Managing for Creativity in Japan » open mind

To Be Successful in Japan

Chris Berthelsen — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 02:00:48 +0000

“You have to like working in Japan to be successful, you have to like Japanese people, and part of that comes through understanding things and not finding it frustrating. If you constantly find everything they do totally frustrating you probably just don’t get why they are doing it. This is a factor of both cultural awareness and also personal characteristics. You have to be a bit of a fan of the culture I think, with an open mind and tolerance for different ways of doing things. High tolerance for ambiguity also helps – working within the big picture without understanding it all. You really have to be able to work within shades of grey in Japan because you often don’t know exactly what is going on behind the scenes, no matter how long you have been here.”

Mind Opening

Chris Berthelsen — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:00:27 +0000

Coming over here allowed me to open up my mind to different things and ways of thinking. I am becoming more and more fascinated with it because it is opening up a new way of thought for me. Cities like Kyoto and the creativity that went into that, it’s very unique thought and I think that is what is really starting to fascinate me about Japan – this unique thought. The fact that they do do things differently is really interesting. I am constantly falling in love with this city and I think it has made me a better person. I am still incredibility impatient but that gives me worth here, I can’t lose that aspect of being a Westerner, that’s what people pay me for. At the same time I’ve been able to examine other parts of my personality. In our industry I think that if I was living in West there would be so many things to take my attention away from what I am doing but here in Japan I can be very focused.

Broad Minded Employees

Chris Berthelsen — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 23:00:45 +0000

My staff are foreign educated. One went to the London School of Economics, has lived in Paris, speaks three languages and really loves our industry. Another was educated in America. So, we are dealing with people who are a little bit different, who have a different way of looking at things and have seen other systems in other parts of the world. They are young, and not necessarily steeped in the old ways. They haven’t worked underneath other Japanese companies in our industry so they don’t have this kind of robotic (or moronic) way of working instilled in them. They have a Western outlook towards work, but they are still respectful Japanese individuals…the Japanese companies we deal with on the other hand are just ridiculous.

On Being Open

Chris Berthelsen — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 23:00:26 +0000

“I think that compared to someone who is going to bully people into doing what they want them to do, being open to listening and exploring and really trying to understand is the key to success. How they embrace the culture is important. I know people that go from their home to their office to the Tokyo American Club to a few restaurants in Roppongi or Nishi-Azabu and then home again and they never really understand Japan. They complain about how not everybody speaks English and how not all signs are in English. Clearly they are here because their company made them come here, or they felt that it would be “curious” or a “good experience” for a couple of years. Compare these people to those that come here and either see the bigger picture of what they are trying to do for their business or are genuinely interested in Japan.

(CB: So with a given head office, those two type of people would go about their work differently of course and have different results…..)

I think so. Of course, sometimes consummate bullies who are the CEOs or top management of companies can still get good results because they just force people to do things. But when they leave there is a trail of damage that the next guy has to come in and clean up. So it’s not really success in the long term. It’s a selfish result and when I say selfish I don’t necessarily mean that they are trying to be mean on purpose. Maybe the pressure that is put on them by head office is forcing them the act in a certain way.

(CB: And is this something that is particular to Japan or something you have witnessed with ex-pats in other countries too?)

Good question. People that I know that have gone say, from America to the U.K. or the U.K. to America have also found a world of difference. So I do think that yeah, there are cultural risks wherever you go but at least in other cases the language is the same and there are a lot more cultural cues which can help people to adjust and relate and get by faster. When you come to Japan from the West there are no cultural signposts (or physical signposts) to help you. I remember the first time I moved here I was living in Daikanyama and I wanted to go see a movie. I tried and I couldn’t find a movie theater in Shibuya and I actually went home in defeat. The next weekend, I was so pissed off at myself that I went back and did it again and I found it and even though the movie was terrible I felt like Rocky at the top of the steps you know – “I did it! I found my way!” – So regardless of whatever ex-pat or academic safety net you have it is still like being on another planet for a while until you find your way. Much more so I think than moving from New York to London or Singapore to Auckland, for example.”

Contribute, Don’t Preach

Chris Berthelsen — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:00:19 +0000

“Another thing particular to Japan is that a lot of foreigners come here, particularly in our industry, to ‘teach people how to do things right’ - an attitude of ‘we’ll teach these guys consulting’ ‘we’ll teach these guys research’ and so on and so on. In my 10-12 years of being here I have seen so many people like that. We try not to be that way as a company and as individuals because unless you are talking about mathematics there is never only one way to do something. Also, the society and culture here is so advanced that it would not be relevant to act that way. Really, if Japan had enough natural resources they wouldn’t need anybody here at all. They’d just be exporting stuff.

In my career here when I have come across negative things I have had to be very sensitive to the fact that I am not here to teach. In a lot of developing markets (of which Japan is not one, of course) people are open and looking for new ideas – “show me how to open a factory” “show me how to run a store”, that kind of thing. I went to Vietnam a little while ago and was so impressed with how open-minded everybody is. They want to learn. In Japan however, there has always been this bubble of “well in Japan we do things this way”. I understand it as a kind of attitude of “we know how to do things, so contribute to it or add to it but don’t tell us how to do it like you think we don’t know how to do it”. I have always tried to be sensitive in that area.”