255 Own the Mistake Or Lose The Customer
The Japan Business Mastery Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Release Date: 06/19/2025
256 Your Presentations Is Mind Numbing And Brand Destroying
The Japan Business Mastery Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
We watched a big-name company blow a golden opportunity. The speaker was the President, and he had a dramatic story to tell—corporate crisis, media attacks, public apologies, and a redemption arc. Yet his presentation landed like a lead balloon. Why? Because he delivered it in a lifeless monotone, with no energy, emotion, or storytelling. It was a flat narrative built around a dull slide deck that never got lift off. This wasn’t just a bad speech—it was a brand-damaging catastrophe of a speech. And it reminds of David Ogilvy’s tomato soup story: when asked why he didn’t promote...
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255 Own the Mistake Or Lose The Customer
The Japan Business Mastery Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Things go wrong. That’s life in business. Mistakes, delays, accidents — they’re inevitable. But the real difference is how we handle them when they occur. In Japan, people expect you to own the mistake, not hide from it. Silence, excuses, or blaming the customer won’t work. In fact, they can do invisible, long-term damage to your reputation — the kind you won’t see on a balance sheet, but it’s there, quietly draining future revenue. We’ve seen projects nine months late, completely off the mark, and somehow the provider still tried to flip the blame onto the client. That’s not...
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254 Cease Your "Three-Day Priest" Mentality
The Japan Business Mastery Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
The Japanese saying "mikka bozu," or "three-day priest," perfectly captures the common experience of initial enthusiasm quickly fading. People sign up for the priesthood, find it tough and promptly give up. We often begin new endeavours with resolute resolve, but daily challenges diminish our commitment. If you feel yourself teetering on the brink, don't be discouraged. Instead, reassess your goals and focus on what's achievable to build momentum. It's easy to fall into an all-or-nothing mindset with resolutions, leading to complete collapse and abandonment when reality sets in. We should...
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253 Ace Your Team Pitch Or Face Oblivion
The Japan Business Mastery Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Team presentations differ significantly from solo presentations, where you have complete control. A common mistake is inadequate rehearsal, which can damage personal and organizational reputations. Thorough preparation with multiple rehearsal sessions is crucial. The order of speakers matters too. The strongest presenters should lead to create a positive first impression, while technical, nerdy experts can present in the middle. Be careful to not allow mechanical slide creation consume all the preparation time; practicing soft skills are also super...
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252 The Classic Sales Brush Off In Japan
The Japan Business Mastery Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
In Japan, the common response of “We’ll think about it” often comes after a salesperson’s second meeting with a client. The first meeting focuses on establishing trust and understanding the client’s needs, while the second involves presenting a proposal and trying to close the deal. However, the reality is different: many Japanese salespeople jump straight into pitching their product’s features without fully understanding the client’s needs, leading to this vague response. This happens because they often miss out on clarifying the client’s true objections, which could be hidden...
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251 Accountability
The Japan Business Mastery Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Holding people accountable is essential for any leader, yet many struggle with it, leading to missed deadlines, poor performance, and incomplete work. Often, this happens because people aren’t deliberately failing; they’re simply lacking the structure and guidance needed to perform at their best. As leaders, we must start with ourselves, particularly in managing our time effectively. Poor time management causes unnecessary stress, impacting both our own performance and the mood of the team. Stress is contagious, and a leader's mood can easily affect the entire workplace atmosphere. A major...
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250 Mindset for Presentations
The Japan Business Mastery Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Our mindset is key to success in any activity, whether it's sports, business, or public speaking. Yet, many of us forget this vital aspect when preparing for presentations. We dive straight into the content, logistics, and technicalities without pausing to ensure we have the right mental attitude. Since a presentation puts both our personal and professional brand on display, it’s important to get this right. Confidence is crucial for any presenter, especially when dealing with nervousness. Even if we're feeling uncertain or anxious, we must hide that from the audience. Hesitation can destroy...
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249 Case Studies For Sales
The Japan Business Mastery Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Getting Japanese clients to agree to share case studies can be tough due to their cautious approach to divulging company information. The “no” response often feels final, and persuasion can fall short because company policies prevent employees from deviating from established rules. It’s not uncommon for clients to fear favoring one provider over another, which leads to reluctance in making exceptions. This reluctance may seem frustrating to outsiders, but it’s a challenge that requires creativity and strategic thinking. Instead of giving up on case studies altogether, we can create two...
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248 Top Leader Challenges
The Japan Business Mastery Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Running a successful business requires sharp focus on cost control, maintaining quality, building the brand, staying alert to competitors, and appealing to stakeholders. However, a growing challenge in today's business world is managing people. In Japan, there’s a rising concern about attracting and retaining qualified staff. The once abundant pool of candidates is shrinking, with more industries facing staffing shortages. Employees now have multiple job options, making it essential for businesses to stand out and ensure they keep their employees satisfied. People don't leave companies, they...
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247 Deep and Broad Presenting
The Japan Business Mastery Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
When delivering a great presentation, it's easy to feel satisfied, especially when the audience is soaking up your content. But the challenge comes when things are going well, and you want to elevate them to the next level. I recently attended a presentation where the speaker nailed it: the content was relevant, the room was packed, and the delivery was top-notch. But even with all these elements in place, there was still one thing missing that could have made the presentation even more powerful. The speaker did a fantastic job presenting broad industry trends and future projections, which...
info_outlineThings go wrong. That’s life in business. Mistakes, delays, accidents — they’re inevitable. But the real difference is how we handle them when they occur. In Japan, people expect you to own the mistake, not hide from it. Silence, excuses, or blaming the customer won’t work. In fact, they can do invisible, long-term damage to your reputation — the kind you won’t see on a balance sheet, but it’s there, quietly draining future revenue.
We’ve seen projects nine months late, completely off the mark, and somehow the provider still tried to flip the blame onto the client. That’s not just bad service — that’s selfish. And selfish service providers don’t last long in Japan.
Make yourself easy to contact. So many online services are terrible for this. If you have a problem, trying to find what you can do about it on their website is a nightmare. Don’t be like that and hide behind generic emails or faceless websites. Put your name out there and be reachable. Your team will often try to shield you from problems — don’t let them. Get close to the issues.
And don’t be mealy-mouthed about it. If the customer says the service failed, admit it — because their perception is your reality. Trust is far more valuable than the money involved.
Every staff member, even part-time workers or foreign trainees, must be trained to handle mistakes. Not just what to do, but why we do it. Without that clarity, you’re relying on “common sense,” and we all know how “uncommon” and unreliable that can be.
We need to build systems, language, and culture around recovery. Let’s train our people, get them to buy in to our values, and keep repeating it until it sinks in. When things go wrong — and they will — let’s make sure we respond in a way that earns loyalty, not regret.