【第4回】“Creative Decision Making –Using Positive Uncertainty- ”(Gelatt, H.B. and Gelatt, Carol ,Crisp Series, 2003)

              This is the first English entry. Reading English business book is my training to study some major theories and also English itself. In this blog, I’m going to write English essay at least every other month.

              There are two types of career theory. One is focused on static career approach, and the other one is focused on dynamic career approach. Static approach is used in some special time, for example, when we encounter transition or environmental change in our life and career. One of the major theory about static approach is by Dr. Holland. It is useful when we want to match our type of character to the type of job, especially before entering the first company. So, static approach is important for us to reflect our history of life and career, and to make a decision at the important time.

              Of course static approach theory is useful in special time, but it doesn’t explain about daily business time. But don’t we have to make any efforts or any decisions in daily life? Of course not! Then what should we do?

              The theory which answers this question is the dynamic career approach. When some chance occurs to us, without any preparation, we cannot get it. Using dynamic theory helps us to do it. One of the major one of it is positive uncertainty which this book explains. And another major one is Planned Happenstance Theory by Dr. Krumboltz. Then what is the difference between these two major theories?

              Planned Happenstance Theory explains that what we should do in daily life especially about learning because Dr. Krumboltz was the researcher of learning. On the other hand, Positive Uncertainty explains that what we should take attitude to the things which occur in daily life, especially about decision making, because Dr. Gelatt was focused on studying about it. So, these two theories can survive the same time.

              In this book, Dr. Gelatt does emphasis on four paradoxical principles, Be focused and flexible about what you want, Be aware and wary of what you know, Be realistic and optimistic about what you believe, and Be practical and magical about what you do. Though these statements have some dilemma inside of themselves, it seems to me that Dr. Gelatt want to say that there is no right static answer in the whole life. When we face some trouble, it is useful for us to think about both edges of these paradoxical principles in turn, because we tend to focus on fixed one.

              The only bad thing about this book is that most Japanese people can’t read it, because it is written in English. I hope that someday this book will be translated into Japanese. I want to try to read Japanese version in order to read precisely.

<Recommended Reading>

J.D.クランボルツ＋A.S.レヴィン著（花田光世＋大木紀子＋宮地夕紀子訳）『その幸運は偶然ではないんです！』ダイヤモンド社、2005年

渡辺三枝子編著『新版　キャリアの心理学』ナカニシヤ出版、2007年