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The Young Advisory Board in the Land of the Rising Sun

Konichiwa readers! Earlier this month, our journey as the Young Advisory Board brought us to the wonderful country of Japan. During our tenure in the Young Advisory Board, we select one region to visit to support both our individual development as well as contribute to our assignment. Since we have been focused on the quality of our products for the last year, Japan was an easy choice due to it having a very quality conscious culture as well as some of the most demanding customers regarding product quality in the world.

Jun 27, 2018 | 2 min.

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Connecting with Customers

KDDI & Young Advisory Board Meeting

During our visit we had the unique opportunity to meet with important stakeholders from both Softbank and KDDI through interpreters. Our hosts were incredibly generous and eager to share their experiences using Ericsson products. I was especially encouraged by how open and willing the customers were in sharing feedback and actionable recommendations on how we can improve. It was clear from these interactions that these customers view Ericsson as an important strategic partner and that their success is dependent on our success. This level of trust with these customers speaks to the hard work of our teams in Japan to foster such deep and meaningful relationships.

Connecting with Colleagues

Young Advisory Board at Yokosuka Research Park

Aside from meeting with customers, our trip to Japan included a visit to our shared 5G R&D initiatives with Docomo. We had the privilege to tour our 5G trial sites with Docomo and watch first hand as our engineers conducted 5G field testing.

Young Advisory Board with local talent in Japan

In addition, we also had a chance to sit down and speak with the young talent that we have in Japan. Through this session we shared our individual experiences in Ericsson and the Young Advisory Board and heard directly from colleagues how much they enjoyed working for Ericsson and hoped to continue to grow their careers.

As part of the Young Advisory board, we get to meet with a wide range of colleagues that we would otherwise not have the opportunity to meet and interact with. Through these meetings, I am repeatedly impressed with the level of talent and passion that exists within this company. There are people working on cool projects and assignments all over the world, and it is through their hard work that we are able to continually push the technology envelope.

A Cultural Experience

Young Advisory Board during a Tea Ceremony

This was our first trip to Japan for most of us, so it was important that we engage in the culture during our visit. While in Japan, we found time to visit many of the local temples and even participated in a traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony. In addition to these traditional items, we enjoyed tasting modern Tokyo life by being squeezed into a crowded Subway and visiting the famous Shibuya Crossing!

Young Advisory Board at Shibuya Crossing

Mina, Ryan, and Bo in a crowded subway

Coming to a Close

Our tenure as the 2017-2018 Young Advisory Board is racing to a close. Next month we will be reading out and providing our final recommendations to the Executive Team regarding quality. I am extremely grateful for my time with my Advisory Board colleagues. Although we do have fun working together, I know each of us takes the responsibility seriously. There are many passionate people working to make this company what it is today and through our role on the Advisory Board we aim to do our part to continually push Ericsson towards excellence and worthy of the wonderfully talented and passionate people that work here!