Valuing "ambiguous business terms" vol.1

This is a sudden question, but have you ever used the word Osu?
Having spent most of my high school and university years in the karate club, I am one of those people who was fascinated by the magic of Osu.

According to one theory, Osu oh good morning vinegar It is said that the spirit of oshibi, ``to endure the unbearable, endure the unbearable,'' was later assigned to the kanji. Aside from that, this Osu is actually a "communication elixir", and I used to rely on it a lot when I was a student.
After that, I became keenly aware of this fact for the first time when I got a job as a planner, which uses a lot of words.

Three-stage conjugation of Osu

Now, let's take a moment to introduce the ``three steps of oshinobu'' so that you can experience the magical power of oshinobu.

❶Response(when practice is hard)
Senpai: Don't raise your voice at all! Cheer up! !
Me: Osu! ! (Meaning: Yes!)

❷ Reply (when asked by a senior)
Senior: So, have you made arrangements for the year-end party?
Me: Osu... (Meaning: I completely forgot about it, but I will make a reservation at the restaurant tonight!)

❸ Questions (when you still don't understand)
Director: Take off the power that your front knee supports, and use the propulsive force that naturally tilts your center of gravity to thrust, it's quick.
Me: Osu? ? (Meaning: Eh, what do you mean?)

In this way, most conversations can be established by "Osu" in each other's tacit knowledge.
The Osu world was established in a limited community with an ultra-high-context culture. This is not something that is thrown away, but in a world of severe training where repeated practice (routine) speaks for itself, I think it worked very well as a magic word to lure oneself into a state of selflessness.

Are you understanding and using that word correctly?

So, it was the beginning of my life as a planner that I had a hard time with. Language is essential in business communication. Even more so if you are a planner who verbalizes your strategy. I can write a proposal, but when it comes to conversation, I become drowsy and talk too long. Ah... I want to say "Osu" for the time being...
Every day made me realize that the way we use and choose words is very critical in business situations that cannot be carried out by common breath.

By the way, there is a Chinese planner across from me, and I am always taken aback by her occasional Japanese questions.

What do you mean by "Ozanari"?
What kind of image is "naked"?

When asked again like that, there are times when I can't give a clear explanation, and it makes me keenly aware of how I usually use words based only on the atmosphere.

The correct wording is like a "shortcut key"

There are words that frequently appear in business. If these words are understood correctly (similarly) to each other, the conversation will flow smoothly as a common language. I tend to move forward with a blur.
I want to understand the correct meaning of words and use them correctly because I am a planner who uses a lot of words. If you have a common understanding of each other's words, it should be like a "shortcut key" that will propel your business forward!

Therefore, in this essay, I would like to select "words that often appear in business, but tend to be used vaguely" and cherish the differences between them.

Ambiguous Business Terms ① | Problems and Challenges

"There is a problem in order to make this project a success..." "Well, this is a really difficult problem..." We tend to use the words "problem and task" casually. Although they sound similar at first glance, there is a clear difference between the two. for example,

"When I left the front door to go to work in the morning, it was raining heavily..."

Given this situation, what would be the problems and challenges here?
In conclusion,

The problem is "the phenomenon that it is raining heavily and it is not possible to go out easily",
The task is to "respond to events that make it difficult to go out due to heavy rain."

in short,

It is a relationship of setting a task (Task) for a problem (Problem) that occurred.
So, in response to the problem (Problem) when you leave the house, "I'm sorry, is it raining today?"

Recently, there are more opportunities to touch on upstream words such as "problem discovery" and "problem setting" that exist before working on "problem solving", but if you think about the above difference, you can see that these two are also quite different. increase.

“The newly opened restaurant is not doing well…”

If there is such a situation, "problem discovery" is to explore the pain that creates the situation. It's like a pain inquiry behind "not working", such as low profitability...or few customers...or low satisfaction.

On the other hand, "problem setting" is to set a policy to get rid of pain. In other words, it can be said that the policy of treatment is determined where and how to deal with various pains in the body. Just as different doctors treat and prescribe different treatments for the same cold, problem setting can be a key success factor that influences the direction of strategies.

For example, "low profitability..." mentioned earlier is certainly one of the problems, but it is not necessarily limited to "increasing sales" as the challenge. “Cost cuts” and “margin mix” can also be issues. In other words, a single problem can have multiple challenges, and if there is a mismatch here, no matter how hard you try to solve the problem, you will not be able to solve the problem from its roots.

The terms “problem” and “problem” are often used interchangeably. While understanding the relationship between Problems and Tasks, I would like to make a calm decision as to whether I should work on "Problem Discovery", "Problem Setting", or "Problem Solving".

This is the end of the importance of "ambiguous business terms" this time.
Next time, I would like to focus on the “customer segment and customer image”.