October 2014 18th FEW Career Strategies Seminar (CSS) Recap: IGNITE

Recap – 18th FEW Career Strategies Seminar (CSS): IGNITE
On Saturday, October 4th, FEW held the 18th FEW Career Startegies Seminar (CSS) on the theme of IGNITE. CSS was a great day which inspired both thought and action, reaffirmed the fantastic community in Tokyo, and gave us a chance to learn and practice some new skills.
The day was broken into three parts where we explored the elements required to IGNITE – Fuel, Oxygen, and Heat. During the morning Fuel session, we looked at how to fuel ourselves and others through the stories we tell with our keynote speakers: Sarah Furuya, Independent Trainer and Coach, who taught us to fight our self doubt that asks, “Who me?” and reframe it with “Hell yes!”. The afternoon Oxygen session started off with Lori Henderson, Executive Director of the BCCJ, who invited us to consider the environment we want to live and work in to provide oxygen to our lives. Finally during the Heat session, Tiziana Alamprese, Marketing Manager of Fiat Chrysler Japan, taught us how to use our personal histories, feminism, and our true spirit to cultivate work we love. We also enjoyed six different workshops, two on each element: improvisation, running a small business, managing conflict, negotiating our worth, how to counter the negative inner critic, and reading balance sheets.
Thank you to all who joined and contributed as a speaker, workshop leader, or participant. Special thank you goes out to our keynote speakers and workshop leaders. We have come out inspired, enlightened and IGNITED!
18th CSS Program
FUEL – Skills, Experience, CV
Keynote speech: “You Choose Your Fuel” with Sarah Everitt Furuya, Independent Trainer & Coach, Tokyo
So often we look outside ourselves, but it is what is inside ourselves that fuels our progress. Your personal story is your fuel and you get to chose what and how you tell your story. This keynote will explore the power of leaning into our own preferences, and what you say and how you say it. We will start to look at the way in which we fuel others and others fuel us: what happens when we create a rich environment to move forward. Sarah will explore the scientific, psychological, and the hard-to-define factor that underpin the way we understand our skills and experience. Start from where you are.
Workshop A – EXPERIENCE: ”Improvisation in Business” with Donna Burke, CEO, Dag Music Tokyo Ltd.
In this workshop, Donna used improvisation games to help us to practice subtle behaviours that are useful in various aspects of business.
Workshop B – SKILLS: ”What Do You Say When You Talk to Yourself?” with Anne Good, President, Eureka! Unleash the Power Within
What’s the conversation like inside your head? We talk to ourselves constantly. It can be positive or negative, loving or critical. Sometimes we go over what has happened in the past, or worry about what is going to happen in the future, we put ourselves down or mentally beat ourselves up. Our whole way of being, acting and feeling is influenced by how we think and talk about ourselves.
OXYGEN – Environment, Community, Exchange, Sharing
Keynote speech: ”Future Business Communities: Values, Practice, Hope” with Lori Henderson MBE, Executive Director, British Chamber of Commerce Japan
To ignite our communities and our careers we need to create and sustain a supportive, sharing and diverse environment, our oxygen. How do you create, nurture, and sustain this kind of environment? How can we build a vibrant community in which we and others can ignitie our careers?
Workshop C – NEGOTIATION: “Negotiating Strategies for Women” w/ Elizabeth Handover, Asia Partner Lumina Learning; Co-founder, Women’s Leadership Development Centre, Tokyo
It has been well documented that women find themselves at a disadvantage in negotiations. In this interactive workshop we will learn about why women generally fear the negotiating process, explore the common behaviours that sabotage us, and practice some key points for building negotiating confidence.
Workshop D -PRESENTATION SKILLS: “Telling Your Story” w/ Helen Iwata, Communications Skills Trainer and Founder Sasuga! Communications
“Whether we’re employees pitching colleagues on a new idea, entrepreneurs enticing funders to invest, or parents and teachers cajoling children to study, we spend our days trying to move others. Like it or not, we’re all in sales now.” From To Sell Is Human by Daniel Pink
How confident are you about getting people interested in what you’re talking about? How skilled are you at bringing them around to your way of thinking and getting them to take action without manipulating them?
In this fast-paced workshop, Helen will introduce a simple technique to help you engage and convince people – whether it’s your colleagues, boss, or clients, your family, friends, or members of your community. You will also have the opportunity to practice the technique and find out how it can work best for you.
HEAT – Personal engagement, Energy Management, Sustainability, Health
Keynote speech: “Managing your resources intelligently and with passion” w/ Tiziana Alamprese, Marketing Director, Fiat Chrysler Japan
To ignite our careers, we need to keep ourselves warm. We need to understand how to nuture ourselves physically, emotionally, and financially. The real world is unpredictable and complex and to maintain our energy levels, we also need resilience. Tiziana Alamprese will draw on examples from her career as Marketing Director at Fiat Chrylser will discuss how to manage our personal resources, both known and unknown to further our careers and find fulfilment in a world that is changing.
Workshop E – FINANCES: ”How to Read a Balance Sheet” w/ Yoko Kudo, Senior Principal, Ernst & Young ShinNihon
Understanding how money moves in a company is central to making informed and smart choices about both investment and career. This workshop will walk us through the basics of understanding a balance sheet, and a foundation for deepening our skill and confidence with money.
Workshop F – MANAGING RESOURCES: w/ Melanie Uematsu, Fashion Designer and Founder, Sewing Circle & Sophie Wang, Director, Latitude People K.K.
The key to a successful career is managing our personal resources such as time, money, health, and relationships. Two entrepreneurs will share a case study from their own experience and participants will come up with balanced solutions. We will also practice some writing skills.