Managing for Creativity in Japan Talking with Foreign Executives in Japan

Fuck Ups

The companies we deal with constantly, constantly, fuck up in their dealings with the West – you know all that ‘shou ga nai’ (‘it can’t be helped’) attitude. That kind of thinking just doesn’t cut it when you are dealing with international brands in the international stage. The Japanese way, you know, works in Japan but it doesn’t work anywhere else. You have to like it or lump it. Japanese companies that are smart are working out that it is very important to have a more Western way of thinking if you are going to be working internationally.