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Japan AWS Top Engineer and Japan All AWS Certifications Engineer: Special Award for 6 Consecutive Years and The 6 Growth Principles

First Published: 2025-06-28
Last Updated: 2025-06-28

At AWS Summit Japan 2025, I, Hidekazu Konishi (小西秀和), was honored to receive the special recognition as "2020 - 2025 Japan AWS Top Engineer / Japan All AWS Certifications Engineer". This award is given to those who have continuously received both Japan AWS Top Engineer and Japan All AWS Certifications Engineer awards for six consecutive years from 2020 to 2025, and as of June 2025, only two people in Japan have achieved this recognition.

Japan AWS Top Engineer and Japan All AWS Certifications Engineer are recognition programs unique to Japan that select engineers with capabilities and achievements from companies participating in the AWS Partner Network (APN).
These programs are Japan-specific initiatives that recognize technical excellence in ways that may differ from global AWS certification programs. While AWS certifications are globally standardized, these Japanese recognition programs add an additional layer of achievement recognition within the Japanese market.
Specifically, the Japan All AWS Certifications Engineer Program targets engineers who hold all AWS certifications, while the Japan AWS Top Engineer Program selects engineers who possess specific AWS certifications and have demonstrated technical capabilities that contribute to AWS business expansion through their activities.

While the selection criteria evolve each year and the quality of required output becomes increasingly sophisticated, I have successfully maintained both recognitions for six consecutive years.
In this post, I would like to discuss in detail the mindset and approach that supported these continuous activities. While the tech industry has many famous frameworks for productivity and personal growth such as Agile, OKR, and GTD, I have personally organized effective approaches from various experiences and trial-and-error into what I call the "6 Growth Principles." This post explains how I put these concepts into practice.
Of course, the optimal approach varies from person to person, and I hope readers will find the methods that best suit their own work styles and values.

Background and Context of the Awards

Why I Applied

The reason I applied for this recognition program was actually quite simple. In 2020, when I had already obtained all AWS certifications, my supervisor Takuro Sasaki suggested that I "should consider applying." Sasaki himself had been selected as a 2019 Japan APN Ambassador (now Japan AWS Ambassador) and understood the value of such recognition programs, which led to his suggestion.

At that time, while I had completed obtaining all AWS certifications as part of my self-development, I had not particularly considered opportunities or methods to promote this achievement externally. However, following Sasaki's advice, I decided to apply for this recognition program as an opportunity to have my learning achievements objectively evaluated.

What It Means to Me

For me, Japan AWS Top Engineer and Japan All AWS Certifications Engineer represents a milestone for self-development and output activities. This is not an ultimate goal, but rather an intermediate indicator to measure the results of continuous learning and output activities to keep up with the latest IT trends.

Behind this thinking lies the rapid changes in the technology industry. Cloud computing, particularly AWS services, continuously adds new features and services each year, and existing services are also continuously updated. To continue providing value as a technologist in such an environment, I believe it's necessary to have a mechanism for continuous learning and regular verification of results.

The selection criteria for Japan AWS Top Engineer evolve every year, and simply holding AWS certifications is not enough for selection. Specific output activities such as blog writing, book publishing, external speaking, and internal education are required. Therefore, this recognition program serves as a very effective indicator for continuously improving my output activities.

The Approach That Supported Continuity: Formation and Practice of the "6 Growth Principles"

One of the reasons I was able to continue output activities for six consecutive years is the "6 Growth Principles" that I systematized through years of experience and trial-and-error. These principles were gradually formed through actual experiences following my overseas assignment in the San Francisco Bay Area from 2011 to 2012, when I was exposed to various books and information.

This period coincided with AWS's formative years, and I was conducting R&D on AWS utilization. AWS at that time was quite limited in the number of services provided compared to today, and documentation was not as comprehensive as it is now. Basic services like Amazon EC2, Amazon S3, and Amazon RDS were central, and services that are now taken for granted, such as AWS Lambda and Amazon ECS (both released in 2014), did not yet exist, creating a challenging environment.

During this overseas assignment, I was exposed to various ways of thinking and values. After returning to Japan, I experienced firsthand the differences between these mindsets and values I had encountered abroad and the Japanese corporate culture. Struggling with these differences, I went through many trials, errors, and failures, and organized what I found to be effective thinking into the "6 Growth Principles."

While these principles build on established concepts, my unique contribution lies in how I've systematized and applied them specifically to sustained technical excellence in the cloud computing field.
I introduce these principles as an example of thinking that supported continuous activities and how I applied them to technical activities.
This is one example of my personal practice, and I believe there are various approaches for conducting continuous learning and output activities.
In fact, there are many effective methodologies more familiar to engineers, such as agile methods, OKR (Objectives and Key Results), project management frameworks, GTD (Getting Things Done), time management techniques, learning theory, and Kaizen approaches.

What's important is not the specific framework itself, but finding a sustainable learning and growth system that fits your own values, work style, and cultural background.
While the following principles are personally derived from my experiences, I hope readers will explore and adopt the methodologies that best suit each of them.

Below, I introduce how I applied the "6 Growth Principles" learned from experience to output activities as a reference.

First Principle: Establishing Proactive Action

Practice: Taking responsibility for my own learning and output actions
This is the principle I consider most important. Rather than being influenced by external environments or others' actions, I have strived to act based on my own values and judgment.

Specifically, rather than relying on company training programs or business requirements, I have actively researched AWS technology trends myself and proactively pursued learning in technical areas I deemed necessary. For example, regarding AWS certifications, even in areas not directly used in my work, I voluntarily studied and took exams when I judged them to be important for the future.

The same applies to output activities. When writing blog articles, rather than simply introducing how to use technologies, I focus on content based on my own ideas, experiences, and insights, such as why that technology is important, what problems it solves, and what precautions to take when actually using it.

Through this proactive approach, learning and output became positioned as investments in my own growth rather than external demands, making them easier to sustain.

Second Principle: Continuous Observation and Analysis

Practice: Continuously observing and analyzing the effectiveness of my learning and output activities
Through my experiences, I have realized the importance of continuously observing and analyzing the effectiveness of my activities and information that becomes the basis for new ideas.
While this is fundamental to everything, improvement and the creation of new ideas are impossible without observation and analysis. While this action is sometimes executed unconsciously, I believe it can be applied more effectively to personal learning and output activities through conscious observation and analysis.

I consciously continue the following observations and analyses:

Observation of learning effectiveness: I regularly reflect on AWS certification acquisition status, understanding of new technologies, and utilization in actual work to evaluate the effectiveness of my learning methods. For example, I reflect on which learning methods were most effective for me and how much study time was needed to reach goals.
Analysis of output activities: I analyze blog article access numbers, feedback, book sales, and reactions at study sessions to observe how large my target audience is and whether I can provide value.
Observation of technology trends: I continuously observe AWS new service releases, discussions in technical communities, and industry-wide trends to regularly assess whether my learning direction is appropriate and how I can demonstrate my originality.
Analysis of time allocation: I observe my physical condition and performance in relation to time allocation for learning/output, work, private life, and sleep, and analyze to find the most efficient and sustainable balance.

Through such continuous observation and analysis, I became able to objectively understand the effectiveness of my activities and adjust learning methods and output policies as needed, enabling me to publish not only content with high demand but also niche content with high originality.

Third Principle: Setting Immutable Goals and Priorities

Practice: Setting immutable goals and focusing on important matters
Through my experiences, I have realized the importance of acting with immutable goals that are unlikely to change with the times and investing time in activities that are important but not urgent.
First, in my case, I set the goal of "adapting to changing IT trends and creating value internally and externally through continuous input and output."

To materialize this goal, I have set the following medium-term objectives:

• Establishing technical expertise: Through obtaining all AWS certifications, reliably acquiring foundational knowledge across a wide range of cloud technology areas
• Improving output capabilities: Enhancing the ability to communicate technical knowledge in an understandable way through blog writing, book co-authoring, and study session presentations
• Expanding influence: Providing valuable information to more technologists and organizations through continuous output

Learning and output activities fall under "activities that are important but not urgent." In an environment where daily work and family matters tend to take priority, consciously positioning these activities at the top of priorities is necessary to continue them.

I allocate time based on the following thinking:

• Judgment not misled by urgency: Even in situations where I tend to be chased by immediate tasks, securing time for learning and output that leads to long-term growth
• Ensuring minimum continuity: Even during busy periods, not completely eliminating time for learning and output, emphasizing continuation even if for short periods
• Active utilization of opportunities: Among opportunities gained through changes in my influence, prioritizing time allocation for opportunities that can yield better influence over other activities

Fourth Principle: Continuous Self-Update

Practice: Continuous self-investment and growth
Through my experience in the technology industry, I keenly feel the importance of continuous self-investment and growth. Since technological progress is extremely rapid and yesterday's cutting-edge technology may become obsolete today, I consider this principle particularly important.

I conduct continuous self-updates in the following three aspects:

Technical aspect: AWS certification recertification, learning new services, researching new technology trends
Intellectual aspect: Information gathering and learning using various media
Physical aspect: Maintaining physical strength to endure long hours of learning and activities

Particularly in the generative AI era that began in 2023, I feel that continuous learning has become even more important. With the emergence of various generative AI tools, the way technologists work and the skills required are changing significantly.
To respond to these changes, I am undertaking the following initiatives:

Learning how to utilize generative AI tools: Acquiring prompt engineering techniques, understanding the characteristics of various AI tools
Evolution of output methods: Emphasizing content with high originality that AI finds difficult to generate and insights based on actual experience in article writing
Optimization of learning methods: Developing and practicing efficient learning methods utilizing AI

Through such continuous self-updates, I believe I was able to continue output activities for six years while adapting to the changing technological environment.

Fifth Principle: Creating Originality

Practice: Communicating my unique value and perspective
Through my experiences, I have realized the importance of creating my own unique value and perspective, rather than simply organizing and sharing existing information.
Particularly in the generative AI era, since anyone can easily generate information, I feel that demonstrating one's originality has become even more important.

The points I am conscious of when creating originality are as follows:

Insights based on actual experience: I actively share insights and failure stories gained from actual experiences in obtaining all AWS certifications and output activities. For example, specific points where I actually struggled during AWS certification study and concrete procedures for effective learning methods can provide practical value when others face similar challenges.
Analysis from unique perspectives: Rather than simply introducing official documentation content about technology trends and new services, I try to include unique analysis and predictions from my specialized areas and past experiences. From my position of holding all AWS certifications, explanations of relationships between services and integrated perspectives are what I consider my originality.
Focusing on niche areas: I actively cover technical areas and topics that many people are not paying attention to but I believe are important. Through observation and analysis from the second principle, I maintain uniqueness by learning early and communicating about areas not yet sufficiently discussed or technologies that may become important in the future.
Reflecting personal values and philosophy: In addition to technical content, I strive to provide value beyond mere technical information by including personal philosophy and thinking about why to learn that technology and what values to approach technology with.
Combining with different fields: I strive to provide information unavailable elsewhere by writing articles from unique perspectives that combine AWS technology with other fields (for example, learning theory, time management, career development, etc.).

Through such creation of originality, I feel I have become able to provide irreplaceable value to readers and create content that is continuously read.

Sixth Principle: Promoting Mutual Understanding and Synergy

Practice: Understanding others and achieving synergistic effects
Through my activities, I have learned the importance of first understanding others and the value of creating results that exceed the sum of individual capabilities through synergistic effects with others. This principle is an integrated approach that includes both mutual understanding and synergistic effects.

Promoting Mutual Understanding
In my blog articles and book writing, rather than simply appealing my own knowledge, I prioritize providing information that is actually useful to readers. Specifically, my approach is as follows:

Value for readers: Practical and understandable technical information, information useful for learning efficiency, contribution to technical communities
Value for myself: Organization and consolidation of knowledge, discovery of new learning opportunities, establishment of my identity

When writing blog articles, I strive to understand readers' challenges through the following process:

• Observing trends in technical communities: Collecting trending topics on the internet and at study sessions
• Recording insights from my own learning process: Points that became my needs or challenges during the learning process are likely to be similar for others

For example, when writing articles about AWS certifications, rather than simply explaining exam overviews and study methods, I also emphasize answering questions readers might have when taking AWS certifications and alleviating anxieties, such as "why am I obtaining that certification," "what was the acquisition process like," and "what kind of experience and insights did I actually have."

Creating Value Through Synergistic Effects
Even in the technical field, I realize that collaborating with other engineers to achieve synergistic effects can create output at levels impossible to achieve alone.

The synergistic effects I have experienced include the following:

Book co-authoring: Through co-authoring with other experts, we can provide comprehensive content covering a wide range of technical areas that cannot be covered by one person alone. For example, by having me handle practice questions based on knowledge from all AWS certifications while other authors handle service technical explanations from practical experience, we could create books with higher value for readers.
Technical sharing within and outside the company: Through technical blogs and study sessions, I feel that when I and other engineers use each other's output as input, we can each acquire new knowledge and create new output.
Cooperation with people having different expertise: By combining my specialized area with others' specialized areas, I could achieve results with higher added value.

Through this integrated approach, I believe I have become able to continuously create output with deep understanding and broad influence that could not be achieved through solo activities.

Value of the Special Recognition Award

Through these six years of activities, I have realized the value of continuously receiving Japan AWS Top Engineer and Japan All AWS Certifications Engineer recognition from the following four perspectives:

Establishing identity: I feel that establishing one's identity externally is a very important element in society. Particularly, selection as Japan AWS Top Engineer and Japan All AWS Certifications Engineer has become an indicator for understanding myself not only in the AWS technical field but also in completely different communities.
Strengthening influence: Through continuous awards, I have experienced positive changes in the influence of the information I communicate. This is felt not only through systematized evaluations by search engines and generative AI but also through changes in reactions from others.
Meeting new opportunities: By receiving recognition, I can encounter various opportunities such as writing, speaking, and education that would not have been available previously.
Indicator of continuous growth: The selection criteria for Japan AWS Top Engineer and Japan All AWS Certifications Engineer evolve every year, and the quality and quantity of required output also continuously improve. Therefore, this recognition program serves as a very effective indicator for continuously improving my output activities.

While I have been selected as Japan AWS Top Engineer every year so far, I myself do not expect to be selected next time. There are two reasons for this.

First, the selection criteria for Japan AWS Top Engineer are becoming increasingly sophisticated each year. Compared to the initial award, the level of quality, quantity, and expertise required for output has improved significantly, and I expect this trend to continue.

Second, with the sophistication of selection criteria, there is an increasing possibility of divergence between the self-development, independent research, and output activities I want to pursue and the direction required by the recognition program. My fundamental purpose is to "adapt to changing IT trends and create value internally and externally through continuous input and output," and the recognition program is merely a milestone. If the directions of both become significantly different, I will prioritize my original purpose.

For these reasons, I consider this special recognition likely to be a turning point for me. However, this is not meant in a negative sense. By being able to use this system as a milestone for six years, I feel I have established habits of continuous output activities and built an autonomous growth cycle that does not depend on recognition programs.

Conclusion

The special recognition for six consecutive years of Japan AWS Top Engineer and Japan All AWS Certifications Engineer awards is the result of continuous output activities. As the thinking that supported these activities, I have practiced the "6 Growth Principles" that I systematized through years of experience and trial-and-error.

Looking back on these six years, I realize that the recognition itself was not the purpose, but by using it as a milestone for continuous learning and output activities to keep up with cutting-edge IT trends, I was able to achieve sustainable growth as a technologist.

Through continuous activities, I was able to obtain the following values:

• Establishing proactive action: Continuous growth not influenced by external environments
• Continuous observation and analysis: Objectively understanding the effectiveness of my activities and achieving continuous improvement
• Setting immutable goals and priorities: Strategic activities toward long-term goals and concentrated investment in important activities
• Continuous self-update: Adaptation to changing technological environments
• Creating originality: Providing irreplaceable value based on actual experience and unique perspectives
• Promoting mutual understanding and synergistic effects: Creating results that exceed individual capabilities through mutual understanding and cooperation with readers and collaborators

While this approach was effective for me, I understand that various methodologies and frameworks suited to individual values, professional goals, and work styles are effective for each technologist. I believe what's important is finding a sustainable system that fits oneself.

In the current generative AI era, the skills required of technologists and methods of value creation are changing significantly. Even in such a rapidly changing environment, I believe that by having basic principles while adapting flexibly, we can continue to provide valuable output in the new era.

Going forward, while responding to changing technology trends, I want to continue providing valuable information to more engineers through continuous output activities. I hope this experience will serve as a reference for technologists who similarly want to continue output activities.