There is no harder skill than soft skill -What I learned at Inner MBA

TL;DR This note is a summary of my Inner MBA learnings with graduation thesis style. For more details, see my profile for all 36 (JP)articles recording weekly lectures. *Read in Japanese

Introduction: The "mind" issue in the age of VUCA

2020-2021 has been the weirdest time for business people so we faced our "mind" more than ever. We were under all sorts of stress for a year and a half. A drastic change in life that originated in a pandemic. Infection control, working from home, continuous video conferencing, lack of exercise, reduced casual conversations with colleagues and friends...etc.
If I use the trend word VUCA(Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity), we are living in the most VUCA world in history.

"A pandemic is expected to have a profound impact on people's mental health over the long term, along with the current crisis. To this end, community-based and robust mental health measures need to be taken immediately. Mental health of the people will continue to be an important issue as Japan emerges from the pandemic damage and moves toward social and economic recovery."  - From the Japan's Pandemic Expert Council, “Impact on mental health and response”

What’s  "Inner" MBA?

I happened to know about the Inner MBA from an email forwarded by a colleague last summer.

Home B - Inner MBAHome B

A nine-month immersion program to train leaders, entrepreneurs, managers, and employees on how to powerfully grow themselves and their companies.

Inner MBA is a joint program run by Mindful NYU, LinkedIn, Wisdom 2.0, the global summit of well-being, and the multimedia company Sounds True. This online certifies a degree from NYU.

After all, I decided to take the Inner MBA for three main reasons.

1. Interest in human "mind" problems
2. A vague admiration for an overseas MBA
3. Language motivation to study something in English

In addition, an announcement from my company that it will continue to work from home until the summer of 2021, was also a trigger. In short, I decided a lot based on my gut feeling and timing.

Outer Game ⇄ Inner Game

Inner MBA has a wide range of faculties, including neurologists, economists, mindfulness instructors, Zen masters, Aikido master psychologist, well-being affiliate, apparel brand owners, best-selling writers, global IT executives, and social activists.

The areas to be learned are specifically shown as follows.

The Skills of Self-Management / Listening Deeply and Communicating Authentically / Skillfully Navigating Difficult Conversations / Embracing Differences / Discovering Your Blindspots / Building an Authentic Workplace Community / Liberating Creativity and Accelerating an Organization’s Creative Intelligence  (Inner MBA WEBSITE) 

Whereas a regular MBA learns the world outside of you, such as management and marketing, the Inner MBA literally learns about your inner world. The Inner MBA is an MBA for developing introspective skills through learning and practice. In other words, it's training in soft skills.

On the day of the Inner MBA Online Opening Ceremony, a word from one of the main hosts clearly expressed the philosophy of the Inner MBA program.

“There is no harder skill than soft skill”

1st semester: Do you know yourself?

In the first three months of the nine months, the first trimester was about self-awareness. Self-awareness. You can't improve without knowing yourself. So what does it mean by "know yourself"?

One way to get there is mindfulness. Mindfulness is a type of meditation, and in fact, much of the time is devoted to learning mindfulness throughout the entire semester of the Inner MBA.

We are live in "Mindless"

Mind = consciousness. The existence of this "consciousness" makes human beings human. And the state of mindfulness means that the consciousness is directed toward "now, here, me". The opposite is called mindlessness. In fact, data show that many modern people live in Mindless.

For example, humans receive 11 bits of data per second, but he is only aware of 0.000 ... 1%. Most are processed unknowingly. Over 90% of actions during a day are done in autopilot mode, and 95% of thoughts are the same as they were a day ago. Only one-third or less can explain what kind of feelings they have now. Consciousness wanders about 50% of the daily life that humans spend.

In short, the purpose of mindfulness is to "recognize one's condition, improve concentration, and keep it for a long time."

"Develop a high level of concentration by practicing mindfulness" - Jeremy Hunter

Full-concentration breathing is the baseline

In the mindless state, humans cannot feel happiness. On the other hand, the degree of happiness felt in the state of concentrating on "presence" is twice that of normal times. Breathing is the simplest and ultimate way for humans to reach a state of presence.

This is because the moment when we are conscious of breathing, we don’t focus on the past or the future, but only on the "present". The following two breathing methods were introduced in the lecture.

4-7-8 breaths: Inhale in 4 seconds, stop for 7 seconds, exhale in 8 seconds
10-10 breaths: Count breaths from 1 to 10 and then return from 10 to 1

Such breath-based meditation is training to improve concentration and transform happiness into an easy-to-feel brain. Moreover, the effect is accumulated.

Time traveling mind

Let's look at mindfulness from the perspective of brain science. In brain science, attention isn't completely complete in adulthood. However, it peaks at 25-35 years old. Such attention has three properties called "systems".

1. Flashlight: A system that illuminates a single spot like a camera strobe. It is not possible to illuminate multiple points at the same time. Multitasking is impossible in brain science. People are just doing task switching.
2. Alert: A system that issues warning signs, such as road signs that you see while driving.
3. Juggler: A system that manages whether goals and actions are linked, like juggling. Lead individual actions while being conscious of the whole.

This system keeps the brain alert and balanced. On the other hand, when distracted, the flashlight "lost focus", the alert "malfunctions", and the juggler "drops a button". Such confusion occurs under stressful conditions.

In an experiment conducted by Amishi, subjects were shown one after another by mixing a person's face photograph and a landscape photograph. Then, she asked the testers to answer by pressing a button whether it was a man or a woman for a person or outdoors or indoors for a landscape. The faster the reaction after the photo is shown, the higher the attention. Then, for the same testers, Amishi changed only the landscape photos from the set of photos into an unpleasant landscape photo (such as a photo of a polluted sea or a disaster). It is intentionally gaining stress. As a result, the reaction time was significantly slowed not only for landscape photographs but also for portrait photographs. Stress dulls attention. And even on simple tasks, they make mistakes.

Another typical example of a state of losing attention is "time travel." In other words, the state of thinking about the past and imagining the future. This is a human-specific brain function. Attention is significantly reduced when ruminating past dislikes or imagining melancholy scenarios that may occur in the future. In this situation, the brain dosen’t focus on "present."

So how can we press the "present" play button without rewinding or fast-forwarding in your mind? Therefore, mindfulness / meditation training is the solution.
Continuous training can delay the decline in attention. This is exactly the same as the theory of muscle training, so mindfulness is also known as "mental push-ups".

Summary of the 1st semester

・ The practice of Inner MBA begins with a correct understanding of one's consciousness through mindfulness.

・ Mindfulness is a type of meditation and is a technique for creating a state of concentration on "now, here, me". The effect is enhanced by practice.

・ "Breathing" is the baseline of mindfulness. Mindfulness allows the attention system in the brain to operate normally and improves the performance of intellectual tasks.

2nd semester: Make interpersonal relationships mindful

In the first semester, I learned how to focus on my attention. The next three months are to learn about others' attention. In other words, the next theme is interpersonal relationships.

To navigate a difficult conversation

When humans meet, "emotions" cannot be ignored. However, it is also true that "emotions" have been separated and deprioritized in the business scene.

"It's called work-life balance, but the brain doesn't distinguish between Work and Life."

Dan: Twenty-five years ago, I was told, "Don't use the word Emotion in business." Twenty-five years later ... It is not recommended to plan for 100 years in such an uncertain era. However, it will be more important to control one's emotions and be considerate of others.

Jeremy: The definition of professional has changed. In the past, professionals were the people who eliminated emotion. Now (especially in the VUCA era) professionals are people who can manage their own and other emotions.

Dan: Emotional Intelligence is a requirement for leaders. Organizations with higher EI perform better.

Just as you are able to be aware of your emotions with mindfulness, having a "mindful conversation" makes you more sensitive to the emotions of others and allows you to lead difficult conversations.
Mindful conversation can be acquired through practice of techniques such as active listening and self-disclosure.

Acquire compassion as a technique

At the Inner MBA, you will learn the concept of compassion and the techniques that make it possible. What is important for a business person is to handle mere "empathy" and "compassion" separately.

Jaqueline defines her Compassion as "intentional empathy." For example, if you want your subordinates to grow (intentionally), so you may say, "I'm sorry for you not being promoted this time, but what you need is..." as such, you can lead to a constructive conversation. This is compassion. People also seek emotional connections even in the workplace, which leads to a sense of well-being at work. For that purpose, compassionate conversation is useful, not just empathy.

If only "intention" is preceded, people will run into egoism. However, compassion arises from a "selfless" attitude that contrasts with ego. Being selfless broadens your horizons and becomes a growth-mindset. In addition, there are some interesting data such as:

People who use many "I, My, Me, Mine" in conversation are at higher risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and death than those who do not. Be selfless, and use You instead of I.

Furthermore, as an advanced version, you can acquire "mercy" by practicing. Compassion helps to make oneself happy as well as others.

In fact, by practicing, you can acquire a personality that seems natural born, such as compassion or loving-kindness.

Minimize bias towards others

At the Inner MBA, there were many lectures on diversity and inclusion, which have long been called out. This is because it is difficult to build a healthy relationship if you have a prejudice against the other person. However, it is difficult for human beings to acquire these by nature.

"Relatives'' and "Foreigners'' First, an episode of Experiment - showing a video of stabbing a needle in a hand - was explained. The testers who were shown the image reacted to the brain waves as if he were actually feeling pain. When this video was shown in various racial patterns, the brain waves responded significantly when the stabbed person was close to his or her race (In-Group). That is a human’s original algorithm that has been passed down since ancient times. Empathize with and act on a group of relatives (In-Group) rather than a stranger (Out-Group). In the long history of mankind, this reaction was the most optimal for survival. However, this relative favor reaction is not suitable for the present age when diversity is required in the global connection. How can we overcome this default program?

Unfortunately, there is no way for humans to NOT be biased.

Categorizing, ranking, and prejudice against others are the default settings of the human brain. Yet, in a globalized society, there are more and more opportunities to interact with people from different backgrounds. Therefore, it is necessary to control and minimize the bias that will be automatically activated (the point is that it does not necessarily disappear).

In fact, mindfulness is one way to minimize bias. Because the essence of mindfulness is to be aware of your awareness, consciousness, feelings and thoughts. Spread your emotions on the table with mindfulness. Then, "select" emotions from there. Emotions do not have to be accepted unconditionally, but can be intentionally selected through training such as anger management. Pain is inevitable, but emotion is optional.

Mind your unconscious bias, listen to the other person, and be curious. This is the first step in improving interpersonal relationships.

"I don't like that man. I must get to know him better." --Abraham Lincoln

Summary of the 2nd semester

・ Awareness and handling of "emotions" for both yourself and the other person will improve your difficult conversations in the business scene.

・ Compassion is a skill that throws away ego and sympathizes with intention. You can learn it by practicing.

・ The unconscious bias of human beings hinders the acceptance of diversity. However, bias can be minimized by developing mindful conversations and compassion.

3rd semester: To build a community

In the third term, the scope of study expanded further. The final three-month theme is "Building a Workplace Community with Mindful Communication."

Touching the "elephant in the room"

Leadership is needed to build a community. Inner MBA faculties include various types of leaders. The following quote is from a lecture by Steve Macadam, CEO of a heavy industry giant called Enpro. He is a former engineer, with experience in managing organizations with a few to thousands of employees. He is also an alumni member of Harvard Business School and McKinsey.

In every community, there is an Elephant in the room(a problem that can't be mentioned). However, it is not something that should be pretended not to be seen, but a thing that should be solved by working together. No friction is not a good thing for an organization. The role of the leader is to create an atmosphere where everyone can touch the problem.

Leadership is not about "becoming a boss and directing the group." Steve insists that the leader is a "convener." The role of the leader as a convener is as follows.

・Create and direct a context for people to gather
・Name specific issues / opportunities / issues through effective questions
・Listen. Do not claim, defend or provide answers

When leaders convene people under the above roles, emotional transparency will be created. This openness leads to "psychological safety". Psychological safety is not just about getting along with each other in lukewarm water, but about respecting each other's diversity and abilities.

A community with conflicts and frictions is much healthier than a community without it. Friction is not something to avoid, it is something to solve.

Attention and EQ required for leaders

The sharpness of "attention" cultivated by mindfulness is a requirement of leaders. A good leader pays attention not only to themselves but to others (Focus), empathizes and connects (Connect), and is emotionally balanced (Balanced).

Leaders who are not, on the other hand, are impulsive, unsympathetic, mood-savvy and prone to anger. This does not mean that a bad leader is "inferior" as a person, but "depleted of attention". A good leader in any organization would be said to be "senseful," "notching," and "inclusive." In terms of brain science, good leaders have enough attention and are exerting their attention to their surroundings. For leaders, cultivating attention skill is like gaining currency.

In the lecture by Daniel Goleman, the author of "Emotional Intelligence" (the Japanese title is "EQ-Emotional Intelligence"), which sold more than 5 million copies worldwide, referred the relationship between EQ and leadership.

Dan: There are steps to exert the EQ. 1. Manage yourself 2. Handle your relationship. Don't try to control others immediately. First, manage your emotions and then control your reactions.

Dan:  "A good leader recognizes the facts and feelings of the other person and shows sufficient empathy. At that time, both the individual and the team perform at their best."

Life in a cause

Community formation is a prime example of making connections with others. In addition, starting a community is a meaningful way to mastering introspection skills.

Psychologist Martin Seligman defines happiness in life as follows:

1. Pleasure life - Happiness that brings a feeling of exhilaration like a rock star. Difficult to maintain. The first bite of ice cream is delicious, but your sixth bite shouldn't be that much.
2. Passionate life - It is also known as flow. Passionate, intensely focused, able to do the best work, and time goes by in a blink of an eye.
3. Life of Meaning - Having a noble goal, becoming part of something meaningful that is bigger than yourself, contributing and serving.

The third "Life of Meaning"(Life in Cause, in Japanese nuance) contributes most to well-being. In addition, people have the maximum happiness if the other two types are accompanied.

A community is meaningful to you and bigger than you. Therefore, devoting yourself to a community with noble goals leads to greater happiness.

Summary of the 3rd term

• A good community is convened by leaders. There is a healthy friction without taboo under emotional transparency.

・ Leadership is fostered by directing attention to others. In an organization where leaders manage emotions and exercise EQ, both individuals and teams perform better.

・ People feel the happiest by building and devoting themselves to a community with noble goals.

Summary: Will well-being be ingrained in Japan?

Looking back, the theme of the first term is "1 = dialogue with oneself", the second term is "1: 1 = dialogue with others", and the third term is "1: n = dialogue with many".

The beauty of the Inner MBA lies in its systematic learning design. As the word "Practice" has appeared in lectures many times, each technique has meaning only when it is practiced. For themes that became more difficult as the period progressed, Inner MBA provided Q & A to the instructors on the student portal site, and small classes with students in the same time zone were prepared. I was able to keep learning pace on track with my classmates on an online call every week and do my best not to drop out.

In this final chapter, I would like to summarize the learning throughout the program and describe future issues.

Bias around mental language

Mindfulness, well-being, diversity, inclusion, work-life balance ... The katakana(imported) words that appeared in the Inner MBA are often heard in today's business environment. However, there are still few individuals and companies, including myself last year, who understand the contents and incorporate them as continuous activities *.

It is still good if it is spoken in a positive context such as "somehow it looks good" or "I want to be aware of it". However, as always in these new Katakana words, there are times when harsh opinions due to bias are struck. "It's just a fad," "It’s a word game" "That’s only for a person (company) who can afford it." Even worse, "You are killing time" and "suspicious" ...

As symbolized by Naomi Osaka's news recently, it seems that talking about mental problems and making them public is taboo in Japan. Also, the image of meditation = religion may be deep-rooted.

To tell the truth, the above negative bias was all within myself. In a sense, the Inner MBA was also a test of my own bias. A lot of fashionable katakana words were like, "Isn't it a deception of Silicon Valley hippies after all?"

* More than half of companies in the United States have introduced mindfulness training. In Japan, it has been introduced in some major companies. Also some study sessions are held in ministries and agencies, so there seems to be signs of widespread use.

Mindfulness as a company benefit

Through nine months of study, I think I was able to "minimize" that bias individually. The stress such as frustration and depression that randomly attacks in daily life (which I thought) is not halved, but I feel that it is reduced by about 10%.

However, if a person like me who has a little sense of these katakana words says "OK, I know it. I'm doing advanced things", It’ll be hard to spread the essence to Japanese society. Even more so, you shouldn't get a budget within the company.

I hope for a day when mindfulness is treated the same as physical training.

Japan is now experiencing an unprecedented muscle training boom. For example, protein supplements are lined up on shelves at any convenience store. But only 10-15 years ago, protein was a gag word. Looking back further, going to the gym and even jogging were the hobbies of young and active people. Gym membership as employee benefits which became major today, was limited to a small number of companies before.

Just as physical health consciousness has permeated, there is still room for mental health consciousness to permeate society.

As I learned in Inner MBA, the introduction of mindfulness can be expected to improve employee productivity and reduce turnover. Based on this scientific evidence and leadership from every hierarchy in the community, I hope that Japanese companies and organizations will also be introduced with many “mind” training opportunities.

Just as physical condition management is a professional requirement, mental management is also a professional requirement.

Japanese and "Mind"

I started with a skeptical tone, but I think that mindfulness and mental care are basically compatible with Japanese people.

Essentially, Mindfulness meditation originated in the Orient and has been practiced as "Zen" in Japan since ancient times.

In the world of sports, it is said to be a "spirit, technique, body". It is also said that even if you train only your technique and body, you will not be able to perform.

Japan was ranked 62nd last year in the "World Happiness Report" released by the United Nations. This is remarkably low in developed countries, and it seems as if there are only unhappy people in Japan. However, looking at the item "less negative emotions", Japan was ranked 14th overall and was in the top 10% of the world. Thus, from a different point of view, it can be said that with a stable psychological without being significantly depressed, well-being is rooted in the Japanese people. 

In conclusion

Be aware of the "Mind" unique to humans, notice the emotions that arise in interpersonal relationships, and contribute to the community to which you belong. Learning at the Inner MBA looks obvious but difficult to digest. However, each technique is simple and can be mastered through practice.

Let's begin. You can start by just taking a mindful breath once a day.

Inhale, exhale.

Repeat.

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(End of report)