Effectuation Workshop

Take stock of your past experiences and connections, and rediscover your inherent potential

Overview

Many of the methodologies for creating innovation and new businesses to date have been based on clarifying the “goal.” Design Thinking”, “System Thinking”, and “Future Foresight “ also fall into this category. But is this all there is to it? In reality, the opposite approach to the conventional approach of creating new possibilities from the means currently available, rather than setting a goal first, is actually occurring quite often. In this VUCA era where it is uncertain and the future is completely unpredictable, ”Effectuation,” a problem-solving approach that discovers new goals from the means at hand, has been attracting particular attention in recent times.

📂 Category	Motivation
📌 Keywords	Problem-Solving Approach, Innovation, Inherent Potential
🎯 Objectives	By taking stock of your own intellectual and human assets and searching for the intersection between what you want to do and what you can do, you can use this as an opportunity to discover the value you can provide (= inherent potential).
🌐 Language	Japanese & English
👥 Target Participants	Graduate & Undergraduate Students
🗓 Format	Single session（5-hour in-person）
✅ Past & Upcoming Sessions	Saturday, June 7, 2025, 13:00-19:00 Held annually since FY2023
📍 Venue	S4-202, Ookayama
🌟 Recommended for	– Those who feel that they tend to be distracted by “how to solve” in their research life – Those who think that they need a new approach to find meaningful problems and new perspectives – Those who are searching for an approach that leads to innovation
📊 Points	6 points (Points to be awarded to students enrolled in the courses for credits. Please refer to the syllabus for details.)
🎟️ Capacity	40 participants

Main Content

1. This workshop is a workshop to rediscover your inherent potential by taking stock of the time, place, and experiences you have lived and sharing them with your peers, and thinking about “what” and “why.” 
2. On the day, in groups of 3-4 people, participants will share their preferences, dreams, and intellectual and human resources that can be mobilized both on and off the job through “deep self-introductions” to visualize “what do you want to do” and “what resources do you and your group already have to achieve that?” 
3. From there, you will explore the intersection between “what you want to do” and “what you can do” to find the value you can provide (= inherent potential).

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Facilitator

Past Event Records

Voices from Past Participants

• Students interested in entrepreneurship and initiating personal projects will find great value in the Effectuation workshop. This workshop focuses on leveraging one’s strengths and tapping into their network to solve problems. It is an opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to learn how to approach challenges resourcefully by engaging with other people who can offer guidance and support. (D2)
• Thanks for this workshop, to make me learn about another way to think and conceive our current research or the future innovation work. It also let me know about the importance of using the ability of my acquaintance and friends. Besides, in this workshop you can also make friends, which is an effective way to get out of your comfort zone to talk to more people who have a different background with you. (D1) 
• If you are confused about how you can make innovations, I totally recommend this workshop. You will know the secret from entrepreneurs to stop imagining who you are and know actually who you are. (M1)

Event Report

Contact Faculty

Keisuke Yamada, Specially Appointed Professor, Academy for Leadership
📩 yamada.k.9f82 [at] m.isct.ac.jp