Interviewing valuable person award winner -the key to overcome difficulties-

＊This article was originally written in Japanese as an interview for a member.

Hello, this is Minami, the press officer of Atrae.
Today, I interviewed Kimi-chan who win the VP (valuable person) award in the recent general MTG of Atrae.

I’m going to share her 3 years how she grew as a professional business person from a freshperson who wasn’t good at responding naturally and was even called a robot as a joke.

Kimi TANAKA
Joined Atrae in 2016 as a new graduate and is in her 4th year of the sales team for Green. A sports-oriented person that has practiced Kendo for 14 years, enjoys kickboxing exercise on the weekends.

- Firstly, can you tell us about what kind of job you do?

Sure. Since I joined Atrae, I have been worked as a sales for Green. There are 4 teams in Green, our main product in Atrae, which is the sales team, support team, marketing team, and hackers (system) team.

The mission of the sales team is simply to meet the budget target as it is in general. It sounds like a typical aggressive peddling company although that’s not true here.

- Well, isn’t that what “our mission is to meet the budget target” mean?

No no, um, it is so, but it isn’t. Although we haven’t failed our mission often, our main focus is actually on something else.
We do have a strong responsibility for meeting the budget target since Green is the main business of Atrae, however, within our team, we put more importance on “to chase an exciting goal”.

In other words, “achieve something awesome”.
It’s not fun only thinking about the budget all the time, so in our team meeting, we only check our progress in the beginning, and the main topic would be how we are trying towards each goal that we have set.

Recently speaking, there were a few new graduates in our team, so our goal was set like this, “Won’t it be amazing if we can break the record for the number of new contracts with this fresh team?”
Just to try meeting the usual budget would be challenging with less experienced members. We can’t be doing an ordinal way so we need to think out and make strategies thinking from the bottom. Such as,
“Why do clients make a contract with us?”
“What is our value?”
“How can we truly know what clients want?”
Not only focusing on the numbers but also trying to bring in new technologies or updated strategies to provide higher value is also a good topic.

The time thinking about those and exchanging ideas is just enjoyable!

If we keep trying what is for the clients, the outcome of our sale will follow that. We just focus on our own goals and that will lead us to achieve our team target.

- I see. You look joyful even just talking about it now!
Let me ask if you have any problems or difficulties being the only female in the team?

I never thought about that! Maybe the atmosphere never lets me remind me about gender.
For example, I’m in my 4th year but even the fresh members come up to me and say jokes or are humorous. We don’t have those pecking orders so it’s very relaxing.

Oh, there is one thing. I ask my team to let me have fewer appointments than others.
Male members tend to be tougher and some members can have 5 appointments a day. For me, it’s hard to speak all day and couldn’t give my best performance if I do the same so I ask for scheduling with what works for me.
Everyone is cooperative and I can tell anything when I have trouble.

- So what do you think made you win the individual award, VP award this time?

Hum, speaking personally, I don’t think that I was particularly in a good spiral only this half-year, but maybe what I have been working on for these few years finally became a level for recognition. I guess all the efforts I put in the past just showed up as a good result in this timing.

In the beginning, some people said that I’m like a robot. I was really poor at answering phone calls, clumsy, even I would say so looking back at that time now.

However, one day I got an “Atrae standard award” (monthly MVP) and I put more pressure on myself that overthinking everyone expects me more and more. Then soon my batchmates joined the company and they were brilliant. They caught up quickly and went forward the right way easily.

Honestly, I was shocked. I had started earlier than others, I had all the attention from the senior members, then all of a sudden the situation changed. That time I was just comparing myself with others and being depressed, feeling useless…I would say it was my dark period. haha

- How did you overcome that? Do you remember the tipping point?

Well, a lot of people helped me. Everyone worried about me and I guess there isn’t a person that didn’t come to speak with me at that time.
One day, a senior member called me to a meeting room and told me that it’s OK to cry. That made me cry the whole day.haha

Also when I went for lunch with our CEO, he told me that,
“It’s only a job. You may be concerned once you lose your job but for now, you are being able to live and work so there is no need to be concerned so much.
Rather than that, think about how you can contribute to the whole organization.
It’s simple, ‘concern’ minus ‘depression’ is equal to ‘think’!”

I realized that I was only being concerned about my performance and wasn’t thinking how to get better with my job.
I felt a weight off my mind being told that “it’s only a job” from the CEO who is working like crazy, to his kindness and the warmth of the expression.

Morita-san the project leader of Green and other sales team members all supported me, being patient with me and kept expecting on me although it took a long time to get better.
“We will support those to any extent who hope to change.”
I was touched by their attitude and felt grateful from the bottom of my heart.

I remember since that time, I could focus on the outcome or the goal of “the team” and be able to break the curse of “me”, “my growth”, “my achievement”.
It was all about “me” comparing myself to others and getting depressed and struggling on my own.
When I stopped that, I felt like finally, I could grow in the right way.

By the way, it’s bashful telling the person herself but I want to thank you Minami-san too.

There was a secret project “remodeling Tanaka plan” being carried out once.
I was told to get your advice on buying a new suit, so I asked you with diffidence if you can accompany me going shopping. You said OK with an instant answer and came to Shibuya on a weekend for me.

It must have been a burden accompanying shopping for a junior colleague but you came willingly and helped me choose private outfits or cosmetics not only suits. You also taught me how to draw eyebrows which I had never learned and that was very helpful.

Do you remember you even gave me an earring on the way home?
I guess you heard me saying “this is cute” and when I was away, you secretly bought it for me.
How lovely is that? You’re such handsome.

- Wow, now I recall that, when was that? haha, I think it’s about time for you to get a new suit.
Anyways, let’s get back to your story.

Yes! My theme since then was “super outcome”.
This is a keyword I even have put it on the wall of my home.
Anyone can “try” and Atrae member is trying harder than general anyways.
So for me, I will super commit to the outcome!

I owe my team for being able to keep chasing the goal. The members would do everything if they think it’s good for the team, Green, and Atrae. We have an atmosphere that we can try anything.

My teammates don’t get to see all of my work, for example, I mainly take care of the partners and we use a different communication tool from the one we use in Atrae so they can’t follow all of it.
So they don’t know the details of my work but as long as I seem to enjoy the job and trying something that I think it’s worth doing, they trust me and leave it to me.

I like how we leave our backs to each other and can work hard on what one believes strongly.
I feel happy being in such an environment that everyone enjoys working. That is the most important thing for a company.

- It only sounds great! Atrae is a fantastic company, right? lol
So we have a strong hiring demand but what kind of person do you want to work with?

I would say, a person that can devote himself/herself to a goal that they set high.
And maybe a person that can keep in mind what the essence of things is.

For the sales team, the matter in front of us is to meet the budget and sell Green service but the true value beyond there.
I want to work with someone who can pursue that and put their heart into the job with passion.

- Thanks for sharing your story today!