It was obvious that my team had a strong expertise in investment, and using that to its fullest was the key to success. The question was how someone like me, who didn’t have any knowledge on finance, could lead a team of experts who knew the subject far better than I did. One thing I decided early was not to pretend that I knew what they were talking about. I asked questions whenever there was something I did not understand or was not convinced about. Another thing I did – which was something Japanese are used to – was to keep the discussion going until all parties reached an agreement. How could we go wrong with an idea that all the experts had agreed on?
Looking back on my experience, I believe I fully leveraged the privilege of being the only “non-expert” on the team. This meant I could ask “dumb” questions that no other person would dare to ask. Those questions sometimes shed light on something the experts had overlooked. Because I wasn’t an expert, I could stay neutral throughout the discussion, which prevented me from quickly latching on to any specific idea.
During the programme, I was fortunate to meet some of the brightest people in the world, many of them from developing countries. It made me realise that the wealth of a country or its level of development says nothing about how intelligent their people are. Unfortunately, many people from developed countries – including Japan – fail to understand this point.
I was also impressed by the other participants’ passion to shape the future of their own countries by themselves. I think this is something we Japanese may have lost.
