Mar 22, 2010
Risk Roundup 001: Prescriptive Clients
“Clients in this country do not want to take risks, and they have a need for control and detailed input. That can tend to kill the creativity”.(i)
Client relationships are perceived as being very resource intensive in terms of (1) communication/interaction and (2) prescription.
High communication and interaction requirements result in little time for reflection and low margin for error, increasing employee risk aversion. Perceived over-prescription of project details (according to proven methods and approaches (see ‘Need for Structure’) decreases flexibility to utilize the supplier’s specialist knowledge to explore alternative solutions – “If there is no demand for creative response then there will be none. I think that the whole structure of the way decisions are made mitigates against creativity”.(ii)
This effect may be compounded by (1) the relative importance of trust and relationships over experience and skills in Japan – “It is harder to earn trust here [and get people to take a risk]….whatever experience you have in the West doesn’t really matter, it doesn’t translate”(iii) and (2) fear.
It is important to note that in the client role non-Japanese managers may face difficulty with the expectation of prescriptive-ness from suppliers. Compared to the “here’s what we need done, you’re the experts I’ll come back when it’s finished” relationship which was perceived as more typical in the West there may be a lot more ‘hand-holding’ and ‘face time’ involved as a non-Japanese client of Japanese suppliers.
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This post is part of a series of excerpts from interviews with foreign executives in Japan, focusing on creativity. Excerpts have been edited for confidentiality.
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Personal Communication from consultant with deep experience in Japan: “At least in my case, clients want me to know more than them and bring that knowledge….maybe it’s more like ‘don’t make clients uncomfortable by proposing something too out of the box’.”