On behalf of the 5,000 employees of the Advantest Group worldwide, we are delighted to have you working with us.
In the years immediately after our founding, Advantest's business centered on electronic measuring instruments. The measurement technologies we developed during that period are the foundation of our company. Our corporate slogan, "Technology Support on the Leading Edge," indicates our resolve to contribute to the safety and security of society through measurement technologies. Now that we have established ourselves as the world’s leading provider of semiconductor test equipment, we have begun to direct serious efforts into new businesses. Of course, these new businesses, like our existing business, are built around our core measurement technologies.
Two years have passed since our acquisition of the Verigy, but our integration is only halfway done. In order to make the necessary sweeping changes to our old ways of doing things, our organizational systems, and our corporate culture, we launched a corporate initiative entitled "ACT2014." We are stressing expansion of our share of the tester market, expansion of sales of test peripherals and the development of new businesses. You have joined us in the midst of a process of corporate transformation that unites us all in facing shared challenges. I hope that you will find this environment invigorating, and become part of the wind of change blowing through the Advantest Group.
Newly employed college graduates often find that their dreams collide with reality. We at Advantest want you to understand the company you are working for and discover what you want to do here. We provide for a long training period during which you will meet many people in various divisions of the company. These connections will be one of your greatest assets in your careers.
You will have many opportunities to communicate, not only with friends of your own generation, but with people of different generations—your managers and older colleagues; people in a different position from yourselves—customers, suppliers; and people who come from different cultures and speak different languages. Social media and smartphones are convenient, but face-to-face conversations are also important. Face-to-face conversation enables incredibly information-rich communication, so I would like you not to rely exclusively on digital tools, but to proactively seek out opportunities for analog communication.
The last thing I would like to say to you today is that the sum of the lengths of two sides of a triangle is shorter than the third side. When people of your generation are set a goal to achieve, you have a tendency to spend time arguing about how to do it most quickly. This is not invariably the case, but as a rule, if you linger at the starting line, you will be late in getting to the finish line, no matter how short and well-designed your route. Conversely, if you just start moving, even if it turns out that you have chosen a route that takes you around two sides of the triangle instead of one, you will reach your goal quickly. Whatever it is, just get on with it. Even if you fail, that experience will be valuable to you later. And remember that the longer way around is usually the scenic one: there’s more to see.
As gainfully employed adults, the rhythm of your lives, as well as your environment, will change significantly. Be mindful of your health, both physical and mental.
I look forward with great pleasure to having you all as colleagues.
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