GLOBIS Journey Spotlight: Minoru Katsunuma

W. Tanner Kirk
Posted: October 7th, 2024

Minoru Katsunuma is a GLOBIS MBA student from Kanagawa, Japan.

He started his MBA journey at GLOBIS with the nano-MBA where he learned the fundamental business concepts and skills from expert lecturers and collaborative discussions with peers. The practical application of this knowledge not only in business but also in various life aspects prepared and motivated him to take on the Pre-MBA journey at GLOBIS as well. He is now preparing to start his part-time MBA studies at GLOBIS University in Tokyo, Japan.

We sat down with Minoru-san to discuss his inspiring GLOBIS journey and gain valuable insights for potential MBA students.

Note, this article is based on an interview transcript. Some elements have been edited for clarity.

Could you let us know a bit about yourself?

I joined GLOBIS last year in 2023. 

I started with GLOBIS Unlimited. I spent a lot of time [researching GLOBIS] and I found that [GLOBIS’ marketing materials] were very simple and very easy to understand. That made me very interested in GLOBIS. I found out that the nano-MBA was an option, so I thought ‘why don’t I try it?’ 

Right now I am working for a company in Yokohama, and I’m in charge of the online sales department. I have over ten people in my camp and I’m responsible for growing the online business.

What inspired you to join the nano-MBA?

In a previous assignment at my company, I was in charge of training my team in marketing. I found that GLOBIS Manabi-Hodai had a pretty good marketing course. So I strongly got interested in that course. 

Before discovering Manabi-Hodai, I always thought that an MBA would be very academic and not very practical, and maybe even a waste of time. But, after seeing GLOBIS Manabi-Hodai my view towards an MBA totally changed. 

I knew I wanted to further cultivate my own capabilities, and I wanted to try a small piece of GLOBIS. 

I thought the nano-MBA would be a perfect match for me, because the cost is reasonable and affordable. It lasts for only a month and a half. During the entire program, there’s only two classes that I need to attend online. But otherwise, every week a video is assigned, and I can choose my time to study. So it is very easy to start.

What is your kokorozashi (personal mission)?

When it comes to kokorozashi (personal mission), your shoushi (小志) and taishi (大志) are defined. 

Shoushi is something that you’re very passionate about right now. My shoushi is to turn around my companies’ online business. 

The overall situation is that the online business is growing, I know that there’s more potential. I want to combine the in-person store with the online business. So I’m working with my leadership team to combine the online and in-person business to bring a better experience to my consumers. That is something I would like to accomplish in the next two years.

Taishi wise, I think of my two kids. 

My eldest son is 20 years old. My youngest is 15. I want to help make Japan a great country for them. If I meet with someone from a foreign country, I want to be  proud of Japan, and talk to them proudly about my country. 

There are three things I am interested in focusing on to accomplish this. One is supporting SDGs. The second is addressing the issue of the decreasing population vs. productivity in Japan. The third is supporting the development of businesses in rural Japan.

So, long term, I want to support the productivity of Japan. Eventually I will focus on one of those things as my taishi.

How do you balance your studies at GLOBIS with your daily life? 

I think nano-MBA is very easy to adjust to your current life. When I was doing it, in a normal week, three out of the five days were no different than before.

But two days out of the week, I have some time that I can steal for some GLOBIS learning. On those days, I wake up in the morning just one hour earlier, and focus on learning with the video while sitting in front of my computer and taking notes. And then, I feel like I’ve learned something new that morning. Which was great! 

So I kept doing that cycle, and two months later, I looked back with so much surprise. I realized how much I’ve learned. And I noticed that I’ve already applied a lot of what I have learned at work with confidence. And I felt that I have made a meaningful difference. I think that this is the nano-MBA style.

Do you have any advice for effective time management?

My general advice for someone who is thinking about taking an MBA or not, is that I strongly encourage them to take the nano-MBA first.

First off, the nano-MBA is a lot of fun. Not only watching the videos, but getting the feedback on your responses, and the conversation with other students is always there as well. 

This is different from a typical corporate training environment. GLOBIS gives you time to really be yourself. In corporate training, we often have to be more political, and be more careful about what we say in front of someone. But the GLOBIS  environment really allows you to fully be yourself, and I really got a lot out of it. 

So if you’re interested in an MBA, but not sure if its right for you, I strongly recommend you give the nano-MBA a try.

How did you know you were ready to transition from the nano-MBA into the Pre-MBA?

I don’t know if there was one specific moment. But, I’m the type of person that when I find something that interests me, I just go-go-go! 

So when I started the nano-MBA, I thought this was very interesting, but what do I do next? After completing the nano-MBA, I wanted to try something even deeper. So I thought I would try the Pre-MBA and see if it was just as interesting. It turns out I found the Pre-MBA to also be really nice, so my MBA journey naturally continued. 

What is the biggest difference between the nano-MBA and the Pre-MBA? 

Good question. 

The Pre-MBA is an even more interesting version than the nano-MBA, I would say. The nano-MBA is very flexible with your time, and while there’s engagement with your classmates, it’s a more limited kind of engagement. 

But during the Pre-MBA, you are always together with your classmates and lecturer. So its a very condensed learning experience. 

The Pre-MBA is more time consuming, and more preparation is needed, but the amount of learning is actually ten-times bigger than the nano-MBA, I would say!

What type of person would you recommend embark on their own GLOBIS learning journey?

One thing I can say across the full-time MBA, Pre-MBA, and nano-MBA is that the bigger the program is, the more commitment it requires. But you’ll also be gaining so much more. You may have to spend a lot more time, but you’ll be getting more out of it in return. So, ask yourself, how much time can you commit in the next few weeks, months, or years? How much are you truly willing to commit? 

My general advice is to start with the nano-MBA, get used to it, and then move on to the next thing. If you’re not sure about the nano-MBA, why not try just one learning pillar on GLOBIS Unlimited first? 

That said, I’ve met many classmates who have started right away on the full-time MBA, so, it really just depends on your personality, I think.

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