Associate Professor Toma describes SDM leadership training in the Harvard Business Review

Associate Professor Tetsuya Toma

The November edition of "Harvard Business Review," published in Japan by Diamond, Inc., contains a feature on the "Boosting the Careers of Top Runners: Techniques for Training Top-Level Talent" that looks as SDM as a top runner in education and research.

In the article, titled "See the Forest and the Trees: Keio's SDM Takes on the Challenge of Training Project Leaders," Associate Professor Tetsuya Toma describes SDM's initiatives. Most Japanese companies have traditionally emphasized OJT, employees learning how to do their jobs from people more senior in the organization. Unfortunately, this does not lend itself to the training of leaders who are able to handle projects that are increasingly large in scale and complex in scope; the development of this talent by OJT requires long periods of time. Leading these kinds of projects requires broad knowledge, global perspectives, strong communication skills and decisiveness. In other countries, you will find many talented young leaders at the forefront, and if Japan is to regain its competitiveness in international markets, it must also practice "off-the-job training." One specific example described in the article is the "1st Project Leader Training Course" that was held at SDM for the general public last September.

Associate Professor Toma is currently putting together the "2nd Project Leader Training Course" with a target of this spring. Expect great things.