Good bye, thank you Google. Ubie looks good on the hill

Shinji Hondo
2021年2月5日 08:26

translated from the original blog: https://note.com/shinjihondo/n/naedf3ed4a166?magazine_key=ma36899582c06

Table of Contents

• Good-bye, thank you, Google, as far as the voice goes
• The trigger for changing jobs was the realization that “a sense of duty > a sense of dancing here
• Encounter with Ubie: “Search leads to peace of mind
• I didn’t have to worry about changing jobs to a young startup
• The Hill on the Hill Looks good at Ubie
• Would you like to join us?

Goodbye and thank you, Google, at the top of my voice

Until the end of last December, I had the good fortune to work at Google for about 12 years, long enough for a child to finish elementary and middle school. For several years before I retired, I was the General Manager of the Partner Business Development Division, where I promoted partnership projects between Google and major companies.

My time at Google was exciting and rewarding, starting with a video interview in French-accented English in October 2008. The pleasure of finally getting to know my overseas colleagues, the feeling of contributing to the creation of a service that is useful to society, the sleepless nights before important meetings, the sense of accomplishment when a contract is signed, the generous salary and benefits, the joy of being able to call myself Googler, the warm family-like team, the colleagues in offices around the world, the sharing of success with partners, and all the encounters and events that I will never forget. Every encounter and event is a precious treasure that I will never forget. The messages of encouragement from colleagues and partners have given me great courage and confidence before taking a new step forward.
I can’t thank you all enough for your support, both domestic and international, as I did in the following message I sent to my LinkedIn connections on December 31 last year.

Today is my last day at Google.
Almost 12 years in Google, I have enhanced my horizons by working with you, consulting with you, struggling with you, celebrating with you, drinking with Almost 12 years in Google, I have enhanced my horizons by working with you, consulting with you, struggling with you, celebrating with you, drinking with you, travelling with you, failing with you, making deals with you and learning from you. I can never thank you enough.

The reason why I changed jobs was because I realized that I had a sense of duty > a sense of dancing here.

Why are you changing jobs from Google?

The reason was that I often found myself with a “sense of duty > sense of dancing in my heart” in my work. I began to realize that I was becoming more and more aware of my “sense of duty” > “sense of dancing in my heart”. By scolding and encouraging myself, I was able to get results in my work. At that time, I had just reached a milestone in several projects, and Corona gave me time to think quietly at home, so I decided to face this realization.

When you are in your late 40s, you are increasingly confronted with the fact that you have a limited amount of time left and that the length of time you have lived is no longer available. No matter how wonderful and unparalleled Google is, you can’t afford to spend your time in a place that doesn’t make your heart dance. I need to spend my time doing what I want to do more actively. I need to regain a firm grip on the rudder of my life. Not only in my work, but also in my family time, leisure time, and hobbies.

At that time, I remembered the book “The Hill on the Hill” (written by Kazuhiro Fujiwara), which was introduced to me by a former colleague. I have been climbing the big slope Google for 12 years, and I wondered what the next “Kokoro no Odori no Saka” would be? (I understand that this is probably not what the author, Mr. Fujiwara, had in mind.)

Encounter with Ubie: “A search that leads to peace of mind
For the past 4–5 years, people around me have been diagnosed with serious illnesses that are almost too late, and people have been dying from sudden illnesses.

It would be cruel to ask why …… until it’s too late. I am not sure if I would be able to take immediate action to see a doctor if I felt uneasy about my health. Whenever I feel uneasy about my body, searching the Internet is a very common method. However, have you ever had the experience that the more you search, the more anxious you become and the more you don’t know what to do?

When I first touched Ubie’s “Ubie AI Symptom Checker,” I had a hunch.

This is a search that leads to peace of mind.

As I answered the questions posed to me, I felt relieved that I didn’t have to go searching all over the place anymore.

If this kind of service had been available to my relatives or classmates at the right time, I would have had a different future.

Oh, I think I may have found a good hill.

As I got to know Ubie better and better, I was more and more fascinated by the big challenges and significance it faced, its three-dimensional business potential, the way it was organized and managed, its evaluation policy (no evaluation), and its hiring practices. Although I would be jumping into a very different environment, I felt a sense of excitement like I did when I jumped into Google from a Japanese company 12 years ago.

But I was also excited, just like I was when I jumped from a Japanese company to Google 12 years ago. It’s been 12 years since I’ve changed jobs, so it might be fun to take a leap like this.

Finally, I decided to take off the golden handcuffs (if you’re wondering what that means, click here → Google search results, Yahoo search results).

No need to worry, I’m moving to a young startup!

Well, it’s been exactly one month since I joined Ubie.

It’s not that I didn’t have some concerns before joining the company. The company is less than four years old, the two founders are 30 years old, the average age is 33, the employees are related to each other from their previous jobs, there are no clients, there is no experience in the medical industry, and the organization is not a pyramidal holacracy. Hmmm… I guess there are more reasons why I, a 48-year-old, would not fit in.

But it’s not that I didn’t have a chance. The atmosphere and smartness of the current colleagues I met at the pre-employment interview was very similar to Google’s. Ubie’s emphasis on Ubieness was very similar to Googliness. As long as the people fit, we should be fine! This might be the one certainty I got from Google.

And now, I have apparently won the bet, and for myself, I am surprised to find that I fit in Ubie so naturally.

The Hill on the Hill at Ubie Looks Good

My colleagues working in Ubie are very sincere, regardless of age or gender, and they are doing their best to run towards high ideals. We are working on a major social issue in Japan, and we know it will be difficult, but we are determined to do it, so we will do it. I can feel the determination of the entire company. At the same time, there is no awkwardness at all. There are many issues that come up, but rather than blaming anyone or anything, we look forward and move forward, which is a very comfortable atmosphere. It’s great to see the products being improved day by day, and to feel the hands-on experience of my fellow engineers as they work hard to build them.

I chose Ubie as the “hill on the hill” because it “looks good”.

(This is a stamp, often seen in Slack within Ubie. I’m not sure I’ve quite grasped the nuance of the word yet, but it looks good.)

I’ve decided to climb the hill here at Ubie with the goal of helping as many people as possible to use AI consultation Ubie through the x100 partnership project, and contribute to true early detection and early treatment.

Would you like to join us?

I believe that work related to medical and health care can help us face the most important, profound, life and live a fulfilling life.

Whether you are in front of a hill, climbing a hill, or taking a break in the middle of a hill
How about those who are aiming for the hill above the hill? There is a great hill in Ubie worth climbing.

Why don’t you come to Ubie?

We’re hiring!