Leaders Having Visions Were Disparaged
THE Leadership Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Release Date: 09/10/2025
The Five Drivers of Leadership Success
THE Leadership Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
When markets are kind, anyone can look like a genius. The test arrives when conditions turn—your systems, skills, and character decide what happens next. What are the five drivers every leader must master? The five drivers are: Self Direction, People Skills, Process Skills, Communication, and Accountability. Mastering all five creates resilient performance across cycles. In boom times (think pre-pandemic luxury hotels in Japan) tailwinds mask weak leadership; in shocks (closed borders, supply chain crunches) only strong drivers keep teams delivering. As of 2025, executives in...
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Balancing People and Process—and Leading and Doing
THE Leadership Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Newly promoted and still stuck in “super-doer” mode? Here’s how to rebalance control, culture, and delegation so the whole team scales—safely and fast. Why do new managers struggle when they’re promoted from “star doer” to “leader”? Because your brain stays in production mode while your job has shifted to people, culture, and systems. After promotion, you’re accountable not only for your own KPIs but for the entire team’s outcomes. It’s tempting to cling to tasks you control—dashboards, sequencing, reporting—because they’re tangible and quick wins. But...
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How to Stop Forgetting Things
THE Leadership Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Feeling busier and more distracted than last year? You’re not imagining it—and you’re not powerless. This guide turns a simple “peg” memory method into a fast, executive-friendly workflow you can use on the spot. Why do we forget more at work—and what actually helps right now? We forget because working memory is tiny and modern work shreds attention; the fix is to externalise what you can and anchor what you can’t. As channels multiply—email, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Line, Telegram—messages blur and retrieval costs explode. First, move details out of your head and into...
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The Right Japan Workplace Culture
THE Leadership Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
How to reshape culture in Japan without breaking what already works. What is the first question leaders should ask when inheriting a Japanese workplace? Start by asking better questions, not hunting faster answers. Before imposing a global “fix,” map what already works in the Japan business and why. In post-pandemic 2025, multinationals from Toyota to Rakuten show that culture is a system of trade-offs—language, seniority, risk appetite, client expectations—not a slogan. Western playbooks prize decisive answers; Japan prizes deciding the right questions. That shift...
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How To Remember People’s Names at Networking and Business Events
THE Leadership Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Short intro: Forgetting names kills first impressions. The good news: a few simple, repeatable techniques can make you memorable and help you recall others—consistently, even in noisy, post-pandemic mixers and business events. Is there a simple way to say my name so people actually remember it? Yes: use “Pause, Part, Punch.” Pause before you speak, insert a brief “part” between your first and last name, then punch (emphasise) your surname. The pause stops the mental scroll, the parting creates a clean boundary (helpful in loud rooms or across accents), and...
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The Boss Must Become the Human Alternative to AI
THE Leadership Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Why authentic leadership is vital in 2025, when AI is everywhere Back in 2021, the big conversation was about chatbots and holograms. Today, in 2025, AI has gone far beyond that. Tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and countless others are now part of daily life—at home and at work. They generate reports, answer questions, and even simulate empathy in conversation. For many, they feel like a companion. But there is a dark side. We now read disturbing stories of unstable people encouraged by AI interactions to harm themselves or take their own lives. This isn’t science fiction. It’s...
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No Change Agents Needed in Japan
THE Leadership Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Why foreign “hammers” fail and what leaders must do differently in 2025 For decades, foreign companies entering Japan have repeated the same mistake: dispatching a “change agent” from HQ to shake things up. The scenario often ends in disaster. Relationships are broken, trust collapses, and revenues fall. In 2025, the lesson is clear—Japan doesn’t need hammers. It needs builders who listen, localise, and lead with respect. Why do foreign change agents so often fail in Japan? Most fail because they arrive as “hammers,” assuming Japanese organisations are nails to be pounded....
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Should the Leader Concede?
THE Leadership Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Balancing strength and flexibility in leadership in 2025 Leaders are often told to “never surrender” and “winners don’t quit.” At the same time, they are also expected to be flexible, adaptable, and open to change. These opposing demands resemble the yin-yang symbol—two seemingly contradictory forces that must coexist. As of 2025, when Japanese and global organisations face complex challenges from AI disruption to demographic decline, the real question is: should leaders concede, and if so, when? Why are leaders expected to be both tough and flexible? Leadership has long been...
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Leaders Sensing Versus Managers Knowing
THE Leadership Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Why leadership requires sensing and feeling, not just knowing, in 2025 Managers often prioritise what they “know,” while leaders rely more on what they “sense” and “feel.” This distinction, popularised by executive coach Marcel Danne, is more than semantics—it highlights a profound difference in mindset. As of 2025, with Japan navigating demographic challenges, digital disruption, and global uncertainty, the ability to sense and adapt has become more critical than simply knowing facts. What’s the difference between managers and leaders in decision-making? Managers tend to...
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Leaders Having Visions Were Disparaged
THE Leadership Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Why vision, mission, and values still matter in 2025—if leaders make them real Not long ago, talking about “vision” often invited sneers. Leaders who spoke about visions were mocked as spouting psychobabble. Part of the cynicism came from the poor quality of early vision statements—trite platitudes that could double as sleeping aids. But times have changed. In 2025, vision, mission, and values are essential leadership tools, yet most organisations still struggle to make them resonate with staff. Why were visions mocked in the past? In the 1980s and 1990s, many vision statements were...
info_outlineWhy vision, mission, and values still matter in 2025—if leaders make them real
Not long ago, talking about “vision” often invited sneers. Leaders who spoke about visions were mocked as spouting psychobabble. Part of the cynicism came from the poor quality of early vision statements—trite platitudes that could double as sleeping aids. But times have changed. In 2025, vision, mission, and values are essential leadership tools, yet most organisations still struggle to make them resonate with staff.
Why were visions mocked in the past?
In the 1980s and 1990s, many vision statements were badly written—either too vague, too long, or too clichéd. Employees saw them as irrelevant. Cynical cultures, like Australia’s, dismissed them as hollow leadership exercises.
Fast-forward to today, and vision has become mainstream. Companies in Japan, the US, and Europe frame it as a strategic anchor. But credibility remains the challenge: if employees can’t recall the vision, they can’t live it.
Mini-Summary: Early visions failed because they were clichéd or irrelevant. Today they are vital, but only if staff remember and act on them.
Do employees actually know their company’s vision, mission, and values?
Research and field experience suggest most don’t. Trainers often test this by flipping framed statements on the wall and asking staff to recite them. Typically, no one remembers the vision or mission, and at best, a few values.
In Japan, where employees pride themselves on discipline and detail, this gap is striking. It shows that leadership communication is failing. Employees can’t live what they can’t recall.
Mini-Summary: Most employees cannot recite their organisation’s vision, mission, or values—evidence that communication and ownership are missing.
Why do so many statements fail to inspire?
There are two extremes: bloated statements too long to recall, or cut-down slogans so short they become vapid clichés. Both kill engagement. Worse, leaders often draft them alone, without wordsmithing skills or input from employees.
Even when teams co-create content, turnover means newcomers feel no ownership. In Japan, where lifetime employment has eroded, this turnover effect is magnified. Leaders must find mechanisms to refresh ownership constantly.
Mini-Summary: Vision and value statements fail when they’re too long, too short, or disconnected from employees—especially in high-turnover environments.
What practices help embed vision into daily work?
One proven method is daily repetition. Ritz-Carlton Hotels review their values at every shift worldwide, with even junior staff leading the discussion. Inspired by this, Dale Carnegie Tokyo holds a “Daily Dale” every morning, where team members take turns to lead the session and recites the vision, mission, and values and discuss one of 60 Dale Carnegie Human Relations Principles.
This practice ensures even new hires quickly internalise the culture. Egalitarian leadership—having secretaries, not just presidents, lead—also deepens ownership.
Mini-Summary: Embedding vision requires daily rituals, repetition, and egalitarian involvement, not just posters on walls.
Should companies also create a “strategic vision”?
Yes. Many visions describe identity—who we are and what we stand for—but not direction. During the pandemic, Dale Carnegie Tokyo added a “Strategic Vision” to articulate where the company was heading.
In 2025, with Japan navigating digital transformation, demographic decline, and global competition, leaders need both: a cultural compass (vision, mission, values) and a directional map (strategic vision). Without both, organisations drift.
Mini-Summary: Companies need two visions: a cultural compass for identity, and a strategic vision for direction—especially in turbulent times.
How can leaders bring visions to life in 2025?
Leaders must test whether employees know the vision, mission, and values. If they don’t, leaders should redesign communication and embedding processes. Mechanisms like daily recitation, story-sharing, and recognition linked to values make culture tangible.
The post-pandemic world has raised expectations: employees want meaningful work, and customers want values-driven partners. Leaders who treat vision statements as wallpaper risk being left behind.
Mini-Summary: Leaders bring visions to life by testing recall, embedding practices into daily routines, and aligning recognition with values.
Conclusion
Vision, mission, and values were once dismissed as leadership fluff. Today, they are essential but often forgotten or poorly implemented. In 2025, leaders in Japan and globally must transform them into living tools—clear, repeatable, and tied to both culture and strategy. If your team can’t recite your vision, mission, and values today, you don’t have a culture—you have a poster.
About the Author
Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie “One Carnegie Award” (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales, and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results.
He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery, and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have also been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban “Hito o Ugokasu” Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー).
In addition to his books, Greg publishes daily blogs on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, offering practical insights on leadership, communication, and Japanese business culture. He is also the host of six weekly podcasts, including The Leadership Japan Series, The Sales Japan Series, The Presentations Japan Series, Japan Business Mastery, and Japan’s Top Business Interviews. On YouTube, he produces three weekly shows — The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery, and Japan’s Top Business Interviews — which have become leading resources for executives seeking strategies for success in Japan.