior colleague who said that so casually



was a decent, cool, and appreciated presence for the company.
However, the sense of discomfort inside me
kept growing and growing.


Because, with a small child,
working shorter hours,
and wanting another child



while also wanting to work hard,
there's no time to work hard until I become a high-ranking executive, nor time to wait, right?



Of course, I intend to work hard, and
the feeling of "I'll change the environment myself!"
isn't entirely absent...



But it's physically impossible.
If I participate in offline seminars or
exhibitions,
inquiries from the sales department pile up,



and just when I finish my routine work
and get fired up to do the work I want to do,
I get a call from the sales manager saying, "Sorry, fix this one line in the document!"



Even if I rush to fix the document,
someone else has the PDF open,
so I can't replace it,



and there are many people who ask questions via chat that are already in the manual,
and the core of important data that came from another department is wrong,
so I have to look it up and fix it by hand myself,




...oops, if I write too much, my identity will be revealed 😇




I can't write it all, but
I'm in a department where such detailed work
is constantly flying in lol
Even if I do all that and try hard to get promoted as a plus alpha,



in the end, it's seniority-based,



and I know that the salary increase
that comes automatically after returning from childcare leave
isn't that different from that.



So, a bit of a sense of discomfort, or what should I call it.

I realized that even if I work recklessly here,
I won't be able to get the skills or salary I want.



Compared to when I was a new graduate,
when there was no flex-time or telework,


and I was doing cold-calling sales regardless of the midsummer heat,
the environment has changed beyond recognition.



I'm truly grateful for that.
However,
there are also values that don't change



the higher up you go




in terms of how to navigate within the company,
overtime, drinking parties, human relationships...





I understand that those are important too.
Even if it's work, in the end, it's about "people."



Those who get promoted faster than average are people who are good at all of that,
and aren't they people who can use their time for things other than honing their skills?
As for me,
if I advance a project or



create content in the remaining 30 minutes I managed to scrape together,
it's time to pick up my child in a flash,



and it's like, "Yes, that's it for today!" every single day.In that case,
if you really want to change the future,

you have to entrust your hope to the time you can use freely
.

You have to carve out your own future.



If you wait until you become a high-ranking executive,
your life will be over.
(Actually, I don't really want to become a high-ranking executive lol)



In fact, the senior colleague I mentioned earlier
who I worked with until last year
transferred to a department doing completely different work as a manager



exactly one year ago.
Although they were nonchalant on the surface,



I think they were devastated to the point of being speechless
and full of regrets.

Everyone on the same team
sensed it.


The projects and products they had worked on.
The plans they had been refining to improve from April.
The relationships with business partners.
Having those taken away without any warning



is the fate of being a protected existence as a company employee.

What if that were me in the future?



In exchange for time with my precious child,
the things I've worked ondisappear in an instant at the word of upper management who don't know the actual situation.
I can't stand that.
In a world where such a future is easy to imagine,



I just can't give my "all" to the work in front of me.
That's why I started a side business.




If I'm going to do it, I want to do something that steadily accumulates.

Something that doesn't disappear.




Something that leads to the future I idealize
and has meaning.To create peace of mind
and interact with my child with a smile.

Before the words "I don't have time, so hurry up" come out,
the peace of mind to swallow them back.

Making my routine after returning home
30 minutes faster
to increase the time I spend playing with my child.


Even if it's just a few times a week,
to cook and eat meals carefully.


Reading books every day,
and going to the library half the week.


Taking one laptop,
and spending time leisurely
at my favorite botanical garden.



While wrapped in the scent of ink,
practicing calligraphy.
Preparing to become a master.


Valuing my emotions
and creating art pieces.
Creating handmade items.


Reading psychology books.
Valuing self-care.
Studying to be a counselor.



Going to see the ocean on a whim
on a weekday when there are few tourists.



...




I don't think anything will change right away.
But, in the near future,
to spend every day like this.

Surely, my current life is too heavy for me.

By the time my child, who turns 3 this year,
becomes an elementary school student,
my goal is to be able to work loosely


about 3 days a week as a part-timer
without lowering my income and standard of living.
To achieve this one by one,



first, I will shorten the time I work at my main job.
To reduce absence time as much as possible,



I will stop working until the very last minute
before picking up my child from nursery school.
To have more time,



I will cover the reduced salary
in another way.
One of those "other ways"


was a side business for me,
and to put it more specifically,
it was a content business.
Things you can't do at a company



have no restrictions when you are an individual.
You can cycle through PDCA



at your own pace.
At your own pace doesn't just mean



"slowly."
If anything, it's the opposite,




it has more of the meaning that you can decide for yourself and proceed quickly
without having to ask for judgment at many stages.
For example,imagine writing one note article
as a company.



What is the subject?
Who is the target?
What is the purpose?
Just finalizing this takes a day,



and if you check with the relevant departments,
it could take a week.
As an individual,



(though you might get lost and stop)
you can first put it out at 60%,
and adjust as you go.



You can save your profile text as many times as you want,
and you can change your icon right away.
If you make a mistake in the text, you can just fix it immediately.
In that way,



there are things you can do precisely because there are no restrictions.
And,

only those who have that option




can realize it.
While the person sitting next to you on the train



or the person you talk to at work
is exhausted, thinking "I have no choice but to cling to the company,"let's accumulate what we can do as individuals
together.What changes the situationis not the evaluation or title from the company.



It is only your decision.
P.S.


・I want to start a side business, but
　I don't know where to start

・Balancing work, housework, and childcare is too hard

・It's exhausting to go to the company every day

・I can't do what I really want to do in my main job

・I'm afraid of the "first-grade wall"

・I don't want to give up on living like myself

For those people,
I started an email newsletter to support the "first step" of moving as an individual ↓

・E-book
・Email consultation

I'm giving them away for a limited time 🎁


Saying things like "my boss is..." or
"the company structure is..."
while saying things like that,
let's start with what we can do!


Well then, have a great day today too!


P.P.S.
It seems today is the day for internal notifications for managers and above at our company.
I have nothing but a feeling that it will be noisy, but I'm going 🫡



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