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It was just by chance that I came across the expression, but every now and then I'm reminded of its meaning. In my fifth year at MC, I was overseeing a project to build a large-scale chemicals plant in Uzbekistan that was fraught with difficulties. Uzbekistan is one of only two doubly land-locked countries in the world, and geographically speaking, the conditions could not have been more challenging. The project involved transporting heavy machinery, which was complicated by the territory and climate. For example, in the winter we'd have to get the shipments through before the canals froze over, and we experienced no end of trouble trying to avoid accidents or delays in traversing the roughly 1,700 km of desert that lay between the Caspian Sea and plant site.
Even when we felt we'd make sufficient preparations, something unexpected would occur and throw a wrench in the works. I remember how pressured I felt to get the project completed on schedule, but fortunately there were many other stakeholders, and we all shared the same goal to see the project succeed. Thanks to the support from the Uzbeki government, the project owner, and MC's corporate partners, we overcame the difficulties and managed to get the plant built. I was actually reduced to tears when the first shipment of chemicals rolled out the plant's doors.
In my ninth year with MC, I was seconded to a company that trades used machinery, where I gained experience in management and sales. It was a completely different field of business, so I had to learn everything from square one, but I remembered those words, "no pain no gain," and they helped me to persevere. Thanks to the great solidarity demonstrated by the company's employees, it achieved record earnings while I was there.

The Construction Solutions Department's New Business Development Team is tasked with addressing the problems faced by Japan's construction industry. Every day, all of our team members work steadfastly to come up with innovative ideas, including those that take advantage of digital technologies.
Although in recent years Japan has enjoyed robust investment growth in construction, the industry is still plagued by a number of problems. These include buildings getting harder to erect due to project complexities, fewer construction workers, and skyrocketing costs due to Japan's "2024 problem" (i.e. limits on driver overtime hours), exchange rates, and so on.
As a result, those ordering the builds aren't able to get them built when they want, and the builders aren't able to build what they want to build. This situation could have serious repercussions on the Japanese economy, so to help both property buyers and builders address these problems, MC arranges hearings and discussions with all concerned parties, and revises the day-to-day theories into substantive solutions. My job is rewarding because I feel inspired to realize my dream, which is to turn ardor into appreciation throughout Japan's construction industry.

Our department's task force members have come up with the following slogan to motivate us to make things better for everyone engaged in this industry: "Be Constructive and Innovative." We arrived at this slogan after some very in-depth discussions, during which we asked ourselves a number of questions, such as why we chose to work at MC, what we wanted to make happen during our careers, and what makes us happy. All of us agreed that because construction is so vital to the development of social infrastructure and our overall quality of life, we want to create a world where everyone engaged in that space is content. Our slogan is meant to capture those feelings.
Being true to this slogan and realizing such a world will demand that we work steadily and gain the trust of all stakeholders, so we must have constructive dialogues with them and be flexible in adapting to their needs. Equally vital are the will to spearhead reforms and the determination to innovate, qualities that are also embodied by our slogan. I'm looking forward to working with everyone in my department, throughout MC, and indeed the entire business community to meet this challenge.