Managing for Creativity in Japan Talking with Foreign Executives in Japan
Communication
Marking Territory vs. Teaching a Race
“…Later though you find out that they were thinking “what an asshole”….”
Rewire your Thinking, Learn to Communicate
“…people here are actually really interested in what you are going to say but the issue is working out how to communicate your message…”
Advice for Managers in Japan
“….It’s a case of really, genuinely, listening, and that’s a challenge….”
Country Specific Skills
“…I think that there is a reason why you are being brought in as a foreigner. You’re not brought in because you’re able to fit in….”
Characteristics of a Successful Manager
“….there is probably a heavier emphasis on the ability to trust and rely on others, and to listen intuitively…..”
Becoming More Collaborative
“…and you also don’t want to make your clients look bad by knowing more than them…… That’s fatal to creativity….”
Observe and Listen
“…60% of everything the Japanese people do is non-verbal….”
On Learning Japanese
“…take six-months or a year to study the language first and then come into the job…”
People First
“In Japan, the most successful managers are people that care about people. I think that you can make a lot of mistakes (and get away with it) if people think that you are doing it for the right reasons. You can create a lot of change and discomfort if people understand that your motivations are [...]
Buy-In
“Getting very busy people to carve out 3-days to do an off-site session was hard but you know once they did it some of those managers would go out on as many as four or five. These are heads of function of one of the busiest organizations on earth. Once they saw the value they [...]
Advice to New Managers
“I suppose that I would let them know that people management is quite a big part of the job here. I wouldn’t talk about individuals at that point because they need to form their own opinions on the team – who’s good and who isn’t. But the team here has worked together for a long [...]
The Chorei (朝礼)
“There are office routines that are quite uniquely Japanese. Like for instance every morning there is a ‘chorei’ which is like a stand up, quickie meeting, just to get everyone on side, introducing media clippings and that kind of thing. This is a very healthy thing but I think that very few Western companies would [...]
Advice to Newcomers
“Take it easy. Take a good look around before you change anything. Don’t come in like a tornado – unless of course there is some kind of crisis and you have to do something in an emergency fashion. Go through the process. Make sure that the staff sees that you are trying to learn, you [...]
The Cultural Interpreter
“There is a lot of non-verbal communication in Japan and you can’t expect a new foreigner to come in at senior manager or CEO level and understand all of that. They can, however, understand having a cultural interpreter is essential and very often a foreigner who has been in Japan for a long time is [...]
Communication is Key
“Creating an innovative environment of change in Japan is a tricky cross-cultural thing. You have a foreign manager driving change and potentially creating discord. If you do it well maybe you don’t have to be disliked though, as long as everyone understands what you are trying to do. That comes down to good communication.” **************************************************** [...]
