After graduating from university, I joined a group company of a major manufacturer-affiliated system integrator and worked there for about twenty (20) years. I was an ICT infrastructure engineer specializing in Microsoft technologies and covered everything from planning to operations transition. I started as a team member and eventually took on a leadership role. I became a project manager, responsible for the oversight of people, resources, and budgets.

For about half of my career, I worked as a project manager, acting as the main point of contact with clients and having oversight of the entire project. My role involved maintaining internal profit margins and staying as flexible as possible to meet client requests. There were times when I had to navigate conflicts with clients, but ultimately, I gained valuable experience working together toward a shared goal.

What made me move was a growing interest in businesses that are driven by the operations phase. In project-based work, the project ends when the completed system is handed over to the client. But the client continues to use that system as a business tool. There were times when I began to question whether what we delivered would continue to satisfy the client in the long run. I wanted to be more involved in the operations phase of making the system even better. Since my image of the operations phase is associated with call centers, I decided to make a career jump to a BPO company focused on call center services.

Although there were plenty of suggestions and feedback on how to improve operations, I found that those insights were not really fed back to make the service more convenient. It often felt that the focus was on temporary solutions, like solving individual complaints as they arose. So, yes, there were gaps between expectations and reality. Although there were gaps, I was still able to take what was happening on the ground as input and feed it into the planning of a new BPO offering. I feel a sense of satisfaction in having been involved from the planning phase through to operations. In that sense, I would say that I achieved my goal I set with that career move.

When I thought about my career, I realized that there has been one thing in common - "making proposals to clients" The challenge and joy of working together with clients toward a larger goal is something that I have always found appealing. I learned that IT consulting allows one to be involved in the more upstream stages of the project, and it really caught my interest. Although I did not have direct experience in that area, it was something that was aligned with what I was looking to explore. So, I chose pursue a path in consulting.

At large firms, I felt that the scope of what you can take on or challenge yourself with might be limited due to how things are often highly streamlined and divided. Aside from that, I have experienced how difficult it can be to get anything new approved. At a startup, there is a smaller team, so I thought it would be easier to take initiative. The responsibilities would be larger, and there is a real sense of speed. Also, I did not have any experience in developing an organization or company from the ground up, so I was intrigued with that as well.

The hiring process was quick, and they got in touch with me right away. I appreciated how quickly they expressed their desire for me to join the company. Honestly, it was as simple as that. (laughs) I was also attracted to the company's slogan, "Achieve in one year what typically takes ten," which really gives off their sense of speed. Aside from that, they truly value people - both within the company and their clients. I could not find any other company that balances those two qualities so well.

It is quite challenging. (laughs) I think the most difficult part is presenting ideas and approaches related to the upstream stages and delivering them in a way that convinces many people. I have been able to accomplish more over time, but I believe it is not something that you master in just a year and a half. So, I still have a lot to learn every day.

What I really appreciate is being able to work as a principal from the client's side. In projects at my previous companies, I was firmly on the contractor's side, and the client was always the principal. While consulting also involves making proposals to clients, the perspective is different. That difference is something that I find refreshing and rewarding. Another positive thing is being directly involved in sales activities. These two things are what make me feel glad that I became a consultant.

The environment is great. Because the team is small, we have plenty of focused, work-related discussions, but we also have more relaxed discussions from time to time. There are many young members, and their ability to absorb new ideas and their strong drive really inspire me to stay as motivated. They truly inspire me in a positive way. The culture is not overly aggressive, in a good way. It is more about genuinely engaging with our clients, staying grounded, and focusing on delivering good and meaningful output. Personally, I feel like it is a very comfortable place to work in.

I want to become the kind of person that clients think, "If I consult with him, things will go well". I want to be someone that they naturally want to offer work to. I also want to focus on internal training and knowledge sharing to help raise the overall skill level of the team. Recently, I started a working group and took on the role of a leader, getting the members together with the mindset of trying it out for a year and seeing where it goes. Berkeley offers so many opportunities to take on new challenges, and I feel fortunate to be in such an environment.

I think Berkeley will be a good fit for people who enjoy and find purpose in building shared goals with others through solid communication. On the path towards a shared goal, there will be many challenges that need to be overcome, such as conflicts due to differences in roles or perspectives. To overcome these barriers, it ultimately comes down to good communication between people. And that is what really matters.