Encore: Harry Hill Previous CEO of Shop Japan
Japan's Top Business Interviews Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Release Date: 10/25/2024
Japan's Top Business Interviews Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Previously Miyoko was Tiffany’s Vice-President Global Sales, International Operations, Vice-President Japan Division, Director - International Japan, Account Associate, Coordinator Ala Moana Store, Coordinator/Manager Global Trade Business. Summary: Key Points on Leading in Japan Miyoko Demey, former President of Tiffany Japan, shares valuable insights on leadership in Japan based on her thirty-year career with Tiffany, spanning the U.S. and Japan. Her experiences underscore the importance of curiosity, respect, communication, and adaptability when leading in a complex cultural...
info_outline 227 Johhny Yoo, CEO WeWork JapanJapan's Top Business Interviews Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Previously Johhny was Vice-President and Corporate Officer Softbank Corp (mobile) Entrepreneur AgiTech Company, Trade/Investor Multiple Global Brokers and Hedge Fund. He was educated at the University of California, Berkeley. Summary Here are the key leadership principles and actions to follow, based on JohnnyYoo’s insights from his experience at WeWork Japan: Adapt to Crises and Pivot When Needed: Be open to reassessing your career or leadership approach when significant events or crises arise. Adaptability is crucial, and sometimes major shifts can offer new opportunities for...
info_outline 226 Emmanuel Marchat, Representative Director Stahl, JapanJapan's Top Business Interviews Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Previously Emmanuel was the Representative Director for Camso (Michelin Japan and Korea), General Manager European Project Sumitomo Riko, Business Development Director Japan and Korea EFI Automotive, Customer Service Manager PPG Industries, Marketing and sales Michelin, Market Research Staubli. He has an MBA in International Management and Japanese Business & Culture from the Universite de Rennes 1.
info_outline Ross Rowbury, Previous President of EdelmanJapan's Top Business Interviews Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Ross Rowbury, Previous President of Edelman Japan, celebrated his 40th anniversary since first arriving in Japan as a Rotary Youth Exchange student. Mr. Rowbury began his career in the finance sector in banking and securities before moving on to PR roles specializing in finances. With several years of leadership experience in foreign financial firms, Mr. Rowbury made a smooth transition into PR where he embraced the creative and engagement aspect of the industry. As the President of Edelman, the largest foreign PR firm in Japan with a rapidly growing team, Mr. Rowbury strives for strong...
info_outline Jeremy Sampson, Previous Managing Director of Robert Walters Japan, now CEO N.E. Asia and Greater ChinaJapan's Top Business Interviews Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Jeremy Sampson, Managing Director of Robert Walters Japan, originally started his career at Hilton Hotel in Australia, before moving to Japan to teach English. He joined Robert Walters as an Associate in 2005. In 2008, Mr. Sampson became the team manager specializing in manufacturing and heavy industries, coinciding with the Global Financial Crisis. Looking back, Mr. Sampson thinks of this difficult time as a “year of learning” in which he worked to instil “great habits, great processes, and great discipline.” This put his team in a strong position when the market rebounded in...
info_outline Paul Hardisty Current President Ralph Lauren Japan, Previous President Adidas JapanJapan's Top Business Interviews Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Once you walk the talk over a given period of time as a leader, you gain trust, and then people will follow you, instead of just doing what you say. Then you start getting buy-in and ideas and you can work cross-functionally. On engagement surveys, if you are giving a very low score, then you should not be coming into the office. If you are not going to be part of the solution, then you should reconsider your career and job. Engagement scores however tend to coincide with big decisions, e.g. head count freezes has a negative impact on scores, but bonus time has a positive impact. It is...
info_outline Seiichiro Asakawa, Previous President Tokyo Chemical IndustriesJapan's Top Business Interviews Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
As a leader, I learned to not compete on things I did not have expertise in. I had a financial background, not a technical background, so there was no use trying to convince technically strong employees on that front – I had to use financial data as facts in order to convince my employees to accept that things needed to change in order to grow on the global scale that I wanted. While I accept there are differences in practices between cultures, I think the basics of people are the same. People are motivated to learn, to grow, to advance. Young people particularly, regardless of culture, are...
info_outline Laurent Depus, Previous President of Natixis Japan SecuritiesJapan's Top Business Interviews Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Laurent Depus, President of Natixis Japan Securities, the Japanese branch of French bank corporation Natixis, has been working in Japan for over 30 years. Originally from Belgium, he aimed to become an English and Spanish interpreter but changed his career course when he joined Chase Manhattan Bank in Luxemburg as a trader. After experiencing various management positions in the financial sector, Mr. Depus joined Natixis in 2014. Mr. Depus observes successful organizations need to establish three main pillars. First is to have a profitable business model. Second is to have regulated governance....
info_outline Encore: Harry Hill Previous CEO of Shop JapanJapan's Top Business Interviews Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Summary When you lead people, you have to lead them in a way they are going to follow. In Japan, when you teach a class, you line people up in order of seniority and you stand in front of the class. It seems very regimented but everyone is perfectly comfortable because they know their role and where they are supposed to be so that allows for performance to be maximized. In the USA, that kind of a set up would make everyone very uncomfortable and inclined to rebel. To make people feel comfortable and improve performance in the USA, its better to put everyone in a circle so there is no feeling...
info_outline 225 Bela Schweiger, Previous Vice-President and Board Director at Haagen Dazs JapanJapan's Top Business Interviews Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Today Bela is the Chief Executive of Sans Frontiers Enter Japan K.K., Board Advisor to Soul Mate Company, Senior Executive at Life Lab Inc., and previously Adjunct Professor at Temple University, Vice-President and Board Director at Haagen Dazs Japan, Head of Marketing Nokia Japan & Korea, Management Consultant at Schweiger Marketing & Co., Director Of Marketing at Western Union Financial Services Dubai, Director of Innovation Coca Cola Austria, Country Manager L’Oreal S.A. Hungary, Marketing Director Diageo Hungary.
info_outlineSummary
When you lead people, you have to lead them in a way they are going to follow. In Japan, when you teach a class, you line people up in order of seniority and you stand in front of the class. It seems very regimented but everyone is perfectly comfortable because they know their role and where they are supposed to be so that allows for performance to be maximized. In the USA, that kind of a set up would make everyone very uncomfortable and inclined to rebel. To make people feel comfortable and improve performance in the USA, its better to put everyone in a circle so there is no feeling of unnecessary hierarchy. Now, sometimes its useful to put people in uncomfortable situations as a way to challenge them but you need to do it with a specific purpose in mind and that is a call you need as a leader need to make.
A good culture is one where there is a shared sense of purpose and values, and being very upfront about tying that purpose to the actions you/your team are taking. You have to be consistent about that, because especially in Japan, that is the difference between creating a winning culture and a chaotic culture. A shared sense of purpose, professionalism and empowerment create sustainability, where your team can deal with the highs and lows.
In the Shop Japan Business, I looked at our call centre staff as extensions of the customer. They understood the customer because they spent so long speaking to them every day so they took on characteristics of the customer.VOC stands for voice of the customer but really it was at least 50% the voice of the communicator (our call centre staff). It helped us turn morale around because we actively listened and heard. Especially in Japan, if you show that the least empowered voice is going to be listened to, you create a tremendous amount of morale. It also creates innovation – if every new idea has to come from the top, then you are in big trouble.
I always caution Western leaders unfamiliar with Japan is to not fill up empty space. Ask a question and hold yourself back as the silence drags and wait for an opinion. Also try to never have the first word. Let someone else conduct the meeting and then at the end bring things together.
While the easiest way to teach in Japan is to line everyone up, the easiest way to run a meeting is to be overly attentive and give everyone the opportunity to voice their opinion.Getting buy-in from your Japanese team is really hard but when you get that buy-in, you absolutely over-perform.
Japanese employees are looking to make a long-term emotional commitment to where they work so they look for the same level of commitment from their leaders. For foreign leaders on 3 – 5 year postings, I recommend not just speaking with your inner circle. Everyone is meaningful, so have different events where you can show that you are caring about the voice of your employees and avoid being too focused on one group over others, gives you a balanced view of what is going on in the organization.
My acronym for leadership is VICES, which stands for vision, integrity, competency, efficiency and sustained success.
Poor performance and good performance are easy to deal with. It is mediocre performance that is more difficult to deal with.
Trust your people, let them know they are trusted but that it is an open process where people are also accountable.
New leaders need to be patient. The leader that will make the biggest changes is the one that listens and truly gains insight
Identify who are the biggest obstacles in your organization and remove them immediately and publicly. This is the only way that engagement, empathy and trust principles work.