Japan's Top Business Interviews Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan

Japan's Top Business Interviews is the premier business interview podcast for people who want to know more about business in japan. The guests cover a range of industries and organisation sizes, to present a thorough overview of issues with leading in Japan. If you are a leader, especialy someone leading in Japan, then this is the podcast for you.

Paul Kraft - Previous Country Manager, Haribo Japan 05/01/2026

Paul Kraft - Previous Country Manager, Haribo Japan “The amount of time you need to spend listening in Japan is very high.” “You have to turn up your EQ sensitivity or your EQ radar very, very high.” “No matter what, love it.” “Feedback should be ninety percent positive.” “Leadership is achieving the organisation’s goal by maximising the potential of your team.” Paul Kraft is the Country Manager for Haribo in Japan and a seasoned food and beverage executive whose career has crossed global brands, entrepreneurial ventures, and distributor-led market development. His relationship with Japan began when he first visited in 1991 on a school trip after studying finance and economics, and he later returned to Osaka to teach English before building his early career in the United States as a product and brand manager in the frozen food sector. Starbucks then recruited him to establish its consumer packaged goods office in Tokyo, where his team expanded the brand beyond coffee shops into convenience store cup coffee, canned coffee, and dry coffee formats. He later launched Honey Baked Ham in Japan through an omnichannel strategy covering food service, retail, and online sales, before joining Nespresso to lead the business-to-business group serving hotels, restaurants, and off-premise clients. At Haribo, Kraft became the company’s first person on the ground in Japan, guiding the distributor, shaping strategy, and acting as the bridge between the Japanese market and the global organisation. His career arc reflects adaptability in Japan: learning when to push, when to listen, when to use nemawashi, how to reduce uncertainty, and how to lead through consensus, precedent, relationship depth, and trust. Paul Kraft’s leadership journey in Japan is a practical study in how global executives must adapt ambition, speed, and commercial logic to a business culture that places deep value on patience, consensus, trust, and emotional intelligence. His connection with Japan began in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Japanese business influence was highly visible internationally. Toyota, Japanese management methods, and major Japanese investments overseas created a sense that understanding Japan was essential for future business leaders. Kraft studied finance and economics, visited Japan for the first time in 1991, and fell in love with the country. After graduating, he returned to Osaka to teach English before moving back to the United States and entering the food business. His early food career gave him broad commercial exposure. He worked as a product and brand manager for a privately held frozen food company, handling brands across categories such as ice cream, pizza, and frozen egg rolls. He also gained experience in research, brand management, and mergers and acquisitions. The turning point came when Starbucks recruited him to return to Japan and set up a consumer packaged goods office in Tokyo. Within three months, he sold his cars, sold his house, gave away his tools, and moved to Japan. It was a decisive commitment to the market. At Starbucks, Kraft’s team was responsible for everything outside the coffee shops, including convenience store cup coffee, canned coffee, different drinks, and packaged coffee products. Japan’s vast convenience store network meant the business could scale dramatically. At one point, he believed Starbucks may have been selling more cups of coffee outside the stores than inside them. Yet the opportunity came with culture shock. Kraft encountered long, meandering meetings with Japanese partners where the purpose was not necessarily to decide, but to discuss. Coming from a Western business environment that valued agendas, pre-reads, data, speed, and explicit outcomes, he found this difficult. Partners might resist data, avoid firm conclusions, or reject new ideas because they had no precedent. This introduced one of Kraft’s central leadership lessons: frustration management is a business skill in Japan. He admits that in his early years he sometimes relied too much on visible frustration or forceful leadership. He learned that anger in Japan is not usually interpreted as strength. It is often seen as weak self-control, poor maturity, low self-awareness, and a failure to read the group. In a culture shaped by uncertainty avoidance and consensus, the leader who becomes known as a hothead loses influence. Kraft’s next major chapter, Honey Baked Ham, tested his entrepreneurial instincts. He cold-called the CEO of the American family-owned chain and convinced the company to support a Japan launch. The concept was unfamiliar in a market where honey-baked ham did not have obvious precedent. Kraft built an omnichannel model covering food service, a physical store, and online sales. He worked with local financial backers, freelancers, part-time staff, and a very lean team. The leadership challenge was not just selling a product, but selling belief. To attract employees and customers, he had to tell the story of the brand, offer the product directly, and reduce the perceived risk of joining or buying into something new. In Japan, he found that new ideas often need a “Japanese stamp of approval”. For Honey Baked Ham, that stamp came from the New Otani Hotel. Once the product was accepted by a respected, traditional, luxury Japanese hotel, the market could interpret it differently. It was no longer merely a foreign idea. It had local legitimacy. This is decision intelligence in a Japanese setting: understanding that data alone is not enough if social proof, trust signals, respected reference points, and emotional confidence are missing. At Nespresso, Kraft moved from entrepreneurial uncertainty into a highly structured global organisation. Nespresso, as part of Nestlé, had strong processes, operational discipline, monthly reviews, and clear accountability systems. Kraft led the business-to-business group, serving hotels, restaurants, and off-premise clients. There, he focused on weekly one-on-ones, feedback, and structure. He maintained regular conversations with direct reports, taking notes, sharing updates, listening to their updates, and discussing future deliverables. He also saw the value of monthly operational reviews where commitments were visible and specific: who would do what by when. Red, yellow, and green status tracking created accountability, but it also required leaders to prevent people from setting themselves up to fail. At Haribo, Kraft now leads largely through influence. Haribo had existed in Japan for decades through distributors, but Kraft became the first person representing the company directly on the ground. His role is to guide the distributor, shape strategy, interpret the Japanese market for the global organisation, and influence outcomes without necessarily controlling every lever. This is leadership through relationship rather than hierarchy. For Kraft, the answer lies in patience, small-group influence, and nemawashi. Large meetings with many distributor representatives are rarely where minds are changed. The real work happens in smaller conversations, offline follow-ups, and repeated explanations of why something matters. Across the interview, Kraft’s leadership philosophy is consistent. He advocates weekly one-on-ones, positive feedback, careful listening, written notes, high EQ, and learning Japanese. He believes leaders should look for people doing things right and tell them specifically. He also believes leaders should encourage initiative, especially in Japan, where proposing an idea can itself be a courageous act. Ultimately, Kraft defines leadership as achieving the organisation’s goal by maximising the potential of the team. In Japan, that means leading with EQ rather than ego, using structure without crushing people, building consensus without losing accountability, and understanding that influence is earned through patience, presence, and trust. Q&A Summary What makes leadership in Japan unique? Leadership in Japan is unique because authority alone is rarely enough to move people, partners, or organisations. Kraft’s experience shows that Japan places heavy emphasis on consensus, precedent, trust, and the emotional readiness of the group. A meeting may not be designed to make a decision in the Western sense. It may be designed to exchange views, test reactions, identify resistance, and prepare the ground for a later decision. This can frustrate executives who arrive expecting agendas, data, pre-reads, and immediate outcomes. However, in Japan, the visible meeting is often only one part of the decision-making process. The real work may occur before and after the formal meeting. This is where nemawashi becomes essential. Rather than forcing a decision in front of a large group, effective leaders work privately with stakeholders, listen to their concerns, explain the reason behind the proposal, and create alignment before asking for visible agreement. In some organisations, this may connect to formal mechanisms such as ringi-sho, where written proposals circulate for approval. Even when ringi-sho is not used formally, the underlying cultural logic remains: people want to avoid surprises, protect relationships, and reduce uncertainty before committing. Why do global executives struggle? Global executives struggle in Japan when they assume that leadership methods which worked elsewhere will automatically work here. Kraft describes coming from a Western environment where meetings were purposeful, decisions were expected, and data played a central role. In Japan, he encountered long discussions without agendas, partners who were not prepared to discuss data, and resistance to ideas because they had never been done before. For a Western leader, this can look inefficient or evasive. For Japanese counterparts, it may reflect caution, uncertainty avoidance, and the desire to avoid exposing the group to visible failure. Another reason global executives struggle is emotional pacing. Kraft admits that his own frustration management was a multi-year learning process. Early in his Japan career, he sometimes believed that a leader had to pound the table, push harder, or force things to happen. Over time, he realised that visible anger usually weakens credibility in Japan. It may be interpreted as poor self-control, low maturity, insufficient self-awareness, or an inability to operate inside the group. Leaders who become known as hotheads lose influence. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Kraft’s experience suggests that Japan is not simply risk-averse; it is highly sensitive to uncertainty, precedent, and failure visibility. People may resist new ideas not because they dislike innovation, but because they cannot forecast the outcome, cannot point to a precedent, or cannot see how failure will be managed. His Starbucks orange mocha example illustrates this clearly. Even with data and enthusiasm, Japanese counterparts resisted because they could not forecast something that had never been done before. The absence of precedent made the idea difficult to accept. At Honey Baked Ham, Kraft had to reduce uncertainty on multiple fronts. He needed employees to believe in a small start-up-like venture, customers to accept an unfamiliar product, and business partners to see legitimacy in the concept. He did this through storytelling, product sampling, financial backing, and visible local validation. The New Otani Hotel became a crucial Japanese stamp of approval. Once a respected Japanese institution accepted the product, the perceived risk fell. This is a useful lesson for leaders: in Japan, risk is often managed through social proof, credibility markers, and trusted reference points. Decision intelligence in Japan requires more than analysis. It requires understanding how people feel safe enough to act. What leadership style actually works? The leadership style that works in Japan is patient, structured, emotionally intelligent, and specific. Kraft repeatedly returns to the importance of weekly one-on-ones. He used them not as casual check-ins, but as disciplined leadership routines. He wrote down the person’s name, the date, his update, their update, the future focus, and the deliverables. Over time, this built trust and created a rhythm of communication. In Japan, where employees may hesitate to speak up in larger forums, one-on-ones provide a safer space for concerns, ideas, and coaching. Kraft also emphasises feedback, especially positive feedback. He argues that feedback should be ninety percent positive. This does not mean avoiding problems. It means noticing specific behaviours that should continue and reinforcing them. At Nespresso, Kraft also saw the value of structured accountability. Monthly operational reviews asked who would do what by when, using red-yellow-green status tracking. This helped cut through ambiguity and group responsibility. The most effective style is not soft consensus or hard command. It is a combination of empathy, structure, clarity, and support. How can technology help? Technology can help leadership in Japan when it reduces uncertainty, improves shared understanding, and supports better decision-making. Kraft’s career points repeatedly to the importance of data, forecasting, operational reviews, and structured follow-up. At Starbucks, he wanted data-driven conversations with partners. At Nespresso, process and dashboards made accountability visible. At Haribo, he works in a market where convenience stores are highly sophisticated and retail execution depends on understanding channels, forecasts, and consumer behaviour. Modern tools such as retail analytics, AI-supported forecasting, digital twins, scenario planning dashboards, and decision intelligence platforms can be powerful in Japan because they allow teams to test ideas before committing. In a high-consensus culture, technology can create a shared factual base. It can help people compare options, visualise consequences, and reduce the fear of the unknown. Digital twins, for example, can allow leaders to model supply chain, distribution, retail placement, or product launch scenarios without requiring immediate real-world commitment. This can lower emotional resistance and make decisions feel safer. However, technology cannot replace trust. In Japan, data may be necessary, but it is rarely sufficient. Leaders must still explain the why, conduct nemawashi, listen to objections, and create confidence among stakeholders. Does language proficiency matter? Language proficiency matters in Japan because it signals respect, commitment, and seriousness. Kraft says leaders should try to learn Japanese, even if they do not become fluent. Fluency helps a leader catch nuance, understand emotional tone, and communicate directly with employees, partners, and distributors. It also helps reduce the distance that can exist between a foreign executive and a Japanese team. In a market where trust is built slowly, the effort to learn the language can itself become a stamp of approval. That said, Kraft does not suggest that language ability alone makes someone an effective leader. A fluent but impatient leader can still fail. A non-fluent but humble, consistent, and respectful leader can still build trust. The key is effort. Trying to learn Japanese shows that the executive is not merely passing through. It shows they are willing to adapt to the local context, not simply demand that the local context adapt to them. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? The ultimate leadership lesson from Kraft’s experience is that leaders in Japan must maximise people’s potential by building trust, reducing uncertainty, and communicating with discipline. His definition is clear: leadership is achieving the organisation’s goal by maximising the potential of the team. That requires more than setting targets. It requires creating the conditions in which people can contribute, speak up, try ideas, receive feedback, and accept accountability without fear of humiliation. Kraft’s career shows that Japan rewards leaders who can operate as bridges. At Starbucks, he bridged global brand ambition and Japanese retail realities. At Honey Baked Ham, he bridged an unfamiliar American food concept and Japanese legitimacy signals. At Nespresso, he bridged global process discipline and local team development. At Haribo, he bridges headquarters, distributor partners, retailers, and the Japanese market. The best leaders in Japan do not abandon ambition. They adapt how ambition is communicated and implemented. They listen longer, give more positive feedback, use smaller meetings, manage their frustration, explain the why, and build consensus before demanding action. Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/41056030

Wolfgang Bierer — President of Endeavor SBC 04/25/2026

Wolfgang Bierer — President of Endeavor SBC “Leadership is really like leading by example.” “I come in. I listen a lot.” “Do what you say.” “You need to gain the trust of the people and show that you actually care.” “Everything can be trained.” Wolfgang Bierer is the President of Endeavor SBC and a long-term Japan business builder whose career has moved across engineering, consulting, retail, fashion, medical devices, software, and interim executive leadership. Originally from Germany, he studied electrical engineering at the University of Stuttgart and first came to Japan through a German government youth leader exchange program. That early exposure led to an internship at Hitachi Software Development Centre in Totsuka, which became a full-time role after he completed his master’s thesis at Mercedes in Germany. At Hitachi, Bierer experienced Japanese corporate life from the inside, including living in a men’s dormitory and working as one of the few foreigners in the organisation. He later moved into consulting, working with Swiss and German consulting firms and spending several years back in Germany, where he completed an executive MBA with the St. Gallen Business School. Regular assignments back to Japan eventually convinced him to return and build his own company. He founded Endeavor SBC after moving to Japan with his wife, two suitcases each, and €100,000 in savings. His first major consulting opportunity came through Adidas, where he helped rescue a troubled SAP project in Japan. From there, he built a reputation in performance-based consulting, inventory optimisation, process improvement, retail operations, and Japan market entry. Over time, he became involved in running, setting up, acquiring, or representing multiple companies, including German and European brands in software, fashion accessories, shoes, bags, and premium retail. Bierer’s adaptability in Japan comes from his willingness to get close to the work itself. He has sold products in stores, reorganised warehouses, built back-office systems, negotiated with department stores, hired staff, secured medical device licensing, and acted as interim president for companies entering or restructuring in Japan. His leadership is defined by hands-on execution, listening, process discipline, cross-business synergies, and earning trust through action rather than title. Wolfgang Bierer’s leadership story in Japan is not the conventional tale of an expatriate executive parachuted into a single subsidiary with a fixed playbook from headquarters. It is the story of a German engineer who entered Japan through curiosity, learned the operating reality of Japanese companies from the inside, and built a portfolio of businesses by combining process discipline, entrepreneurial risk-taking, and deep practical engagement with people. His first serious experience in Japan came through Hitachi, where he worked in software development and lived in a traditional men’s dormitory. That early exposure gave him more than technical experience. It gave him a grounded understanding of hierarchy, group dynamics, implicit communication, endurance, and the daily operating rhythm of Japanese corporate life. Rather than observing Japan from the outside, he experienced the systems and expectations that shape behaviour inside Japanese organisations. Bierer’s later move into consulting sharpened his ability to diagnose business processes. His work with Adidas in Japan, particularly around SAP and business process reform, became a launching point for Endeavor SBC. He developed a methodology centred on keeping systems standard wherever possible and changing the process rather than endlessly customising the software. That practical discipline reflects a key leadership question in Japan: how does a leader introduce change without creating unnecessary resistance? His answer is not to force transformation through slogans, but to make the process visible, measurable, and understandable. A recurring theme in his career is the difference between risk and uncertainty. Bierer accepts risk when he understands the process, the numbers, and the levers available to him. His performance-based consulting model, where compensation is tied to improved results, would seem risky to many executives. Yet for him, the uncertainty is reduced through data, inventory analysis, decision intelligence, and a clear view of waste. In industries such as fashion, sports, retail, and accessories, he sees inventory not as a static asset but as a source of hidden cost, operational drag, and strategic danger. His leadership style is highly hands-on. When entering a struggling company as interim president, he does not begin with distance, hierarchy, or command-and-control. He listens, studies the team, identifies cost drivers, and quickly looks for operational improvements. He believes leaders in Japan must be close enough to the work to understand it and close enough to the people to earn trust. This is where concepts such as nemawashi, consensus, and uncertainty avoidance become practical rather than theoretical. People need to see that the leader understands the business, respects the team, and will not abandon them when conditions become difficult. Technology matters in Bierer’s world, but only when tied to process and decision quality. SAP, IT cost reduction, websites, digital workflows, checklists, and potentially tools such as digital twins all matter because they help leaders see the system. Yet technology cannot replace judgement, trust, or leadership presence. The leader still has to go to the warehouse, visit the store, meet the customer, and understand what is happening on the floor. Ultimately, Bierer’s model of leadership in Japan is built on credibility through proximity. He leads by example, pays staff before himself, rewards contribution regardless of age, and expects people to go the extra mile because he does the same. His story shows that leadership in Japan is not about mastering every cultural term or speaking perfect Japanese. It is about building trust, learning the business deeply, communicating with care, and showing through action that people can believe what the leader says. Q&A Summary What makes leadership in Japan unique? Leadership in Japan is unique because trust is built through proximity, consistency, and careful attention to how people interpret instructions. Bierer’s experience shows that Japanese teams often listen closely, weigh the leader’s words carefully, and work hard to match expectations. This makes clarity essential. Leaders cannot rely on vague direction and assume the team will independently interpret the strategic intent in the same way as a Western organisation might. Japan’s leadership environment is also shaped by consensus, nemawashi, ringi-sho thinking, and uncertainty avoidance. People often want to understand the process, reduce ambiguity, and confirm that the group is aligned before moving forward. Bierer’s approach is to get close to the team, understand the operational detail, and build credibility by showing that he is not merely issuing instructions from above. For him, leadership in Japan requires showing care, being approachable, and proving competence through action. Why do global executives struggle? Global executives struggle when they assume that European or American leadership approaches will automatically work in Japan. Bierer notes that some international leaders become frustrated when teams do not operate in the way they expect. They may see hesitation or heavy checking as weakness, when in reality the team may be trying to interpret instructions carefully and avoid mistakes. Another struggle is distance. Executives who remain in an “ivory tower” or manage only from the top miss the operational detail that matters in Japan. Bierer argues that leaders need to sit with people, learn the business, and understand how work is actually done. Without that, they may misread the team, misdiagnose performance problems, and fail to gain trust. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Bierer’s story suggests that Japan is often better understood as uncertainty-averse rather than simply risk-averse. Risk can be accepted when the process is clear, the data is strong, and people understand the decision pathway. In his own career, Bierer took significant risks: founding Endeavor SBC, accepting performance-based consulting, buying inventory, opening retail spaces, acting as interim president, and acquiring or representing brands in Japan. The difference is that he reduces uncertainty through analysis. He studies inventory, purchasing patterns, cost structures, and operational processes. This is decision intelligence in practice. Rather than gambling, he turns risk into a structured calculation. In Japan, this matters because teams and partners often need to see the logic, not just the ambition. What leadership style actually works? The leadership style that works for Bierer is hands-on, direct, fair, and close to the work. He describes leadership as leading by example. That means going to the warehouse, selling in the store, joining the team during busy periods, checking processes personally, and showing people that no task is beneath the leader. He also values listening. When he enters a company, he studies the team and the business before imposing change. He looks for people who understand his direction and can become part of his trusted core team. At the same time, he recognises that underperformance must be addressed. His approach combines patience, coaching, process clarity, and accountability. How can technology help? Technology helps when it improves visibility, discipline, and decision quality. Bierer’s work with SAP, IT systems, websites, back-office processes, and cost reduction shows that technology can support leadership when it is connected to the business model. He is especially focused on standardising systems and improving processes rather than allowing unnecessary customisation or inflated costs. In a modern context, tools such as decision intelligence, digital twins, inventory analytics, and process dashboards could strengthen the same principles he already applies. They can help leaders simulate outcomes, identify waste, monitor cash flow, and understand operational bottlenecks. However, Bierer’s example also shows that technology must not become a substitute for human closeness. Leaders still need to meet people, listen, and understand the floor-level reality. Does language proficiency matter? Language matters, but Bierer does not believe foreign executives should assume they can quickly master Japanese to the level required for nuance. His advice is to invest in someone who can act as a communication bridge. This person helps the leader communicate intent clearly and understand what is happening beneath the surface. The larger lesson is that communication is not only vocabulary. It is interpretation, expectation setting, cultural reading, and trust-building. Leaders need to know whether the team has truly understood the message, whether concerns are being hidden, and whether instructions are being interpreted too literally. Language support can reduce uncertainty and prevent misalignment. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? The ultimate leadership lesson from Bierer is that people trust what leaders consistently do, not what they claim. He pays staff even when he misses his own salary. He supports temporary workers during downturns. He rewards performance regardless of age. He gives young people responsibility and creates opportunities for those who may not fit traditional Japanese corporate environments. His leadership lesson is also practical: get close to the people, get close to the process, and do what is promised. In Japan, where trust, credibility, and consistency carry enormous weight, this approach gives leaders the foundation to make change possible. Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/41015315

Frank Packard — Founder & Previous President, AAA Partners Japan 04/17/2026

Frank Packard — Founder & Previous President, AAA Partners Japan “Very few people in finance can make a declarative sentence.” “If you can scale your message from thirty seconds to three minutes, you’ve got it made.” “We want to only do legal business, it has to be rewarding, and it has to be fun.” You have to sit on your hands in Japan — silence doesn’t mean failure.” "The Japanese want to be recognised as individuals, not as ‘we Japanese’.” Frank Packard is the Founder and President of AAA Partners Japan, a Tokyo-based firm specialising in fund placement and financial advisory. Born in Japan and educated in the United States, including at Princeton University, Packard began his career on Wall Street before returning to Japan during the 1980s financial boom. His career spans major institutions including Payne Webber, Drexel Burnham, Bankers Trust, Bank of America, and HSBC, with leadership roles across Tokyo and Hong Kong. Over nearly four decades, he has built deep expertise in project finance, private equity, and cross-border investment. Known for his practical leadership philosophy and adaptability, Packard has navigated multiple financial cycles, regulatory changes, and cultural environments, ultimately building his own entrepreneurial platform in Japan. Frank Packard’s leadership journey is a study in adaptability, communication clarity, and cultural navigation. Growing up in Japan before returning as a finance professional during the 1980s boom, he experienced firsthand the intersection of global capital and Japanese business practices. His early insight—that the ability to communicate clearly is a competitive advantage—became a cornerstone of his career. In industries filled with technical complexity, Packard differentiated himself by simplifying ideas and delivering them with precision. His leadership style evolved through exposure to different markets. In Tokyo, he challenged hierarchical norms by adopting open-plan team structures decades before they became standard. Sitting alongside his team rather than above them, he fostered collaboration and transparency, disrupting traditional expectations of authority. This approach reflected a broader philosophy: leadership is not about position, but about proximity and shared accountability. Packard also developed a nuanced understanding of Japanese workplace dynamics. He recognised that beneath the perception of uniformity lies strong individuality. Rather than forcing Western-style engagement, he adapted by allowing relationships to develop organically. This aligns closely with practices like nemawashi and consensus-building, where trust is cultivated gradually rather than asserted. His experience across Tokyo and Hong Kong highlighted the importance of context in leadership. While Japan required patience and sensitivity to silence and ambiguity, Hong Kong demanded navigation of cultural tensions and competitive dynamics among multinational teams. These contrasting environments reinforced his belief that leadership must be situational, not formulaic. Entrepreneurially, Packard demonstrated resilience by pivoting through financial crises and regulatory shifts. The introduction of Japan’s Financial Instruments Exchange Law reshaped his business model, pushing him toward a highly compliant, dual-licensed structure that allowed flexibility in revenue streams. His mantra—legal, rewarding, and fun—guided decision-making and client selection, reinforcing both ethical standards and cultural fit. A defining element of his leadership is empowerment. By pushing team members to gain qualifications and take ownership of client relationships, he expanded their capabilities and engagement. This reflects elements of decision intelligence, where informed individuals contribute to better outcomes rather than relying solely on hierarchical direction. Ultimately, Packard’s career illustrates that success in Japan requires more than technical expertise. It demands cultural fluency, patience with ambiguity, and a commitment to building trust over time. His approach blends Western directness with Japanese sensitivity, creating a hybrid leadership model suited to an increasingly globalised business environment. Q&A Summary What makes leadership in Japan unique? Leadership in Japan is shaped by subtlety, patience, and a strong emphasis on consensus. Unlike Western environments driven by urgency and individual assertion, Japanese organisations often rely on processes like nemawashi and ringi-sho to build agreement. Packard highlights the importance of silence, noting that pauses in conversation are not signs of failure but part of the decision-making rhythm. Leaders must resist the urge to fill gaps and instead allow space for reflection. Why do global executives struggle? Many global executives struggle because they misinterpret cultural signals. The assumption that Japan is homogeneous leads to missed opportunities to connect on an individual level. Additionally, Western communication styles—particularly sarcasm or vague commitments—can undermine trust. Packard emphasises the need for precision in language and expectations, as ambiguity can create misunderstanding in cross-cultural contexts. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Packard challenges the stereotype of Japan as risk-averse. While decision-making may appear slow, it is often thorough rather than cautious. Once consensus is achieved, execution can be swift and decisive. He points out that change in Japan can be sudden, with shifts in attitudes toward startups, crypto, and international careers occurring rapidly after long periods of stability. What leadership style actually works? A hybrid leadership style works best—combining Western clarity with Japanese sensitivity. Packard’s approach includes flattening hierarchies, fostering open communication, and empowering individuals. He also places strong emphasis on diversity, particularly the inclusion of women, which enhances team dynamics and decision-making. Trust is built through consistency, transparency, and respect for cultural norms. How can technology help? Technology plays a supporting role in enabling flexible work and communication. The shift to remote work during the pandemic highlighted both opportunities and challenges, including issues like remote harassment and privacy concerns. Packard’s adoption of cloud-based tools and flexible work policies demonstrates how technology can enhance productivity while respecting individual preferences. Does language proficiency matter? Language proficiency is important but not decisive. While fluency can facilitate communication, Packard emphasises clarity over complexity. The ability to convey ideas simply and effectively is more valuable than perfect language skills. This aligns with his broader belief in the power of declarative communication. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? The ultimate lesson is adaptability. Leaders must continuously adjust to changing environments, cultural expectations, and team dynamics. Packard’s career demonstrates that success comes from blending different approaches, learning from experience, and maintaining a clear ethical framework. His mantra—legal, rewarding, and fun—captures the essence of sustainable leadership. Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/40918650

Jim Weisser — President and Co-founder, SignTime 04/10/2026

Jim Weisser — President and Co-founder, SignTime “The team’s the most important thing.” “I didn’t listen very well.” “I thought I had most of the answers when I didn’t even know the problem.” “Treat them as they want to be treated.” “If I screwed up, it’s also my job to go to the team and say, ‘Hey, I screwed up and we’re going to change.’” Jim Weisser is President and co-founder of SignTime in Japan, a serial entrepreneur, angel investor and long-time participant in the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan. He arrived in Japan in 1993 after studying chemical engineering and briefly working in a chemical plant, then began his career in the country as an English teacher in Yokohama before moving into computer consulting and internet infrastructure. During Japan’s early internet era he worked across multiple roles at an internet service provider, later joined Enron’s broadband business, and then built a consulting practice that led to the launch of PBXL, a hosted business telephony company that was eventually acquired in 2015 by a business that later became part of Cisco. After helping his team transition through that acquisition, he returned to entrepreneurship and co-founded SignTime, an electronic signature platform designed around Japanese workflows, including hanko culture, ringi-sho approval flows and practical adoption at the gemba. His career arc reflects unusual adaptability in Japan: from English teacher to technical operator, founder, exit entrepreneur, investor and software builder, with each stage sharpening his view that leadership in Japan depends less on forceful direction than on judgement, humility, consensus-building and patient execution. Jim Weisser’s leadership philosophy was not formed in a classroom. It was forged through a series of reinventions in Japan: from English teaching to internet infrastructure, from startup failure to acquisition, from operational leadership to SaaS product design. That lived range gives his perspective unusual credibility. He does not romanticise leadership, and he does not pretend he got it right the first time. In fact, one of the most striking themes in the interview is how bluntly he describes his early mistakes. He admitted that he did not listen well, overestimated the value of his own answers, and underestimated how much weight a leader’s words carry in a Japanese workplace. That self-awareness becomes the foundation of the larger lesson: effective leadership in Japan is not about becoming less decisive, but about becoming more inclusive, more deliberate and more accountable. His account of Japan pushes back against simplistic stereotypes. The country can look highly hierarchical from the outside, yet execution often depends on alignment far below the top. A president’s approval does not automatically move an idea into reality. Decisions are shaped through nemawashi, quiet pre-alignment, and through the practical logic of ringi-sho style circulation, where the proposal is stress-tested across functions before it becomes formal. For foreign executives, that can feel slow, indirect or even evasive. Weisser interprets it differently. He sees it as a system optimised for social durability and operational legitimacy. In that sense, what appears to be risk-aversion is often disciplined uncertainty management. Japanese organisations do not necessarily reject change; they reject poorly socialised change. That distinction matters because it reframes why global leaders struggle. Many arrive with a hero model of leadership: define the vision, make the call, push execution. Weisser has enough self-knowledge to recognise that he once behaved that way himself. Over time, however, he learned that command without context fails in Japan. Employees need room to interpret, absorb and support the direction. They also need psychological safety. In a defect-sensitive environment, even a mildly negative comment from the boss can be amplified. The leader who wants innovation must therefore reward initiative, model learning and publicly own mistakes. His example of apologising to a team member after sending an email in the wrong tone captures this beautifully. Accountability is not weakness; it is cultural permission for others to act. His current venture, SignTime, becomes a practical case study in decision intelligence and local design. Rather than forcing a Western e-signature model onto Japan, he and his team built around the lived realities of hanko, sequential approvals, gemba resistance, paper habits and contract storage needs. He also looks ahead: blockchain-based smart contracts, AI-generated contract summaries, reminder systems and digital twins of approval workflows all point to a future in which technology helps organisations make better decisions without violating the social logic of how work is actually done. For Weisser, the ultimate lesson is clear. Leadership in Japan is not about overpowering uncertainty. It is about reading it well, involving people early, translating vision into natural process, and having the humility to say, when necessary, that the leader was wrong and the team will adjust together. Q&A Summary What makes leadership in Japan unique? Leadership in Japan is shaped by a paradox: it looks hierarchical, yet outcomes depend heavily on broad internal alignment. Weisser argues that senior approval alone rarely settles execution. Real progress comes through nemawashi, ringi-sho style circulation, and practical buy-in at the gemba. Leadership is therefore less about dramatic authority and more about socialising ideas until they feel workable, legitimate and low-friction across the organisation. Why do global executives struggle? Many global executives import a Western hero model into Japan. They expect clear top-down momentum once a senior sponsor agrees. Weisser warns that this approach often collides with the Japanese preference for consensus, face preservation and careful groundwork. Foreign leaders also underestimate how intensely a boss’s comments are felt. What sounds direct or efficient in one culture can feel damaging or unsafe in another. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Weisser does not see Japan as simply risk-averse. He sees a society that manages uncertainty carefully. The distinction is important. Japanese companies may resist abrupt change, but often because they want operational confidence, stakeholder alignment and social durability before moving. This is less about fear and more about uncertainty avoidance. In modern terms, it reflects a form of organisational decision intelligence: not refusing action, but wanting stronger proof, smoother process and wider consensus before committing. What leadership style actually works? The most effective leadership style in Japan combines clarity with humility. Leaders still need to set direction, but they must do so in ways that invite contribution and reduce resistance. Weisser’s own growth came from realising that he had to listen more, ask better questions and stop assuming he had the answer before fully understanding the problem. He now emphasises accountability, reflection and behavioural modelling. When leaders admit mistakes and adjust openly, they create permission for others to think, act and learn. How can technology help? Technology helps when it respects natural workflow rather than trying to bulldoze it. That insight sits at the core of SignTime. Instead of treating Japan as a delayed copy of Western markets, Weisser built around hanko habits, sequential approvals, gemba realities and repository needs. He also points to future possibilities including blockchain-based contracts, AI-generated business summaries, renewal reminders and digital twins of approval processes. These tools can reduce friction and improve visibility, but only if they support how people actually make decisions. Does language proficiency matter? Language matters, but not only in the narrow sense of vocabulary. What matters more is social fluency: understanding the pacing, implications and decision rituals behind what is being said. A leader may function with limited Japanese if they deeply grasp nemawashi, ringi-sho logic, face concerns and the emotional effect of authority. Conversely, fluency without cultural judgement can still fail. Weisser’s lesson is that leadership credibility in Japan comes from behavioural understanding as much as linguistic skill. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? The ultimate lesson is that leadership is not about always being right. It is about building a team and a process that can keep moving when reality changes. Weisser repeatedly returns to the value of the team, the need to treat people as they want to be treated, and the importance of owning mistakes. In Japan especially, where subtle signals carry great weight, the leader’s humility becomes a strategic asset. It strengthens trust, supports innovation and makes consensus more than procedure; it makes it productive. Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/40794760

Wolfgang Angyal — President of Riedel Japan 04/03/2026

Wolfgang Angyal — President of Riedel Japan “Trust is really the only currency that is the beginning and the end of pretty much every human relation.” “You give trust first, before you get trust.” “I want to make sure that the least empowered person in the room can have a great idea and the best idea will win.” “You need to be the fuel for their sparks.” “If you give them permission and you will never punish them for honesty.” Brief Bio Wolfgang Angyal is President of Riedel Japan and one of the rare foreign executives who has built a long leadership career in Japan from the ground up. Originally from Austria and trained in the hospitality industry, he first came to Japan in 1985 as part of Austria’s delegation to the Skill Olympics, where he won a gold medal in hotel and restaurant service. That early success left him with a strong affinity for Japan, shaped by childhood exposure to judo and an early fascination with Japanese values such as humility, respect and discipline. After returning to Japan in 1988 to teach at a hospitality school in Osaka, he experienced the kind of early cross-cultural mistakes that many foreign professionals make, later describing himself as an elephant in a porcelain shop. He then moved into sales, promotion and business development, first with Riedel’s importer in Japan, then within a large Japanese corporate distribution environment, and later across Asia-Pacific from Sydney, where he helped expand the brand into multiple markets. In 2000, he returned to Japan to establish Riedel’s wholly owned local operation, beginning with a JETRO rental office and one secretary. Over time, he built the business, integrated acquisitions, developed talent, and led Riedel Japan into one of the company’s most important markets. His career arc reflects adaptability, patient localisation, and a deep commitment to understanding how leadership actually works inside Japanese organisations. Wolfgang Angyal’s leadership story in Japan is not the story of a foreign executive arriving with a polished playbook. It is the opposite. His path began with technical excellence in hospitality, but his real advantage turned out not to be technique. It was trust. As a young Austrian competitor at the Skill Olympics in Japan, he noticed that while technically stronger rivals insisted on doing everything themselves, he relied on local assistants. That instinct to trust others, even across a language barrier, helped him win gold and gave him an early lesson that would later define his leadership philosophy in Japan. That insight deepened when he returned to Japan and made the classic mistakes of an outsider who does not yet understand the culture around him. Rather than romanticising those failures, he treats them as foundational. They taught him that leadership in Japan is rarely about force, status or personal brilliance. It is about reading context, slowing down, and building the kind of consistency that makes other people feel safe. In a culture shaped by consensus, nemawashi, ringi-sho thinking and strong uncertainty avoidance, the leader who moves too abruptly may get compliance on the surface but withdrawal underneath. His commercial career reinforced the same lesson. Selling Riedel in Japan was not straightforward. Wine culture was still emerging, homes were small, and the product category itself was unfamiliar. He had to educate the market experientially, often in Japanese, one relationship at a time. Later, when he worked inside a large Japanese corporate group, he discovered that change first had to be sold internally before it could be sold externally. That is a classic Japan lesson: before the market says yes, the organisation itself must align. Consensus is not bureaucracy for its own sake. It is often the mechanism by which commitment becomes durable. When he eventually returned to launch Riedel Japan as a stand-alone operation, his challenge shifted from market development to leadership at scale. He had to recruit for an unknown foreign brand, absorb acquired teams, move from a family-sized company to a tribe-sized one, and learn to be comfortable being the boss. His language around this is strikingly unpretentious. He does not describe leadership as charisma. He describes it as getting comfortable with accountability while keeping the soft side of human connection intact. His most distinctive contribution is his view that leadership in Japan begins with trust given in advance. Rather than waiting for loyalty, he extends it first. He believes Japanese teams often respond strongly when trust is explicitly communicated, not merely assumed. From there, he builds predictability, psychological safety and honest feedback. He is willing to kill his own ideas publicly so better ideas can win, especially from less empowered people. That is not weakness. It is disciplined ego management. In a culture where employees may hesitate to speak up, the leader’s job is to create the conditions in which sparks appear. The ultimate task is not to be the source of every answer, but to become the fuel for other people’s ideas. Q&A Summary What makes leadership in Japan unique? Leadership in Japan is uniquely shaped by context, hierarchy and the social mechanics of alignment. Decisions often emerge through nemawashi and ringi-sho processes rather than confrontation in the meeting room. For Angyal, this does not mean Japanese leadership is slow or passive. It means that trust, predictability and consensus are prerequisites for execution. Leaders who understand this see that commitment is built before the formal decision, not after it. Why do global executives struggle? Global executives often struggle because they arrive with technically correct ideas but insufficient cultural calibration. Angyal’s own early mistakes in Japan taught him that expertise alone is not enough. Many foreign leaders move too quickly, communicate too directly, or mistake silence for agreement. They underestimate how much uncertainty avoidance shapes behaviour and how strongly teams respond to tone, consistency and perceived safety. Without that understanding, even good initiatives fail to gain traction. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Angyal’s experience suggests that Japan is less risk-averse than uncertainty-averse. Teams do not necessarily reject innovation; they resist unframed ambiguity. Once the context is clear, the purpose is understood, and the interpersonal trust is in place, Japanese teams can be highly committed and creative. The issue is not whether change is possible. The issue is whether the path feels socially and operationally safe enough to pursue. Consensus reduces uncertainty, and that makes commitment possible. What leadership style actually works? The leadership style that works is calm, observant, explicit and human. Angyal emphasises getting to know people individually, understanding motivational drivers, adapting communication styles, and giving trust first. He also models intellectual humility by inviting criticism, using 360-degree feedback, and publicly dropping his own ideas when better ones emerge. In practice, this creates psychological safety and allows the least empowered person in the room to contribute. In Japan, that is often the difference between surface harmony and real engagement. How can technology help? Technology helps when it reduces uncertainty rather than adding complexity. In the Japanese context, decision intelligence matters more than digital theatre. Tools that clarify options, visualise outcomes, support structured feedback, and create shared visibility can reinforce consensus. In a modern setting, digital twins, workflow dashboards, collaboration platforms and feedback systems can support nemawashi by making implications easier to see before action is taken. Technology is useful when it strengthens alignment, not when it tries to bypass human trust. Does language proficiency matter? Language proficiency matters, but not in a simplistic way. Angyal learned enough Japanese to make appointments, build relationships and work inside complex Japanese organisations. That gave him access, credibility and nuance. Yet his deeper point is that language alone is not enough. A leader also has to understand how people see the foreign executive, what they expect, and what kind of value that outsider can bring. Speaking Japanese opens the door; understanding the human and organisational code keeps it open. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? The ultimate lesson is that trust is the operative currency of leadership in Japan. Not abstract trust, but demonstrated trust. The leader must often pay it forward, communicate it explicitly, and protect honesty once it appears. That means being predictable, creating safety, following through, and resisting the ego impulse to dominate the room. Angyal’s leadership lesson is both simple and demanding: the leader’s role is not merely to direct, but to create the conditions in which others can contribute, challenge and grow. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/40709790

Lorenzo Scrimizzi — President, Carpigiani Japan 03/27/2026

Lorenzo Scrimizzi — President, Carpigiani Japan “the most important thing, I mean in Japan, for business, is to hire the right people” “the keyword is gaining trust” “you need to allow people to make mistakes” “the personal relationship in Japan are extremely important” “learn the language” Lorenzo Scrimizzi is the President of Carpigiani Japan and an Italian executive whose career in Japan spans more than two decades across multiple industries. Originally trained as an engineer, he first arrived in Japan on a two-year assignment connected to precision equipment for the automotive sector. What began as a temporary posting evolved into a long-term career after he became captivated by Japan, changed jobs twice, married, and built his professional life in the country. After his first role in manufacturing, he moved into a startup focused on consumer accessories such as handbags and suitcases, then joined a trading company importing mainly organic food products from Italy. He credits that trading-company period with sharpening many of his core business skills. In 2002, he was recruited to lead Carpigiani Japan during a pivotal transition from joint venture to fully owned subsidiary. A native of Bologna, where Carpigiani is a well-known company, he stepped into the CEO role at a moment that required adaptability, cultural sensitivity, and resilience. His experience reflects a rare mix of technical training, commercial pragmatism, and long-term adjustment to Japanese business expectations. Lorenzo Scrimizzi’s view of leadership in Japan is grounded less in abstract theory than in lived experience. Over twenty-six years in the country, he has learned that success is rarely determined by strategy alone. It comes instead from earning trust, reading context accurately, and building organisations around people rather than forcing people into rigid structures. His story illustrates how foreign executives in Japan often arrive thinking they are managing a market, only to discover they are really managing relationships: with staff, customers, headquarters, and the culture itself. One of his strongest themes is recruitment. In Japan, he argues, leadership begins with hiring the right people, yet this is also one of the most difficult tasks. Foreign firms can be seduced by surface signals such as strong English ability, only to discover that language fluency does not always correlate with judgement, commitment, or execution. By contrast, some of the strongest contributors may speak little English but deeply understand the business and the customer. That insight leads to a broader principle: effective leadership in Japan requires looking beneath appearances and recognising substance. Scrimizzi is equally candid about the challenge of engagement. He sees relatively low engagement in Japan not as a simplistic character flaw, but as a structural and cultural issue shaped by education, hierarchy, and social expectations. Japanese employees often value pride in the company and belonging to a team more strongly than many Western executives realise. If that emotional connection is weak, engagement falls. For a foreign-owned company, this becomes even more important. People need not only job security but also a reason to identify with the organisation. His remarks on decision-making reveal a nuanced understanding of Japanese business practice. He does not portray Japan as irrationally conservative. Rather, he describes a system shaped by uncertainty avoidance, consensus, and the reluctance to step outside established boundaries. In practice, this resembles the wider logic of nemawashi and ringi-sho: before action comes alignment, and before initiative comes social permission. That can slow innovation, but it can also improve quality and internal cohesion when managed well. What stands out most is his belief that leaders must create safety for action. If people are punished for every mistake, they will neither innovate nor surface problems early. Allowing room for error, encouraging reporting, and keeping communication channels open are central to his management approach. In that sense, his leadership style combines consistency with flexibility. He believes in clear expectations, but also in adjusting roles to fit talent. In a small organisation, that agility becomes a competitive advantage. Ultimately, Scrimizzi presents leadership in Japan as an exercise in disciplined empathy. Language matters, but so do body language, observation, patience, and humility. The foreign executive who succeeds is neither the outsider who refuses to adapt nor the outsider who tries too hard to become Japanese. The one who succeeds is the one who remains authentic, respectful, and alert enough to understand what is really happening beneath the surface. Q&A Summary What makes leadership in Japan unique? Scrimizzi sees leadership in Japan as fundamentally relational. Results depend on trust with employees, customers, and headquarters. Personal relationships carry unusual weight, and leadership cannot rely on formal authority alone. Consensus matters, and the process behind a decision can be just as important as the decision itself. In that respect, Japanese leadership environments are shaped by practices aligned with nemawashi and ringi-sho, where alignment is built carefully before action is taken. Why do global executives struggle? Many overseas leaders underestimate how much of Japan’s business logic is cultural rather than procedural. They may assume that a capable professional will naturally speak up, take initiative, or challenge assumptions. In Japan, however, hesitation can stem from education, hierarchy, and fear of blame rather than lack of ability. Global executives also misread recruitment, overvalue English ability, or fail to appreciate how much employees want to feel proud of the company they serve. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Scrimizzi suggests the issue is less risk than uncertainty. Japanese organisations often display strong uncertainty avoidance: people prefer structure, clarity, and social agreement before moving. Employees may avoid stepping outside the box because mistakes carry reputational consequences. The result is not a total absence of initiative, but a higher threshold for acting without consensus. Leaders who reduce fear and normalise learning from mistakes can unlock much more initiative than stereotypes suggest. What leadership style actually works? His preferred style is consistent, respectful, and flexible. Employees need to know what to expect from the leader, especially in difficult moments. At the same time, roles should sometimes be adjusted to fit individual strengths rather than forcing everyone into fixed boxes. He also places strong emphasis on informal relationship-building through meals, travel, conversation, and regular one-to-one contact. In Japan, credibility grows through repeated human contact, not only through policy. How can technology help? Technology can support communication and visibility, especially when teams are dispersed, but Scrimizzi is careful not to overstate it. Reporting systems, regular meetings, and structured information flow help prevent problems from being hidden. In a modern context, this could expand into stronger decision intelligence, shared dashboards, and even digital twins of operations that make emerging issues visible earlier. Yet he implies that tools only work when people trust the environment enough to speak honestly. Does language proficiency matter? He considers language essential. Learning Japanese is not just about vocabulary; it is about understanding mentality, nuance, and the unspoken layers of communication. He also stresses body language. Japanese counterparts do not always state their true feelings directly, so leaders must read expressions, hesitation, and tone. Language proficiency therefore becomes a strategic advantage because it sharpens judgement and deepens cultural understanding. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? The core lesson is that trust is the true operating system of leadership in Japan. Trust with customers, trust with staff, and trust with headquarters all need to be cultivated deliberately. The leader must stay curious, remain humble, and keep learning. Even after decades in Japan, Scrimizzi believes surprise is part of the job. That mindset of continuous learning may be the most important leadership capability of all. Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/40640935

Bob Noddin — Previous CEO of AIG Japan 03/22/2026

Bob Noddin — Previous CEO of AIG Japan “Japan is different and hard.” “It’s consistency, it’s sustainability of the vision and the theme that’s going to matter.” “You couldn’t be the super-God sits up in the ivory tower.” “Leadership is about inspiring people to go somewhere that they wouldn’t necessarily go on their own.” “Respect the history and the culture that is Japan.” Brief Bio Bob Noddin is the CEO of AIG Japan and a long-time Asia business leader whose career reflects deep adaptability across cultures, industries, and operating environments. His connection with Japan began in 1982 as a college exchange student at Kansai Gaidai in Osaka, where early exposure to Japanese psychology, history, language, and society gave him an unusually strong foundation for later leadership in the country. After returning to the United States, he joined Citibank with ambitions for an international career, but when a planned transfer to Japan fell through, he moved to AIG instead — a decision that shaped the next three and a half decades of his professional life. His AIG career took him across Asia on a series of increasingly complex assignments. What began as a short-term posting evolved into leadership roles in the Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong, Korea, and Japan, giving him broad exposure to different operating cultures while sharpening his ability to lead through ambiguity, restructuring, and growth. He later returned to the United States as Global Head of Operations and Technology for AIG’s property casualty business, overseeing a vast international footprint before asking to return to Asia during the financial crisis. Back in Japan, he took on major leadership responsibilities during a period of merger integration, organisational reform, and national crisis, eventually leading one of the company’s most important markets worldwide. Across that journey, he developed a leadership philosophy grounded in visibility, trust, resilience, and the need to adapt global expectations to Japan’s distinctive business culture. Bob Noddin’s leadership story in Japan is not one of a parachuted-in foreign executive trying to impose a template from head office. It is the story of a leader who spent decades earning the right to run one of the most complex roles in AIG’s global portfolio, while learning that Japan rewards patience, consistency, and human connection far more than slogans or imported management theory. His perspective is shaped by a rare combination of early academic immersion in Japan, long operational experience across Asia, and direct accountability for large-scale businesses in crisis, integration, and transformation. What stands out most in his account is the distinction he draws between knowing that Japan is different and actually leading effectively inside that difference. He describes a country and corporate environment shaped by structure, seniority, collaboration, and extremely high standards of quality. Those strengths helped build modern Japan, but they can also create friction when an organisation needs speed, innovation, or bold change. In that context, the challenge is not simply strategic clarity. It is how to move a system conditioned by nenko-style seniority, uncertainty avoidance, and deeply embedded consensus habits without triggering organisational antibodies. Noddin identifies the real obstacle not as frontline employees, but as what he calls the “thermal layer” of middle management. This layer absorbs direction from above, filters it, softens it, delays it, and often protects the existing culture from disruption. In Japan, where seniority and harmony remain powerful forces, this buffering function can become a major drag on change. His response was not dramatic confrontation, but patient cultural triage: identify the people already leaning towards a more proactive leadership style, invest in those who could develop into that style, and separate them from those who were simply dead wood or actively cancerous to progress. His approach to change is strikingly practical. He introduced role-play into management development, studied how Japanese executives in other industries handled transformation, and used visible examples to normalise reflection, experimentation, and ownership. He also changed recruitment, insisting that professional-track hires speak at least one additional language, not because English alone mattered, but because exposure to another language and culture expands thinking. That decision reflects a core belief running through the interview: that leadership in Japan requires widening mental models, not merely importing foreign practices. Technology and innovation appear in his thinking not as abstractions but as tools that must be paired with psychological safety. People will not propose better systems, digital improvements, or new customer models unless they believe failure will not destroy them. In a culture where a mistake can carry a disproportionate social cost, he made a point of publicly taking responsibility when experiments did not work and praising courage even when outcomes fell short. That is a subtle but powerful form of decision intelligence: separating the quality of a decision from the certainty of an outcome. Perhaps the strongest theme in Noddin’s interview is that trust in Japan is built through presence. He argues that leaders cannot sit in an ivory tower. They need to be visible, approachable, and unmistakably human. That means town halls, travel, direct emails, birthday cakes, karaoke, drinks with staff, and honest conversations with agents and employees alike. In Japan, where formal roles can conceal strong emotion, trust is not built through authority alone. It is built when people feel the leader can be touched, tested, and believed. For Noddin, the ultimate lesson is clear: respect Japan’s history, stay resilient when the ivy-covered brick wall appears, and focus relentlessly on shared objectives rather than issuing instructions that produce compliance without ownership. Q&A Summary What makes leadership in Japan unique? Bob Noddin sees leadership in Japan as uniquely shaped by history, structure, and social expectations. He points to a business environment that values seniority, teamwork, incremental improvement, and order. These are not superficial preferences but expressions of deeper cultural patterns that emerged from national rebuilding and collective effort. Concepts such as nemawashi, consensus, and uncertainty avoidance remain highly relevant because organisations often prefer broad alignment and risk containment over speed or individual heroics. What makes Japan distinctive is that these qualities can be both strengths and constraints. They support quality, discipline, and reliability, but they also create resistance when a leader is trying to drive innovation or break with tradition. The foreign executive who mistakes Japan’s politeness for easy agreement is likely to fail. Leadership here requires reading the context beneath the formal surface and understanding that the visible meeting is often only one part of the real decision process. Why do global executives struggle? Global executives often struggle because they underestimate how much translation is required between headquarters expectations and Japanese reality. Noddin says head office may intellectually understand that Japan is different, but repeated explanations eventually sound like excuses unless the local leader can convert that difference into results. Executives sent to Japan for short rotations can also become trapped by a buffering layer of local management that protects the system from meaningful change. He argues that many foreign leaders fail because they arrive with urgency but without enough seasoning, continuity, or local credibility. Japan is not a market that can be reset in three years through force of personality. It requires sustained presence, consistency of message, and a willingness to stay long enough for people to believe the leader is not simply passing through. Without that, local teams wait out the foreign boss and preserve the old logic underneath. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Noddin believes Japan is not simply risk-averse in a crude sense. It is better understood as highly sensitive to the consequences of failure. In a system where there is perceived to be one right way to proceed, shaped by education, hierarchy, and social accountability, the downside of getting something wrong is far greater than the upside of trying something new. That makes people cautious, especially if they fear isolation or reputational damage for standing out. His answer is not to lecture people about risk-taking, but to separate risk from recklessness. In practical terms, that means showing people that thoughtful experimentation will be supported, that leaders will absorb the blame when outcomes fall short, and that lessons learned matter. In this sense, better leadership creates better risk literacy. It helps employees distinguish manageable uncertainty from unacceptable exposure. What leadership style actually works? The style that works, in his view, is visible, human, and resilient. He rejects the distant, untouchable executive model. Leaders in Japan need to be accessible, to travel, to engage directly, and to demonstrate humility. Trust grows when employees see the leader as a real person rather than a remote authority figure. That human connection becomes especially important in a culture where emotions are often controlled in formal settings but remain powerful underneath. At the same time, effective leadership is not about giving detailed instructions. Noddin draws a clear line between management and leadership. Management allocates tasks; leadership inspires people to go somewhere they would not necessarily choose on their own. The most effective leader in Japan aligns people around an objective, tests understanding from multiple stakeholder viewpoints, and then gives teams ownership over how to deliver. How can technology help? Technology helps when it supports better ways of working rather than simply automating existing silos. Noddin’s examples show that innovation in Japan needs a protected environment. His venture-style internal project, which pulled people out of the normal structure and allowed different work patterns, dress codes, and idea development cycles, created space for creativity that the regular organisation would have smothered. In a modern sense, this is close to building a digital twin of the operating culture: a parallel environment where new behaviours can be tested before wider deployment. Technology also becomes powerful when combined with decision intelligence. Data, systems, and new processes are useful only if people feel safe enough to question assumptions, propose improvements, and learn from imperfect launches. Without that cultural layer, digital transformation becomes cosmetic. Does language proficiency matter? Yes, but not in the narrow sense of passing language tests. Noddin values language because it signals cultural exposure and cognitive flexibility. His recruiting shift towards candidates fluent in another language was really a shift towards people who had lived beyond a single worldview. In a global company operating in Japan, that broader perspective is essential. He also suggests that language matters because it reveals how people have been trained to think. His example of learning kanji stroke order captures a larger point: if people are educated that there is one correct sequence and one correct form, then innovation at work becomes psychologically difficult. Language learning, cultural immersion, and broader experience help leaders appreciate that mental model and work with it more intelligently. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? The ultimate lesson is to respect Japan deeply while refusing to be defeated by its inertia. Noddin advises new leaders to honour the country’s history, social cohesion, and achievements rather than dismissing them. At the same time, they must stay resilient, because they will encounter hidden resistance, delays, and beautiful ivy covering solid brick walls. His final message is that leadership in Japan succeeds when it combines respect with resolve. Leaders need to focus on the objective, not just the task list; build trust through presence; and create systems where people own outcomes rather than merely comply with instructions. That is how change becomes durable rather than cosmetic. Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/40569530

Mike Alfant - CEO Fushion Systems 03/13/2026

Mike Alfant - CEO Fushion Systems “Everyone wants to play for a winning team.” “You’ve got to go to war with the army you’ve got, not the army you wish you had.” “In Japan, talk is cheap. Nobody really pays attention to what people say. They pay attention to what people do.” “My philosophy is every employee should be a shareholder in the firm.” “This is a marathon, not a sprint.” Mike Alfant is the CEO of Fusion Systems and one of the more established foreign founders in Japan’s technology sector. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, he studied computer science and spent roughly a decade on Wall Street in technology roles before being sent to Japan by Security Pacific during the late-1980s bubble era. What began as a short assignment became dozens of return trips, a permanent move to Tokyo, and eventually the launch of his first company, Fusion Systems, in 1992. That original firm built software for trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, grew without outside capital, and was sold in 1999, creating meaningful upside for management and employees alike. Bound by a five-year non-compete in fintech, he broadened his experience by launching or backing businesses across Japan, mainland China, Hong Kong, Australia, and the United States. Over three decades in Japan, he has built a reputation for adaptability, entrepreneurial stamina, and community leadership, including senior roles in major business and civic organisations. His career reflects an ability to adjust to Japan without pretending to become Japanese, while still creating organisations that local employees, partners, and clients can trust. Mike Alfant’s leadership story in Japan is not a neat theory assembled in a boardroom. It is a long, practical exercise in adaptation, stamina, and self-awareness. Arriving from New York with a strong technical background and Wall Street experience, he initially assumed that good ideas, hard work, and energy would be enough. Japan quickly showed him otherwise. In the early 1990s, a foreign entrepreneur trying to recruit Japanese staff into a start-up during an economic downturn faced not only market scepticism, but deep social uncertainty. The challenge was not merely business risk. It was uncertainty avoidance at a human level: employees and their families were being asked to leave established structures for an unknown future led by a non-Japanese founder. What changed the trajectory was not a dramatic reinvention, but a gradual sharpening of judgment. Alfant learned that leadership in Japan depends less on verbal persuasion and more on visible consistency. In his framing, people watch what leaders do, not what they say. That makes credibility cumulative. Every hiring choice, every response under pressure, every act of fairness or impatience becomes part of the operating environment. In a culture shaped by consensus, nemawashi, and the quiet influence that often precedes formal ringi-sho approval, trust is built through behavioural reliability rather than rhetoric. He also learned that the motivation architecture inside a Japanese organisation differs from what many Western executives expect. In New York, he had been used to obvious competition for promotion and reward. In Japan, that ambition was less overt. Rather than complain about the team he wished he had, he built with the team he had, combining mission-driven foreign hires with process-oriented Japanese professionals. That hybrid became a practical leadership model: articulate the destination, build a process strong enough to support execution, and keep moving. Perhaps the most distinctive element in his philosophy is ownership. Alfant believes employees should share in enterprise value. He deliberately dilutes himself over time, not out of sentimentality, but because aligned commercial upside creates seriousness, loyalty, and repeat relationships. He wants people to feel they are not simply working for a founder, but for themselves, their colleagues, and their clients. That belief sits alongside a realistic understanding that founders must still protect the company through governance, repurchase rights, and disciplined hiring. He is equally clear that ideas alone are overrated. Customers, not internal brainstorming theatre, are the most reliable source of innovation. Leadership therefore becomes less about performance and more about disciplined listening, decision intelligence, and execution. Technology matters, but only when it solves a real client problem. Digital twins, process visibility, workflow systems, and other tools can sharpen organisational judgment, but they do not replace it. In that sense, Alfant’s Japan story is not about becoming local in a superficial way. It is about staying authentic, respecting Japanese business culture, and committing to the long game with enough resilience to earn trust over time. Q&A Summary What makes leadership in Japan unique? Leadership in Japan stands apart because legitimacy is earned through conduct more than declaration. Alfant’s experience suggests that Japanese teams respond less to grand speeches and more to behavioural consistency, visible effort, and emotional steadiness. A leader is observed constantly, and small signals matter. This fits a business environment where consensus carries weight, nemawashi often precedes formal action, and a ringi-sho process may crystallise agreement only after extensive informal alignment. For outsiders, the key difference is that leadership authority must be demonstrated repeatedly in practice. Why do global executives struggle? Many global executives struggle because they arrive with urgency, scale, and proven credentials, but underestimate how different Japan is in rhythm and expectation. They may assume that logic alone should win support, or that a direct transplant of their home-market methods will work. Alfant argues that frustration is often self-inflicted. Japan is not going to change for the foreign executive. Leaders who spread themselves across too many initiatives, expect immediate traction, or interpret caution as lack of ability usually end up with half-finished agendas. The struggle is less about competence than about impatience and misreading context. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Alfant’s account points to a more useful distinction between risk and uncertainty. Japan can appear risk-averse, but what leaders often encounter is a structured response to uncertainty. Employees, families, boards, and clients all want to understand whether a new path is credible, stable, and fair. Once that credibility is established, people can be remarkably committed. His early recruiting experience showed that joining a foreign-led start-up in the 1990s felt socially and professionally uncertain. Later, once Fusion looked like a winning team, referrals and retention became easier. The issue was not fear of effort. It was the need for trust before commitment. What leadership style actually works? The leadership style that works is neither purely charismatic nor purely procedural. Alfant found success in a hybrid model. He supplied direction, energy, and mission clarity, while building a strong enough process for Japanese teams to execute with confidence. In other words, heroic leadership by itself is insufficient, but so is technocratic distance. Leaders in Japan need to show up, stay visible, and make decisions, while also creating structure, predictability, and room for careful execution. They must listen more than they speak, avoid defensiveness, and resist the temptation to dominate every interaction. How can technology help? Technology helps when it sharpens execution rather than becoming a substitute for judgment. Alfant’s view is notably practical: customers reveal what is worth building. That mindset fits modern tools such as decision intelligence, workflow analytics, digital twins for operational modelling, and other systems that let firms test process changes before imposing them on clients or teams. Yet his underlying point remains simple. Technology is valuable only when tied to a genuine market need. Internal idea generation without commercial discipline produces noise. Listening carefully to customers, then using technology to solve what they will actually pay for, is the more durable path. Does language proficiency matter? Language matters, but not in the simplistic sense that fluency alone unlocks leadership. Alfant warns foreigners against trying to become Japanese. Their value lies partly in being outsiders who bring a different perspective. What matters more is respect: understanding manners, business customs, and the subtleties of communication, while remaining authentic. Leaders who chase surface imitation often become awkward or ineffective. Leaders who understand context, show humility, and communicate clearly can succeed even without perfect Japanese. In that sense, cultural literacy, listening skill, and consistency matter more than performative fluency. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? The ultimate lesson is that Japan rewards endurance, self-knowledge, and authenticity. Alfant repeatedly returns to the idea that leadership is a marathon, not a sprint. Foreign executives need thick skin, narrow priorities, personal discipline, and the humility to learn from every interaction. They also need the confidence not to overreact when progress feels slow. Leadership in Japan is not about forcing change through personality alone. It is about building trust patiently, aligning interests honestly, and creating an environment where people want to join, stay, and win together. Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/40411475

Peter Jennings - Previous President of Dow Japan and Korea 03/07/2026

Peter Jennings - Previous President of Dow Japan and Korea “this job is really primarily a people job” “if you get the right people, you don’t have to spend a lot of time micromanaging; get out of their way and let them do their thing” “you have to be the type of boss that people are not afraid to bring bad news” “you all have everything you need to be successful at Dow” “if you treat Japanese people with integrity, trust, respect, like you would want to be treated like anywhere else in the world, you’re going to be fine” Brief Bio Peter Jennings is President of Dow in Japan and Korea, overseeing a multi-billion-dollar business and thousands of employees across both markets. He joined Dow as an attorney and spent twenty-seven years in legal roles before being unexpectedly tapped for senior business leadership. Before moving to Japan in 2012, he served in Hong Kong as general counsel for Dow Asia Pacific and later returned to the United States for several senior assignments. His transition from legal counsel to country president reflects a career shaped by adaptability, deep institutional knowledge, and a strong people-first philosophy. In Japan, he became Dow’s longest-serving president in the market’s history, leading cultural renewal, leadership development, diversity initiatives, and a more open, internationally minded operating model inside a long-established Japanese organisation. Peter Jennings presents a compelling case that leadership success in Japan does not begin with technical mastery, perfect language, or rigid adherence to stereotype. It begins with trust. When he arrived in Japan in 2012, one year after the Tohoku earthquake, he came not as a traditional commercial operator but as a long-serving Dow lawyer with deep corporate knowledge and international experience. That unusual path could easily have created distance between him and a highly experienced Japanese leadership team. Instead, it became an advantage because he did not arrive pretending to know everything. He arrived listening. His early approach was simple and disciplined. He met leaders individually, asked about their biggest issues, wrote everything down, and focused on how he could help. In a market where nemawashi, ringi-sho, consensus-building, and careful internal alignment still shape decision-making, that restraint mattered. Rather than impose a foreign leadership template, Jennings worked to understand how trust and respect are earned locally. He recognised that formal authority in Japan means little unless people feel safe enough to speak candidly. Over time, the proof of progress was behavioural. Senior staff started challenging him privately after meetings. Employees began dropping by for coffee or lunch. More importantly, people brought bad news earlier. For Jennings, that was a decisive signal of culture change. He argues that if people fear punishment, information gets buried. In a high uncertainty avoidance environment, leaders must reduce the interpersonal risk of honesty before they can improve decision quality. That is where leadership and decision intelligence meet: better outcomes come from better information flow, not louder authority. He also reshaped the leadership bench. Over several years, Dow Japan moved from a more traditional senior male model towards a younger, more diverse, bilingual, bicultural team. Jennings takes particular satisfaction not in personal advancement but in seeing talented people, especially women, promoted into larger roles. He frames leadership as removing obstacles, securing resources, and backing capable people rather than controlling them. That is a significant shift away from hierarchical supervision and towards empowerment. Another major insight concerns engagement. Rather than accept low survey scores as a fixed Japan problem, Jennings replaced abstract annual questionnaires with thirty small-group focus sessions built around four direct questions. This surfaced practical barriers that a standardised survey missed. In effect, he moved from broad sentiment tracking to grounded organisational sensing. That approach resembles a more human version of modern management tools such as digital twins or data-led diagnostic systems: the aim is not data volume, but usable insight. Jennings remains optimistic about Japan’s future because he sees a new generation less constrained by inherited conventions. He believes many younger professionals want accelerated careers, global exposure, flexibility, and merit-based opportunity. His lesson is clear: leadership in Japan works best when it combines respect for consensus with encouragement for initiative, local sensitivity with global openness, and humility with conviction. Q&A Summary What makes leadership in Japan unique? Leadership in Japan is shaped by context more than cliché. Jennings suggests the distinctive challenge is not that Japanese teams are uniquely difficult, but that trust must be earned carefully and consistently. Consensus matters, and leaders must respect the logic behind nemawashi and ringi-sho rather than dismiss them as slow. People observe behaviour closely before deciding whether a leader is safe, credible, and worth following. Titles alone do not create followership. In practice, leadership in Japan requires patience, consistency, and a visible commitment to fairness. Why do global executives struggle? Many global executives struggle because they arrive overconfident or over-programmed. Jennings argues that outsiders often assume prior Asia experience transfers automatically into Japan. It does not. Japan requires a different cadence, especially around rapport, internal alignment, and decision support. Executives also fail when they underestimate how long trust-building takes. Jennings says it took two to three years before he felt his influence had truly taken root. Leaders who expect quick wins often misread silence as agreement and hierarchy as commitment. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Jennings does not deny caution exists, but he reframes the issue as uncertainty rather than simple risk aversion. In environments with strong uncertainty avoidance, employees can hesitate because the social cost of error feels high. That does not mean they lack ambition or imagination. It means leadership must lower the penalty for speaking up, experimenting, and surfacing problems. When employees believe bad news will be handled constructively, innovation becomes more possible. The issue is less about national character and more about psychological safety. What leadership style actually works? The style that works is people-centred, transparent, and supportive. Jennings repeatedly returns to one principle: leadership is a people job. He believes leaders should ask good questions, listen well, help teams secure resources, and avoid micromanagement. They should also model openness by welcoming challenge and by rewarding honesty instead of punishing it. This style aligns well with consensus cultures because it does not destroy harmony; it strengthens it through trust. Effective leaders also create points of light by visibly backing talented people into bigger roles. How can technology help? Technology can support leadership, but it cannot replace human judgment. Jennings’ critique of standard engagement surveys shows that data without context often misleads. Better systems should improve signal quality, not merely produce dashboards. In that sense, tools associated with decision intelligence, workforce analytics, or even digital twins of organisational processes can help leaders identify bottlenecks, bias, and friction. Yet Jennings’ own example shows the real breakthrough came from direct conversation. Technology is most useful when it sharpens listening rather than substitutes for it. Does language proficiency matter? Language proficiency helps, but Jennings suggests it is not decisive. He openly acknowledges not speaking Japanese, yet built credibility through authenticity, gratitude, and respectful conduct. He believes leaders can succeed without perfect language if they behave with integrity, remain accessible, and work through strong local talent. Language matters less than whether people believe the leader is genuine, fair, and willing to learn. Cultural arrogance is far more damaging than imperfect fluency. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? The ultimate lesson is that people rise when leaders combine belief with opportunity. Jennings insists that employees already possess the education and ability to succeed; what often separates performance is confidence, encouragement, and the chance to act. Great leadership in Japan is therefore not about overpowering culture but about unlocking potential within it. When leaders blend respect, transparency, empowerment, and resilience, they create an organisation where people are willing to speak, grow, and lead. Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/40348260

Ross Rowbury - Previous President, Edelman Japan 02/27/2026

Ross Rowbury - Previous President, Edelman Japan “The key thing is that the leader needs to be able to identify where those turning points or tipping points are so that they don't become a bottleneck in that process.” “In most cases, I feel like I only have about 30% of the necessary information to make me comfortable to make that decision.” “Consensus in a Japanese sense is that a little bit of everyone's idea is taken and included in the final solution so that everyone feels that they've been part of the final solution.” “If you want to be successful in business in Japan… it’s patience, persistence, and politeness.” “In Japan you can do anything. It's just that it will end up taking twice as much time and ended up costing you twice as much money.” Brief Bio Ross Rowbury was President of Edelman Japan, a leading local business through a decade of rapid growth from roughly 20 people to more than 80, making it one of the largest foreign PR operations in the market. He first arrived in Japan as a Rotary exchange student in high school and later returned after university to build his career across banking and securities, spending around nine years at a major Japanese broker before moving to foreign brokerages. After a short attempt at entrepreneurship, he shifted into the communications industry by leveraging his finance background in financial PR, eventually moving into senior leadership and today running the Japan business of Edelman, one of the world’s largest PR firms. Ross Rowbury’s leadership story in Japan is shaped by longevity, humility, and a practical acceptance that “certainty” is often a luxury leaders do not get. Having first come to Japan as a teenage exchange student and later returning to start his professional life in finance, he learned early that competence alone does not automatically translate into followership in a Japanese workplace. His first major leadership role arrived in his early thirties, when he was tasked with turning around a loss-making department. The performance goal was simple—make it profitable—but the cultural context was not. Every team member was at least a decade older, and the age hierarchy that can silently govern influence and legitimacy became a daily force. Resistance was not only about ideas; it was about identity, pride, and perceived loss of face. The experience produced intense stress, yet it also forged an enduring lesson: authority must be earned through results, relationships, and an ability to read the room—what many describe as kuuki. His move into PR introduced a different leadership terrain. Unlike finance, where outcomes can feel “black and white,” consulting work is creative, negotiated, and relational. Rowbury found it easier to lead by showing value through client work and solutions, particularly as experience and seniority reduced the friction of hierarchy. As Edelman Japan grew, his leadership challenge shifted again—from personal execution to organisational design. He describes the organisation as a living thing whose needs change over time, and he highlights a classic scaling trap: the leader becomes the bottleneck. In early growth, he joined every pitch; later, he stepped back to create space for others. The transition hurt—losing 15 pitches in a row tested resolve—but it ultimately built a stronger, more independent team. Rowbury’s current phase is defined by complexity: the industry’s digital disruption, the need to hire specialists from different backgrounds, and the cultural integration required when “the same words can mean very different things.” Even simple labels—like “project manager”—carry multiple definitions depending on whether someone comes from PR, advertising, or operations. In that environment, leadership becomes a translation exercise: aligning language, expectations, and pace, while creating a shared operating system that preserves commercial standards. His approach leans on repeated “fierce conversations,” explicit apology when he missteps, and a deliberate embrace of diversity in working styles. Across generations, he observes that expertise no longer belongs to tenure alone. Digital channels can invert authority, as younger team members may see the modern pathway to attention and amplification more clearly than traditional leaders. That reality raises the bar on transparency and trust. Employees want to understand why decisions are made, and they want to participate—pressures that pull Western-led organisations toward Japanese-style inclusion, closer to nemawashi and ringi-sho thinking, even when speed still matters. Ultimately, Rowbury frames leadership in Japan as patience with ambiguity, persistence without aggression, and politeness that protects relationships—paired with the courage to make decisions with incomplete information and to keep learning, even after decades in the country. Q&A Summary What makes leadership in Japan unique? Rowbury highlights that leadership legitimacy in Japan is often influenced by unspoken social structures—particularly age hierarchy and the atmospherics of kuuki. Early in his leadership journey, being significantly younger than his team triggered resistance that was less about competence and more about perceived status and face. He also distinguishes Japanese “consensus” from a Western interpretation: rather than persuading everyone to choose option three, Japanese consensus often blends elements of multiple views so people feel represented. That approach resembles nemawashi in practice—broad, pre-aligned input gathering—and can be operationalised through ringi-sho style circulation, but it demands time and careful social calibration. Why do global executives struggle? He argues that many executives arrive expecting clarity and control, yet Japan operates in “funny grey” where the boundaries between yes and no can be contextual. Managers used to speed may become frustrated by the slower cadence of alignment and the additional cost of coordination. Rowbury’s rule of thumb is blunt: in Japan, almost anything is possible, but it often takes twice the time and twice the money. The executives who struggle most are those who interpret delay as incompetence, rather than as a different system of risk management, quality, and relational assurance. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Rowbury reframes the question as one of uncertainty avoidance. In his view, Japan is not incapable of bold outcomes, but it seeks to reduce ambiguity before acting—often through broader consultation and incremental commitment. He also cautions against simplistic “mistakes are welcome” messaging in a hyper-connected media environment where a small error can cascade into reputational harm. The practical stance becomes bounded experimentation: encourage small, controlled risks that improve process and creativity, while drawing bright lines around compliance, client reputation, and legal exposure. What leadership style actually works? His answer combines consistency with adaptability. Leaders should not chase universal approval; they should maintain a coherent decision logic, communicate it repeatedly, and then adjust quickly when reality proves them wrong. He emphasises the importance of not becoming a bottleneck as organisations scale—delegation is both a growth strategy and a trust-building signal. He also recommends linguistic and cultural framing: avoid phrases that trigger fear (“that’s your responsibility”) and choose language that invites ownership (“I’ll leave it up to you”). In practice, the effective style blends Western decisiveness with Japanese inclusion—decision intelligence over impulse, and structured consultation over vague agreement. How can technology help? Rowbury points to digital disruption as the central driver of change in communications. Attention is scarce, narratives must land in seconds, and amplification requires integrated planning across social, events, and media. Technology can support leaders by creating clearer information flows as organisations grow—reducing the gap between what the leader needs internally and what the market demands externally. He also describes using AI-enabled engagement surveys to detect patterns and prioritise action. In a more advanced framing, leaders can borrow from decision intelligence concepts—dashboards, scenario planning, and even “digital twin” thinking for organisations—to test operational changes (like remote work and wellness policies) before scaling them. Does language proficiency matter? Rowbury suggests that success is less about perfect fluency and more about disciplined communication and cultural translation—understanding how the same words can mean different things across industries and backgrounds. The key is building a shared language inside the organisation, clarifying definitions, and repeating messages through multiple channels until they stick. That repetition is not redundancy; it is trust-building in a skeptical environment. Leaders who listen carefully, consult respectfully, and communicate consistently can bridge gaps even when language skills are not flawless. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? His core lesson is that leadership is continuous learning under conditions of imperfect information. He describes decision-making comfort as rare—leaders may only have 20–30% of what they wish they knew, yet they must still decide. The discipline is to keep moving, remain curious, and recover quickly from missteps. For newcomers to Japan, he distils it into the “three Ps”: patience, persistence, and politeness. In the long run, that mindset—paired with humility about culture, respect for the grey, and a commitment to keep learning—defines sustainable leadership in Japan. Timecoded Summary Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/40251755

Paul Hardisty - Former CEO, Adidas Japan 02/21/2026

Paul Hardisty - Former CEO, Adidas Japan “The trust part is very important.” “Change was a dirty word.” “Anything controversial was normally me.” “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.” Paul Hardisty is a finance-trained executive (CPA) who began his career in Melbourne and became CFO of a group of fashion brands across Australia and New Zealand, including Davenport, with licensing and distribution experience across brands such as Calvin Klein and Carhartt. In 1999, he joined adidas, initially slated for Indonesia just as Jakarta’s riots erupted, before ultimately leading adidas Indonesia for five years. He then spent six months in India addressing corruption issues, before moving to South Korea for more than six years, scaling the business significantly. Hardisty’s long-held ambition was Japan, and he relocated with his family to lead adidas Japan, where he spent around a decade and helped drive major growth. His career arc reflects repeated adaptation across markets, cultures, and organisational scale, culminating in leading one of adidas’s most sophisticated and strategically scrutinised country operations. Paul Hardisty’s leadership story is a study in scale, trust, and the mechanics of change inside a complex, matrixed multinational. Having built a finance foundation in Australia and then taken on consecutive country leadership roles across Indonesia and South Korea, he arrived in Japan with a reputation for delivery and a clear-eyed sense that every market has its own “bucket of challenges”. Japan’s challenge was not drama; it was magnitude. The jump in organisational size, headcount, and global attention required him to rethink how a leader stays close to the business without drowning in it. Hardisty’s early focus was listening: diagnosing issues, filling structural gaps, and building a strategy that could plug into global direction without losing local relevance. He frames trust as the non-negotiable foundation — not uniquely Japanese, but especially powerful in Japan when earned through consistency and “walking the talk”. This trust, once established, becomes the lubricant for cross-functional cooperation and the antidote to silent compliance. He is candid about engagement measurement and how it can mislead headquarters. Rather than treating scores as a simplistic international comparison, he focused on patterns, feedback, and the real operational drivers behind sentiment — restructures, headcount freezes, and incentives. His most controversial move was transparency: explaining the scoring system, challenging extremely low scorers to reconsider fit, and even enabling anonymous external applications. The point was not punitive; it was cultural clarity — engagement matters, but so does the integrity of the team environment. Hardisty also leaned into pride as a motivational engine. In sport, brand affiliation and national moments (such as major tournaments) can transform “company” into “identity”. He institutionalised that energy through internal competitions, event tickets, surprise guests, and subsidised sports clubs, making motivation tangible and social. Where his approach becomes especially instructive is in diversity and global mobility. He resisted the idea that Japan must be led only by Japanese, or that Japanese leaders must stay in Japan. By placing non-Japanese local hires throughout the organisation and building pathways for Japanese talent to take overseas roles (including shorter three-month rotations), he pushed the company beyond passive consensus into practical internationalisation — a form of organisational nemawashi performed through staffing architecture rather than meeting-room persuasion. On innovation, he names the core friction: uncertainty avoidance and the comfort of repeating proven routines. To counter that, he used incentives, anonymity, and then a structural breakthrough — a business development function reporting directly to him, acting as an internal project-management and strategy engine. It reduced “not my job” resistance, spread ownership, and accelerated decision flow in a ringi-sho world where approvals can slow momentum. Ultimately, Hardisty’s Japan lesson is not that Japan is “impossible”. It is that Japan rewards leaders who operationalise trust, make change safe to attempt, and build systems that carry strategy through the middle layers to the front line. Q&A Summary What makes leadership in Japan unique? Hardisty sees Japan as different in flavour, not in degree. The distinguishing feature is the strength of trust and loyalty once credibility is earned. In a consensus environment shaped by nemawashi and ringi-sho processes, alignment is powerful, but it must be cultivated deliberately and communicated repeatedly at scale. Why do global executives struggle? He argues many leaders struggle because they over-index on stereotypes and get “brainwashed” by received wisdom — what cannot be done, what must be done, and why Japan is supposedly exceptional. That mindset can cause unnecessary caution, poor decisions, and a failure to see the “bucket load of good things” that make Japan workable and rewarding. Is Japan truly risk-averse? He frames the issue less as risk and more as uncertainty avoidance. People protect reputation by staying within proven patterns, which can look like risk aversion. His antidote is to reframe experimentation as responsible learning, supported by incentives, clear ownership, and leadership cover when outcomes are not perfect. What leadership style actually works? His style is direct, transparent, and human. He uses openness to build trust, shares personal context to reduce distance, and creates forums where information flows both ways. He is also willing to be “controversial” when cultural drift undermines performance or engagement. How can technology help? While he does not position Japan as a technology problem, his operating model maps well to decision intelligence: creating a central function that gathers intel, runs meetings, manages projects, and accelerates cross-functional execution. In modern terms, leaders can use analytics, scenario planning, and even digital twins of the business to test change before rollout, reducing perceived uncertainty and speeding consensus without bypassing it. Does language proficiency matter? He acknowledges language as a major early hurdle and treats capability-building as an investment. Translation support, English training, and mixed-nationality teams can slow meetings, but they also expand opportunity and shift mindsets. Language is not only communication; it is a gateway to global mobility and a catalyst for new thinking. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? Hardisty’s core lesson is that repeating the same actions while expecting different results is organisational self-deception. In Japan, change requires systems, structure, and trust — and leaders must design the pathways that make change executable from the top to the shop floor. Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/40182140

Harry Hill — Former CEO, Shop Japan 02/13/2026

Harry Hill — Former CEO, Shop Japan “Everybody having a shared sense of purpose and shared values… is just absolutely imperative.” “I trust you, and I start from the perspective of trust.” “I would always caution Western leaders… to not just fill up empty space.” “Getting buy-in from a Japanese team is really hard. But… once you get buy in… you absolutely over-perform.” “Identify who are the biggest obstacles… and move them immediately and publicly.” Harry Hill is an American entrepreneur whose career in Japan began by chance and grew into one of the country’s most recognised direct marketing success stories. His connection to Japan started in college after discovering Shorinji Kempo, which sparked an interest in Japanese culture and language. After studying Japanese for two years, he moved to Japan and worked as an English teacher, including a posting in Gifu Prefecture. A major turning point came when he worked as an international coordinator for a regional expo, building relationships with businesses across Gifu, Nagoya, and the wider Chubu region. After a short stint in New York as a bond trader, Hill returned to Japan in 1990 and began building businesses by spotting “holes in the market,” including work as a sports agent and grassroots exchange initiatives. In Nagoya, he co-founded a relocation and real estate services company for multinationals. His most significant chapter came with Oaklawn Marketing and Shop Japan, where he spent around two decades shaping Japan’s TV shopping and direct marketing landscape. Under his leadership, the business grew dramatically—expanding from roughly 15 billion yen to nearly 70 billion yen in annual sales, with around 1,000 employees. In 2009, NTT DoCoMo acquired 51% of the business, placing Hill in the rare position of leading a high-growth company inside a large, formal Japanese corporate structure. Now active in new ventures, Hill remains known for adaptability across industries and for a leadership approach shaped by building culture, empowerment, and sustained performance in Japan. Harry Hill’s leadership story in Japan reads like a case study in adaptability—starting with accidental encounters and evolving into deliberate, high-stakes decisions across entrepreneurship, corporate growth, and cultural navigation. His early fascination with Shorinji Kempo led to a deeper interest in Japan’s mindset: discipline, hierarchy, and the quiet social architecture that shapes how people organise themselves. That curiosity eventually turned into action—learning Japanese, moving to Japan, teaching English in Gifu, and then shifting into business after exposure to the Chubu region’s commercial networks during a major expo. Hill’s defining strength is an instinct for recognising market inefficiencies and cultural leverage points. He describes his work in terms of finding “holes in the market” and building solutions that fit the local context without fetishising Japanese exceptionalism. His belief that “people are people” becomes a strategy: focus less on what is uniquely Japanese and more on universal human needs—then customise execution with local sensitivity. This approach carried through to the growth of Shop Japan, where direct marketing and TV shopping became a platform for shaping entirely new product categories, particularly in home fitness. Yet the interview’s most valuable leadership content emerges not from growth numbers, but from Hill’s hard-won understanding of culture and execution under pressure. He recounts the challenge of building sustainable performance in a call centre environment—an area often defined by churn, stress, and transactional management. When turnover ran as high as 15–20% per month, the business could still be profitable, but it was unstable and costly. Hill’s solution was cultural engineering: building shared purpose, professionalism, and empowerment so the work became meaningful, not merely repetitive. That emphasis on meaning also becomes a decision system. Hill talks about integrity as something employees can only judge through transparency and consistent action—particularly in Japan, where leaders are often physically and symbolically removed. He also flips a common managerial assumption: rather than demanding people “earn trust,” he starts by giving trust and uses accountability as the mechanism that sustains it. For cross-cultural leadership, Hill offers a practical warning: Western executives often rush to fill silence, mistaking reflection for disengagement. In Japan, silence is frequently where thinking happens—where consensus-building and informal alignment (nemawashi) begin. The result is a leadership style that prioritises listening, synthesis, and decision clarity—then insists on execution. He frames this through his acronym VICES—vision, integrity, competency, efficiency, and sustained success—designed both as a checklist and a caution against ego. Across startups and conglomerates, Hill’s core lesson remains consistent: leadership in Japan is less about charisma and more about building a culture that can perform through highs and lows, while removing obstacles before they poison the system. Q&A Summary What makes leadership in Japan unique? Leadership in Japan is shaped by comfort with hierarchy and role clarity, alongside a decision culture that values alignment before action. Japanese teams often expect leaders to manage the social process that precedes execution—consensus, context sharing, and careful calibration of group comfort versus productive discomfort. This dynamic connects closely to nemawashi and the ringi-sho style of organisational agreement, where the “decision” is often the final formal step after substantial informal work has already occurred. Why do global executives struggle? Global executives often struggle because they over-prioritise speed and verbal dominance. Hill cautions against filling silence, which can shut down participation and block honest input. Many leaders focus on getting things done without building the cultural environment that makes execution sustainable. Without that base, teams may comply with processes but withhold emotional commitment—leading to fragile performance and passive resistance. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Hill frames the issue less as risk aversion and more as uncertainty avoidance. Teams may resist actions that feel socially destabilising or poorly aligned, even when the underlying idea is sound. Once buy-in is achieved, however, Japanese teams can “absolutely over-perform,” because commitment becomes collective and execution standards rise. The challenge is that alignment requires patience, credibility, and consistency—especially in environments where leaders rotate every three to five years. What leadership style actually works? The most effective style combines listening with decisiveness. Hill prefers to “set the table,” step back to let others mediate, then synthesise and decide. This approach respects group process while maintaining leadership authority. It also supports a healthier culture: shared purpose, professionalism, empowerment, and clear standards. He emphasises that leaders must “walk the talk,” because consistency is the difference between a winning culture and a chaotic one. How can technology help? Hill points to major media and technology shifts—digital TV, mobile, and smartphones—as forces that reshape business models. In leadership terms, technology can support decision intelligence by improving visibility into performance, customer sentiment, and operational bottlenecks. Tools such as digital twins, predictive analytics, and structured feedback loops can help leaders stress-test decisions before rollout, reducing uncertainty and accelerating alignment without undermining consensus. Does language proficiency matter? Language matters, but Hill’s emphasis is more on behaviour than fluency. Leaders must demonstrate engagement beyond the inner circle, show curiosity about everyday work, and build trust through presence. Practical actions—wandering the organisation, listening to frontline voices, and respecting the social dance of decision-making—often matter as much as linguistic sophistication. Cultural literacy is the real multiplier. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? Hill’s ultimate lesson is that culture drives sustained performance. Start with trust, listen first, and build shared purpose so employees believe their work matters. Then be unflinching about obstacles: identify cultural “cancers” and remove them quickly and publicly, because the organisation already knows who they are. Finally, celebrate small wins to reduce fear of mistakes and to keep momentum alive—sustained success comes from maintaining morale and standards through both gains and setbacks. Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/40070245

284 Grant Torrens — Managing Director, Hays Japan 02/06/2026

284 Grant Torrens — Managing Director, Hays Japan “First thing I’d say is do it… just throw yourself into it.” “Spend the first ninety days getting to know the people… listening… before acting.” “Communication here is more high context… there’s a lot of reading between the lines.” “Trust is doing what you say you would do.” “A leader is someone who takes a strategy and a vision breaks that down into habits… and empowers people to execute.” Grant Torrens is an Australian recruitment leader and long-tenured Hays executive who became Managing Director of Hays Japan after a two-decade, multi-country journey with the firm. He joined Hays in London in 2006 through its graduate program—initially as a jobseeker who “fell into recruitment” like many in the industry—working a demanding hedge-fund desk in the City. After navigating the Global Financial Crisis, he took a career break to travel across Southeast Asia, where a short visit to colleagues in Singapore turned into a relocation, leveraging Hays’ global internal mobility and his transferable financial-services recruitment expertise. ] Years later, he was offered the Japan role—but COVID-era border restrictions meant he effectively “ran Japan from Singapore” for about 15 months, relying heavily on his Japan leadership team and building data-driven management systems to lead remotely. When he finally relocated to Tokyo, he focused on deep listening, high-clarity communication, and change management—while guiding Hays Japan through a strategic shift toward stronger service for Nikkei clients and hiring more Japanese nationals, including team members who don’t work in English. Grant Torrens’ leadership story is built on three threads: global mobility, remote-first problem solving under pressure, and culture-building at the intersection of Hays’ global norms and Japan’s high-context communication. He joined Hays “by accident” in London—starting in financial services at a moment when the City rewarded performance and speed, then learning to survive and adapt through the post-2008 shock. The early lesson that carries forward is pragmatic: when conditions change, your approach must pivot too. That mindset shows up repeatedly in his later Japan leadership—especially when COVID delayed his physical move and forced him to lead Japan from outside the country. During that “remote with a capital R” period, Torrens deliberately upgraded the mechanics of decision-making: he turned raw sales and activity data into usable management information, taught himself Excel at a much higher level, and used those insights to create sharper, more useful conversations over video calls. It’s a very modern leadership move, but grounded in a classic idea: if you can’t rely on presence, you rely on clarity—data clarity, expectation clarity, and communication clarity. Once on the ground in Japan, his operating principle remained “listen first.” He emphasizes that many leaders arrive, see processes that look “wrong,” and try to replace them with headquarters logic—only to discover later those practices existed to serve customers and local realities. His antidote is explicit: spend the first ~90 days learning, not executing change. In Japan specifically, he adds two important nuances: (1) communication tends to be high-context—direct bluntness that feels “normal” in Australia/UK can land badly in Japan, and (2) trust is tightly linked to process—nemawashi and broad involvement matter, even if it slows decisions compared to London-style speed. On culture, Torrens frames “Grant culture” as mostly aligned with Hays culture after 20 years inside the firm—but he still sees leadership latitude inside the umbrellas of global standards and Japanese expectations. His chosen lever is change: he wants a culture where change is less feared and more celebrated. That includes giving people “permission” to try, treating mistakes as learning data (especially early), avoiding public blame, and celebrating wins so innovation feels worth the effort. He also highlights the practical friction of language and meaning: even company values can translate oddly, so global messaging must be adapted carefully to remain faithful—especially as Hays Japan expands its Nikkei-facing business and hires more Japanese-only speakers. Q&A Summary Why did you choose recruitment—and how did Japan happen? Recruitment wasn’t the plan; it was an opportunity in London when he was unemployed and out of options. Japan was always in the background (he studied Japanese), but Singapore became the stepping stone because it was an easy transition into Asia—English-speaking, same company, and the financial services sector was transferable. How did you lead Japan while stuck in Singapore during COVID? Two pillars: a supportive Asia boss and a strong Japan management team. Personally, he built better reporting/insight systems—turning “raw data” into actionable information—so he could manage outcomes without relying on physical visibility. How do you build trust in Japan? He treats trust as universal but harder-won in Japan if you ignore high-context communication and consensus processes. Practically: reciprocate trust, be fair, do what you say you’ll do, and follow verbal messages with written confirmation to reduce misunderstanding—especially across language boundaries. How do you get bottom-up ideas in a high-context culture? He uses second-level (and broader) conversations—while explicitly asking permission and explaining intent so it doesn’t feel like bypassing managers. The goal is pattern recognition: common themes that reveal what the organization should improve, not “who said what about whom.” What advice would you give a leader moving to Japan? Do it (don’t overthink yourself into regret). Then: listen before acting (including to customers), communicate with extra clarity (avoid slang/idioms), and intentionally build a culture where change is normal and safe—because the organization will look different in 3–10 years no matter what. Author Credentials 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, and hosts multiple weekly podcasts and YouTube shows, including Japan’s Top Business Interviews. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/40017995

283 Beat Kraehenmann — Managing Director, Levitronix Japan 01/30/2026

283 Beat Kraehenmann — Managing Director, Levitronix Japan “Don’t be the loud foreigner who just says we do this and this and this.” “It’s okay to make mistakes if you identify them, if you learn from them in the future.” “If you have an open mind, just listen first.” “You cannot spend enough time on just talking and communicating with people.” “For me, right now a leader is somebody who helps employees to achieve the potential, their mission.” Beat Kraehenmann is a Swiss-born electrical engineer who moved to Japan to change the trajectory of his life and immerse himself in Asia. After studying at a technical university and working in network engineering at Swiss Railways, he relocated to Japan independently, began full-time language study, and built early career momentum through contract roles before securing permanent employment as a network engineer. A long-time university friend working at Levitronix connected him to the company when the Swiss headquarters needed someone who could bridge Japan and Switzerland across language, culture, and technical detail. He joined Levitronix Japan around twelve and a half years ago and became Managing Director roughly a year later—his first formal management role. Under his leadership, the organisation expanded from four people in one location to a thirteen-person team spread across five offices (from Tokyo through Ogaki, Kyoto, Fukuoka and Kumamoto), supporting demanding customers in semiconductor and life sciences manufacturing with magnetic levitation pump technology designed to reduce particle contamination in ultra-fine production environments. Beat Kraehenmann leads Levitronix Japan at the intersection of Swiss engineering precision, Japan’s uncompromising quality expectations, and the realities of scaling a specialist business across multiple regional offices. Levitronix is a Swiss company producing fluid control devices—especially pumps for semiconductor manufacturing and life science production—where particle avoidance is mission-critical. As chip structures push deeper into nanometre ranges, even microscopic contamination can become catastrophic, and the firm’s magnetic levitation approach is positioned as a practical advantage in an industry that prizes stability and repeatability. Kraehenmann’s leadership story begins with a deliberate personal disruption: he chose Japan because it felt safe enough to navigate while still offering a gateway to broader Asia, and he committed to language learning on the ground. That same pattern—commit, learn, adapt—shapes his approach as Managing Director. He describes leadership less as command-and-control and more as enabling others: providing the means, information, and training so employees can succeed without dependency on him. In Japan, where consensus-building (nemawashi, ringi-sho) and uncertainty avoidance often influence decision velocity, he emphasises communication discipline: listening, checking understanding, and creating the time to align—especially across non-native English environments where misunderstandings compound quickly. He also frames long-term commitment as a trust accelerator, both for customers and for employees: staying power matters in Japan, and reliability is read as intent. A defining cultural bridge in his management is psychological safety around learning. Levitronix’s stance that mistakes are acceptable when identified and learned from runs counter to “no defect” instincts that can dominate Japanese quality mindsets. Kraehenmann doesn’t dismiss that instinct; instead, he contextualises it with real-world examples of fast growth, supplier constraints, and even customer admissions that quality issues are a daily struggle. The message is not “mistakes don’t matter,” but “learning matters more than denial”—a practical compromise that maintains credibility with Japanese expectations while keeping a smaller, faster-moving organisation functional. As the company expanded geographically, he encountered the classic distributed-team problem: “frogs in wells” with limited visibility into each other’s context. His solution is deliberately flexible—more meetings when communication gaps appear, fewer when the system stabilises—paired with careful hiring for autonomy. He also differentiates customer engagement from template-driven “Japanese” presentations, pushing teams to stand out through demonstrations and tactile proof, while still respecting relationship norms. And while AI dominates headlines, he notes semiconductor’s conservatism: innovation must serve stable mass manufacturing, not disrupt it for fashion—though decision intelligence, digital twins, and data-driven reliability will increasingly shape how suppliers prove value without threatening uptime. Q&A Summary What makes leadership in Japan unique? Leadership in Japan is shaped by long-term orientation, relationship continuity, and high expectations for reliability. Consensus processes (nemawashi, ringi-sho) can be invisible to outsiders yet decisive in outcomes, and leaders must work with cultural uncertainty avoidance rather than against it. For Kraehenmann, the practical implication is time: time to listen, time to confirm understanding, and time to build trust through consistent behaviour. Why do global executives struggle? Many global executives arrive expecting headquarters logic to translate directly, then get frustrated by different rhythms of decision-making, communication, and customer expectations. Kraehenmann’s warning is straightforward: don’t arrive as “the loud foreigner.” Respect is conveyed through curiosity, patience, and willingness to adapt the approach to local reality—especially before trying to “fix” anything. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Japan often appears risk-averse because the cost of defects is treated as existential, particularly in high-precision industries. But Kraehenmann frames the nuance: once trust exists and the learning story is clear, improvement is expected and experimentation is possible. Risk is not rejected; it is managed through process, narrative clarity, and demonstrated commitment to not repeating errors. What leadership style actually works? A credible, team-embedded style works: being “part of the team,” leading from the front, and doing whatever needs doing. Kraehenmann positions himself as a counsellor and mentor—helping employees prepare, equipping them with case studies, training, and presentation skills—rather than obsessing over targets and directives. This balances authority with approachability and reinforces “same boat” solidarity. How can technology help? Technology helps when it improves stability and learning without threatening continuity. In conservative manufacturing environments, tools that support reliability—analytics, decision intelligence, simulation, and digital twins—tend to be more acceptable than disruptive experimentation. AI may have value, but only when it strengthens repeatability, quality, and uptime rather than becoming a buzzword project. Does language proficiency matter? Yes, because language is trust and speed. Kraehenmann notes that multilingual environments are often “non-native on both sides,” which increases misunderstanding risk. Investing time in communication—speaking, listening, re-checking meaning—matters as much as vocabulary. Japanese proficiency also improves daily work enjoyment and strengthens customer and employee rapport, even if fluency takes years. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? The ultimate lesson is enabling others: leadership is helping employees fulfil their potential and mission, and doing the quiet work of communication and trust-building that makes that possible. In Japan, that means commitment, humility, and consistent follow-through—paired with a learning mindset that treats mistakes as data, not shame. Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/39765765

282 Joerg Bauer — Representative Director, Heidelberg Japan 01/23/2026

282 Joerg Bauer — Representative Director, Heidelberg Japan “If we can sell it in Japan, we can sell it also in other countries.” “The first thing I believe is honesty, especially in difficult situations.” “The word “musukashi” is not allowed anymore in our company.” “When an engineer is working at the customer and he cannot solve the problem… even if time is up, he would not walk away.” “You need to give them… a safety rope.” Joerg Bauer is the Representative Director of Heidelberg Japan, leading a business that provides industrial printing and packaging solutions across software, machinery, and consumables. Trained in electronics and data processing, he joined Heidelberg early and built his career at the intersection of engineering, customer service, and operational transformation. He first came to Japan as a young engineer—curious about Japanese manufacturing and culture—and expected a three-to-five-year stint that became a decade. After returning to Germany for several years, he relocated again to Japan in 2008 and has remained since, spending the majority of his professional life in-country. Over nearly four decades with Heidelberg (including his student period), Bauer progressed from technical roles to sales support, then into major integration work as a project manager during corporate merger and SAP rollout, later becoming IT business manager. Back in Japan, he led initiatives such as introducing an online shop for consumables—initially resisted internally as “not possible in Japan”—before moving through service leadership and sales leadership. In November 2019, he became the top executive in Japan, drawing on long-term relationships, practical bilingual experience, and a clear view of how global standards must be delivered through local Japanese expectations. Heidelberg is not a desktop-printer brand; it is an industrial backbone for companies producing packaging, books, and brochures—machines that can stretch 30–40 metres, weigh dozens of tonnes, and require deep integration of mechanics, electronics, and software workflows from PDF to professional output. In Japan, where customer expectations for precision and service are famously demanding, Joerg Bauer describes the market as a proving ground: if a solution succeeds here, it can succeed almost anywhere. That mindset shapes not just product quality, but operating tempo—such as rapid call-back expectations and a service culture that must feel uncompromisingly Japanese to the customer. Bauer’s leadership story is inseparable from cultural translation. He sees genuine overlap between German and Japanese monozukuri—high-precision engineering and pride in build quality—yet emphasises that working methods diverge. In his view, Japanese competitors historically excelled by targeting operators’ pain points and incrementally automating “the hardest parts” of a process. Heidelberg’s approach leaned more holistic, sometimes slower, aiming for a unified system rather than a patchwork of quick fixes. That contrast becomes a leadership lesson: Japan often rewards kaizen and immediate usability, while global headquarters may prioritise system architecture and standardisation. The leader’s job is to bridge both without triggering organisational paralysis. He also treats Japan’s “zero defect” instinct as both strength and tension. Perfection is culturally persuasive, but defining “perfect” is complex—especially in areas like colour, where human perception varies and measurement systems (LAB values) can create a more rational definition of quality. Bauer frames this as an executive’s communication challenge: aligning printing companies, their clients, and internal teams around what quality means in measurable terms, without dismissing the cultural preference for flawless outcomes. Internally, he is candid about the real constraint: uncertainty avoidance. When teams say “muzukashii,” they often mean risk, status loss, channel conflict, or fear of being linked to failure. His response is practical: find early adopters, run controlled trials, protect participants from reputational downside, and then scale what works. As the top executive since 2019, he anchors trust in honesty—especially during difficult periods involving financial pressure and restructuring—while resisting the temptation to hide behind “Japan is different” as an excuse. For Bauer, effective leadership in Japan is not softness; it is clarity, preparation (nemawashi), and a consistent safety rope that makes innovation feel survivable. Q&A Summary What makes leadership in Japan unique? Leadership in Japan is uniquely shaped by consensus-building, nemawashi, and a deep preference for harmony that reduces surprises. Bauer’s experience suggests that outcomes improve when stakeholders are aligned before formal decisions—similar to ringi-sho logic—because it lowers execution risk and face-loss. The practical implication is that leaders must invest earlier in communication, even when it feels like “over-communication” to global executives. Why do global executives struggle? Bauer highlights isolation as a core failure mode: arriving as president without language, relationships, or a trusted internal power base leaves leaders cut off from the real data and informal context. Teams may answer only what is asked, not what is relevant. Without the ability to ask precise questions—and verify through multiple sources—leaders can drift off-track while believing they are informed. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Bauer treats “risk aversion” as uncertainty avoidance rather than laziness. “Muzukashii” often signals fear of failure, channel conflict, or reputational cost. The workaround is not motivational speeches; it is risk design: small pilots, visible executive sponsorship, and protection for participants. In decision intelligence terms, leaders must reduce perceived downside, increase clarity, and make learning safe. What leadership style actually works? His emphasis is direct: honesty in difficult situations, plus a clear rationale for change. He can be “very German” in being frank and direct, but he pairs that with structured buy-in and visible modelling of how to communicate with headquarters. He argues that near the customer, the organisation must behave Japanese—language, documents, yen-based business norms—while headquarters discussions sometimes require unusually direct boundary-setting. How can technology help? In Bauer’s domain, technology is not abstract transformation theatre; it is operational leverage. Software workflows, automation, measurement standards (such as colour metrics), and modern service systems can reduce ambiguity and speed decisions. Applied well, digital twins and predictive maintenance concepts can also shift service from reactive “fix it now” pressure to planned reliability—supporting both customer expectations and internal resource planning. Does language proficiency matter? Bauer implies language is a major accelerator for trust and accuracy. Without Japanese proficiency, leaders rely on interpreters who may lack business judgment, or on English speakers who may not be organisational power players. Language competence improves question quality, speeds nemawashi, and reduces misalignment between intent and interpretation. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? Bauer’s core lesson is that leadership is bridge-building under uncertainty: earn trust through honesty, reduce fear with a safety rope, and translate between cultures without letting either side become an excuse. In Japan, sustainable performance comes from combining consensus with clarity—bringing people along while still insisting on profitability, accountability, and forward movement. Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/39694605

281 Shu Kimura — Founder, Boulangerie Maison Kayser Japan 01/16/2026

281 Shu Kimura — Founder, Boulangerie Maison Kayser Japan “The purpose of my business is not only bake and sell, because we are introducing… culture or food habits of France to the Japanese people.” “Japanese people don't buy baguettes because they don't know how to eat it.” “After twenty shops, I needed to change my mentality to be the new type leaders.” “I have responsibility for the life of the workers.” Shu Kimura is the founder of Boulangerie Maison Kayser Japan and a fellow Rotarian. Born into the Kimura family, whose ancestors helped introduce bread-making techniques to Japan via Nagasaki (Dejima) in the 1600s, he chose to build a separate path rather than continue the established family business. He studied law at university, then worked in insurance for six years in market development before deciding to become a baker. He trained in the United States in Kansas, studying wheat science and fermentation chemistry, then worked as a baker at Amy’s Bread in New York City. He later went to France to train closely with artisanal baker Eric Kayser living near his home as a private trainee before being invited to become a business partner to bring the brand concept to Japan. Kimura built the company in 2000 and opened the first Japan store in Takanawa in 2001. Over time, he grew the business to dozens of locations across Japan, leading hundreds of employees while navigating Japan’s distinctive customer habits, service expectations, and people-management realities. Shu Kimura’s leadership story is a case study in translating a food culture—not merely selling a product—into a market with different habits, assumptions, and decision styles. He entered baking after a first career in insurance, then rebuilt himself through technical study of fermentation and wheat science in Kansas, practical craft in New York, and high-intensity apprenticeship in France. That blend of science, craft, and commercial pragmatism shaped how he approached Japan: with conviction about quality, but equal focus on “how to sell” in a society where bread is often treated as a one-hand snack rather than part of a shared table. His early strategic insight was not that Japanese consumers disliked baguettes, but that many simply lacked a usage framework. That is a leadership lesson in market education: changing behaviour requires storytelling, context, and repeated micro-demonstrations. Sampling hundreds of baguette slices daily, Kimura used seasonal moments—Christmas and New Year’s gatherings—to help customers discover bread as a centrepiece of hospitality. The result was not incremental improvement but a demand inflection point: the product did not change; the meaning did. As the company expanded, Kimura’s definition of leadership evolved in stages: hands-on labour at one to three shops, charisma and founder-driven momentum from four to twenty, and then a deliberate shift from “activist and baker” to architect of systems, accountability, and culture. This transition mirrors a broader Japan leadership truth: scale forces leaders to move from doing to enabling, from individual mastery to organisational capability. Kimura also highlights a practical contrast between European-style top-down authority and Japan’s preference for shared understanding and bottom-up execution. Rather than merely issuing task-level directives, he argues that people in Japan need the whole picture first—the total view—before work can be broken into puzzle pieces. This aligns with consensus dynamics such as nemawashi (pre-alignment) and ringi-sho (circulating approval), where clarity of purpose and social alignment can matter as much as speed. In an uncertainty-avoidant environment, trust is built through repeated communication: purpose, targets, role clarity, and recognition systems that show personal growth. Technology appears in his leadership thinking not as novelty, but as operational resilience—sales planning, ordering, loss control, and cross-application data transfer. The strategic point is decision intelligence: reducing waste and stabilising performance through better signals, with the potential to build digital-twin-like visibility into demand, production, and staffing over time. Yet Kimura remains grounded: culture, education, and human motivation are the levers that keep quality consistent across many locations. Q&A Summary What makes leadership in Japan unique? Kimura frames Japan as a context where leadership effectiveness depends on shared understanding, not merely authority. He contrasts European “boss is boss” top-down control with a Japanese style that works better when leaders explain the total view of the company first, then break it down into actionable pieces. In practice, that means investing heavily in communication of purpose, targets, and role boundaries—an approach consistent with consensus-building patterns such as nemawashi and ringi-sho. Why do global executives struggle? He implies the struggle often comes from applying familiar command-and-control habits in a market that expects alignment, context, and relationship-based coherence. Leaders who only provide “do this, do that” instructions may fail to create commitment. Without the larger narrative—why the work matters—people drift, and brand consistency erodes across locations. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Kimura’s experience suggests “risk-averse” is often a shorthand for “uncertainty-avoidant.” The baguette challenge was not fear of trying something new; it was uncertainty about how to use it. When he taught customers how to eat baguette and anchored it to family occasions, behaviour changed rapidly. The leadership implication: reduce uncertainty with education, examples, and social proof. What leadership style actually works? He describes a staged evolution: doer-leader at small scale, charismatic founder at mid-scale, then system-builder after twenty shops. The effective style becomes one of delegation with accountability—pushing responsibility down to store and area leaders while reinforcing philosophy and standards through education. Trust is sustained through fair, frequently improved HR systems that recognise growth and provide future pathways. How can technology help? Kimura points to connected planning for orders and sales, and systems to manage loss control and operational accuracy. He also discusses using systems to support smaller independent bakeries with HR and payroll calculations. This is technology as operational leverage—moving toward decision intelligence and potentially digital twin capabilities—while acknowledging cost constraints and the reality that some AI applications may still be premature. Does language proficiency matter? He treats language as a tool rather than the essence: interpretation can solve comprehension, but the substance of what a leader communicates is decisive. In other words, clarity of message, philosophy, and intent carries more weight than linguistic perfection. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? For Kimura, leadership is responsibility for people’s livelihoods: failure affects hundreds of jobs, not just the founder’s personal assets. That sense of stewardship drives his focus on communication, education, continuous system improvement, and the creation of a “happy life with bread” shared by bakers, shop staff, and customers alike. Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/39694550

280 Mika Matsuo - Former CHRO, AIG Japan 01/10/2026

280 Mika Matsuo - Former CHRO, AIG Japan “I listen and I also am always very transparent.” “Who cares about what people think about me?” “If my boss, my future boss, thinks that I’m capable, I must be.” “Leadership is really defining where we’re going, whether it’s the end state or whether it’s a goal.” Mika Matsuo is a Japan-based executive and former AIG Japan CHRO known for repeatedly stepping into unfamiliar roles and delivering change. Born and raised in Japan but educated in an international school environment in Yokohama, she took an early decision to build a global career, studying at Tufts University in Boston and completing an MBA at the University of San Francisco. She began her career at Citibank Japan during the build-out of its retail business, where exposure to strong, international leaders shaped her standards for integrity, preparedness, and opportunity-taking. After earning Six Sigma Master Black Belt credentials, she moved into an internal consulting role at JPMorgan Chase during the post-merger integration period, then joined Tokyo Star Bank as Head of HR without prior HR experience—learning labour law, restructures, and culture change in real time. She later expanded her scope as Head of HR for Asia Pacific at Moody’s and returned to Tokyo Star Bank to lead the retail business, navigating crisis leadership after the March 2011 earthquake. She joined AIG to help integrate AIU and Fuji Fire & Marine, later serving nearly a decade and attributing successful integration to clear leadership direction and a “build a new company” mindset. Today, she contributes through board and advisory work, drawing on a career defined by adaptability in Japan’s complex corporate environment. Mika Matsuo’s career arc reads like a deliberate challenge to the usual Japanese corporate script: international education, overseas degrees, and then a sequence of high-stakes roles where she often began as an outsider to the function, the business line, or both. Rather than treating those gaps as liabilities, she used them as leverage—asking questions early, leaning on strong teams, and creating trust through transparency. The result is a leadership style that is calm under uncertainty, candid about limitations, and built around listening as a strategic discipline rather than a soft skill. Her formative years in global finance gave her two lasting advantages. First, mentors who rewarded capability over status helped her internalise a belief that many professionals—especially women—struggle to adopt: if the organisation has decided she can do it, she can. Second, she saw how quickly culture shifts when leaders normalise openness, practical delegation, and continuous learning. Those lessons mattered most when she moved into Japan’s banking transformation era, where legacy norms around hierarchy, gender expectations, and “we’ve always done it this way” thinking still dominated. At Tokyo Star Bank, she helped introduce practices that would be routine in many gaishikei firms but were disruptive inside a traditional Japanese bank context—removing women’s uniforms, supporting spousal transfers to preserve women’s careers, and encouraging leave for study and volunteering. The aim wasn’t cosmetic modernisation; it was building a more transparent, sustainable system that could attract and retain talent. That commitment to sustainability becomes a recurring theme in her advice: organisations that still depend on extreme overtime, weekend obligations, and performative busyness are not structurally built for the future workforce Japan needs. A defining moment of her leadership development came during the March 2011 earthquake response, when she saw high-performing teamwork replace individual heroics. With a Sendai branch that had to reopen under Ministry of Finance expectations, her role shifted to decision-making, prioritisation, and supporting a team that was independently executing critical actions. That experience reinforced her belief that leadership is not doing everything—it is creating clarity, building trust, and letting capable people run. Across roles—from HR transformation to business leadership to post-merger integration—she returns to the same core: authenticity paired with respect, vulnerability as a trust-builder, and an open mind that actively checks bias. In Japan, where consensus-building (nemawashi) and formal approval flows (ringi-sho) often shape outcomes, her approach offers a practical bridge: respect the process, accelerate it through clarity, and build followership by being transparent about goals, trade-offs, and constraints. Q&A Summary What makes leadership in Japan unique? Leadership in Japan is uniquely shaped by the need for trust, respect, and collective alignment. Decision-making often relies on consensus-building through nemawashi and formal pathways such as ringi-sho, meaning leaders must manage time, stakeholders, and expectations while maintaining harmony. Matsuo’s emphasis is that respect for Japanese ways of doing business is non-negotiable, but understanding the process helps leaders make it faster and more effective once they know how the pieces fit together. Why do global executives struggle? Global executives often struggle because they misread capability through the lens of English fluency and underestimate how much “invisible coordination” is happening beneath the surface. They may also push for rapid decisions before alignment has formed, mistaking slower Japanese pacing for resistance. Matsuo’s warning is blunt: don’t be deceived by language skill, and don’t accept “not possible in Japan” as a default answer—often it means someone simply doesn’t know how to do it legally, respectfully, and in an organised way. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Japan is frequently labelled risk-averse, but a more accurate framing is uncertainty avoidance. Leaders may appear cautious because they are working to reduce ambiguity and prevent downstream disruption. Once a decision is made, execution can move quickly—especially if the leader has done the groundwork to secure buy-in. What leadership style actually works? The leadership style that works is clarity plus trust. Matsuo’s playbook is listening deeply, being transparent (including about personal constraints), and staying respectful regardless of personal affinity. She also models vulnerability—admitting what she doesn’t know, asking teams to teach her, and reframing “not knowing” as a normal condition in modern complex work. How can technology help? In environments overloaded with information and stakeholder constraints, technology can support better leadership decisions by improving visibility and scenario planning. Approaches such as decision intelligence can help leaders prioritise key risks and opportunities, while tools like digital twins can model operational impacts before changes are rolled out—reducing uncertainty and supporting consensus-building without relying on endless meetings. Does language proficiency matter? Language helps, but it is not decisive. Making the effort can signal commitment, and language learning can accelerate cultural understanding, but many successful leaders in Japan remain effective without high Japanese proficiency. The critical requirement is respect for culture, discipline in stakeholder management, and the ability to avoid confusing language ability with professional capability. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? Leadership is defining the destination clearly and moving the whole team along a believable path. Whether leading from the front or supporting from behind, the leader’s job is to simplify the goal, align the top team, and create the conditions for the organisation to move together—especially in times of uncertainty. Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/39680695

279 Tomo Kamiya, President PTC Japan 12/19/2025

279 Tomo Kamiya, President PTC Japan “I think curiosity is very important. When you’re curious about something, you listen.” “You have to be at the forefront, not the back. You can’t, hide behind and say, ‘hey, you know, guys solve it’, right?” “When they trust you, beautiful things happen.” “Ideas are welcome. You know, ideas are free. But it’s got be data driven.” Tomo Kamiya is President Japan at PTC, a company known for parametric design and CAD-driven simulation that helps engineers model, test, and refine complex products digitally before manufacturing. He began his career in sales at Bosch, covering Kanagawa and Yamanashi with a highly autonomous, remote-work style that was ahead of its time, learning early that trust and relationship continuity—not brand alone—move outcomes in Japan. He later joined Dell during its disruptive growth era, moving from enterprise sales into marketing and broader regional responsibility, including supporting Korea marketing and later leading the server business, where his team hit number one market share in Japan. After a short consulting stint connected to Japan Telecom, he joined AMD to grow the business in Japan, then relocated to Singapore to run a broader South Asia remit and strategic customers. He subsequently led a wide Asia Pacific portfolio at D&M Holdings across multiple markets, navigating shifting consumer behaviour as subscription and streaming changed the fundamentals of product value. That experience led naturally into Adobe during its historic shift from perpetual software to subscription, where he led the Digital Media business in Japan (including Photoshop, Illustrator, and Acrobat) for almost a decade. Across this cross-industry arc, he has repeatedly adapted to business model change, regional cultural differences, and the practical realities of leading people in Japan—especially the need to listen deeply, build trust patiently, and step forward decisively when problems hit. Tomo Kamiya’s leadership story is, at its core, a story about compressing complexity—first in products, then in organisations. At PTC, he sits at the intersection of engineering reality and digital abstraction: the ability to take something massive—a ship, an engine, an entire manufacturing system—and “frame” it into a screen so it can be simulated, stress-tested, and improved before any physical cost is incurred. That same instinct shows up in the way he talks about people and performance. In his earliest Bosch years, he learned that Japan’s reliability culture does not eliminate the need for continuous trust-building; even a global brand can stall if the relationship energy disappears. His answer was to create value where the buyer’s uncertainty lives—showing up, demonstrating, educating, and, as he put it, “sell myself,” because credibility travels faster than product brochures. That bias for action stayed with him through Dell’s high-velocity era, where “latest and the greatest” rewarded leaders who could anticipate market timing and organise teams around speed without losing discipline. Later, running regional remits outside Japan, he saw the contrast between Japan’s “no defect” mindset and emerging markets that prioritised pace. Rather than treat one as right and the other as wrong, he learned to search for the productive middle ground: the discipline that prevents future failure, paired with the pragmatism that prevents paralysis. It is a useful lens for Japan, where uncertainty avoidance and consensus expectations can slow decisions unless the leader builds momentum through listening and clear intent. In his most practical leadership shift, an executive coach forced a hard look at his calendar: too much time on objectives, not enough time on people. The result was a deliberate reallocation toward one-on-ones, deeper listening, and clearer delegation—creating what amounts to a management operating system that improves decision speed because the leader knows what is really happening. He sees ideas as abundant but insists that investment requires decision intelligence: data points, ROI thinking, and a shared logic that gives teams confidence to commit. In Japan’s consensus environment—where nemawashi and ringi-sho-style alignment often determine whether execution truly happens—his approach is to build trust through presence, make it safe for the “silent minority” to contribute, and then move decisively when critical moments arrive. Technology, including AI as a “co-pilot,” can help leaders think through scenarios and prepare responses, but he remains clear that empathy and execution in the worst moments cannot be outsourced. The leadership standard, as he defines it, is simple and demanding: when things go south, step to the front. Q&A Summary What makes leadership in Japan unique? Leadership in Japan is shaped by trust-building, restraint, and the practical demands of consensus. Even when products are high quality and risk reduction is strong, outcomes often hinge on relationships and continuity. Japan’s consensus culture—often expressed through nemawashi and ringi-sho-style alignment—means leaders must invest time in listening, building internal confidence, and demonstrating respect for the context that teams and customers protect. Why do global executives struggle? Global executives often arrive with a headquarters lens and try to “fix” what looks inefficient before understanding why it exists. When they change processes or people without learning the customer rationale, they trigger resistance and lose credibility. The gap is not intelligence; it is context. Japan requires deliberate time in the market and inside the organisation to decode what is really being optimised—often customer trust, stability, and long-term reliability. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Japan can appear risk-averse, but much of the behaviour is better described as uncertainty avoidance. The goal is to reduce surprises and protect relationships, not to avoid progress. Kamiya’s early sales experience shows that buyers will pay for reliability when the cost of failure is high. The leadership challenge is to move forward while lowering uncertainty—through data, clear rationale, and predictable communication—rather than forcing speed without alignment. What leadership style actually works? The style that works is visible, empathetic, and action-oriented. Trust grows when leaders walk the floor, create everyday touchpoints, and listen in detail—especially because many Japanese employees will not speak up easily. At the same time, Kamiya argues that in critical moments—big decisions, business model shifts, major complaints—the leader must be “at the forefront,” not hiding behind delegation. Delegation matters, but stepping forward in the hardest moments is what earns trust. How can technology help? Technology helps leaders compress complexity and make better decisions. In product terms, simulation and digital-twin style approaches reduce risk by testing before manufacturing. In leadership terms, data-driven thinking improves idea selection, investment confidence, and ROI clarity. AI can function as a co-pilot for scenario planning—offering options and framing responses—but it does not replace human judgement, empathy, or the social work of building consensus. Does language proficiency matter? Language matters because it shrinks distance. Full fluency may take years, but even small efforts signal respect and closeness, making it easier to build rapport and trust. Language is not just vocabulary; it is an everyday bridge that reduces friction with teams and increases the leader’s ability to read nuance—critical in a culture where people may be reserved. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? The ultimate lesson is that trust is built through time, listening, and decisive presence. Leadership is revealed when trouble hits: the leader who listens, takes action, and stands in front earns durable commitment. Once trust is established, the organisation can move faster—because consensus forms more naturally, delegation improves, and decisions carry less uncertainty. Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/39391240

278 Benjamin Costa — Representative Director and Managing Director, La Maison du Chocolat Japan 12/13/2025

278 Benjamin Costa — Representative Director and Managing Director, La Maison du Chocolat Japan “Leading a team is every time challenging, to be honest.” “We need to make a small success every time.” “There is no official language of the company. The most important is communication.” “It’s not if we will do or not. It is how we will do it.” “Only people who are not doing nothing are not taking risk.” Benjamin Costa is the Representative Director and Managing Director of La Maison du Chocolat Japan, overseeing a luxury chocolate brand founded in Paris in 1977. Trained in civil engineering, he moved early into action sports retail, becoming a pioneer in European e-commerce and customer trust-building systems during the internet’s formative years. After senior roles growing multi-sport retail and online operations in France, he relocated to Japan with his Japanese wife, driven by a long-standing personal connection to the country developed through annual travels over two decades. In 2015, he became General Manager of the French Chamber of Commerce’s Osaka office, then co-founded an international business development firm supporting market entry for European and Japanese companies across sectors including luxury, high-tech, culture, and food and beverage. He joined La Maison du Chocolat Japan in January 2020 to lead a strategic transformation—reconnecting with Japanese consumers, strengthening alignment with headquarters, and reshaping internal ways of working—while managing an all-Japanese team as the sole foreigner in the subsidiary. Benjamin Costa’s leadership story in Japan is built on an unusual combination: an engineer’s analytical structure, an entrepreneur’s appetite for experimentation, and a deep respect for the social mechanics that underpin Japanese workplaces. As Managing Director of La Maison du Chocolat Japan, he is not merely “running the shop”; he is running change—balancing the expectations of a French luxury heritage brand with the uncompromising standards of Japanese customers. His approach begins with a clear premise: in luxury, “not perfect” is still not acceptable. For him, Japan is not a constraint on excellence; it is the benchmark that can lift the whole organisation. If a product, service, or process meets Japanese expectations, he argues, it will travel well globally. Costa treats trust as an operational asset, not a soft concept. Internally, he speaks about building credibility through “small success every time”—a practical rhythm that mirrors nemawashi and ringi-sho dynamics, where progress is stabilised through incremental validation and consensus. He also recognises that trust must be built in two directions: with the local team and with headquarters. In subsidiaries, he notes, distance and lack of informal contact can weaken confidence and slow decision-making. His solution is to tighten the relationship through evidence, responsiveness, and direct communication between functional experts—so Japan is not an isolated “castle,” and headquarters is not an untouchable authority. He leads with a deliberately flat management style. Ideas can come from anywhere, and he is comfortable letting his original concept be reshaped into something better by the team. At the same time, he rejects the paralysis that can come from over-consensus. When deadlines are short, he reframes the discussion: the debate is not whether to do the project, but how to do it. That combination—openness paired with decisiveness—becomes his method for working with Japan’s uncertainty avoidance without letting it harden into inaction. Risk, for Costa, is inseparable from growth. He encourages experiments, protects people when outcomes are imperfect, and focuses on learning to prevent repeat mistakes. Yet he is also candid: some people thrive in the former business model and struggle to keep pace with transformation. He treats that as fit, not failure. Ultimately, Costa defines leadership as elevating others—creating conditions where the team can move alongside the leader, not behind him, and where capability expands through responsibility, clarity, and shared wins. Q&A Summary What makes leadership in Japan unique? Costa emphasises that trust and credibility tend to be earned in small, visible steps. Rather than grand announcements, progress is reinforced through incremental wins that allow people to align safely—an approach closely related to nemawashi and ringi-sho style decision-making, where consensus is built before execution. He also highlights Japan’s high expectations for quality and reliability, which shape how teams think about accountability and reputational risk. Why do global executives struggle? He points to a common clash: headquarters urgency versus local reality. Executives arrive as change agents under pressure to deliver quickly, but Japan’s organisational habits—consensus-building, precision, and risk sensitivity—slow the apparent pace. His advice is to listen first, move thoughtfully, then return to HQ with a strong, evidence-based case for what will work and why it will take time. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Costa sees risk aversion as real, but not absolute. Japan’s uncertainty avoidance often expresses itself as a desire for clarity of responsibility and avoidance of public failure. His workaround is to create psychological safety: he takes responsibility for outcomes, reframes “failure” as collective learning, and builds confidence through repeatable wins. Over time, people take more initiative because the consequences feel manageable and fair. What leadership style actually works? He blends empowerment with selective firmness. He runs flat, encourages ideas from the team, and keeps his door open for long, individual conversations until an agreement is reached. But he also breaks silos by design—treating inventory, priorities, and performance as “one Japan” rather than separate departmental territories. When speed is required, he makes the decision structure explicit: the question becomes “how,” not “whether.” How can technology help? Costa is cautious about AI adoption, arguing that tools can save time but still require verification of sources and critical thinking. In practice, leaders can use decision intelligence concepts to improve judgement, scenario planning, and trade-offs, and they can explore digital twins to test operational changes virtually before rolling them out—while still maintaining human accountability for decisions and customer experience. Does language proficiency matter? He values Japanese ability, but he prioritises communication over perfection. He notes there is “no official language” if the team leaves the room aligned. His experience is that effort matters: speaking Japanese—even imperfectly—invites support, and colleagues often help translate intent into precise business language. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? Costa defines leadership as raising others. The leader is not the genius; the leader creates the conditions for strong people to contribute, grow, and own outcomes. The best outcome is a team capable of moving the business forward with confidence—because trust, responsibility, and momentum have been built together. Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/39391325

277 Armel Cahierre — Founder & President, B4F (Brands for France) 12/06/2025

277 Armel Cahierre — Founder & President, B4F (Brands for France) “If you trust people, your life is very nice.” “The bringing people together with one common objective needs to be carefully thought out and defining the processes very carefully needs to be thought out and don’t imagine that the process will be figured out by the people themselves.” “They are looking for a leader who is responsible, who can make the decision.” “Be transparent.” Brief Bio Armel Cahierre is a French-trained engineer who built a multi-country career across R&D, turnaround management, consulting, private equity-adjacent deal work, and consumer retail. After early technical work in Japan (including R&D exposure through Thomson during Japan’s 1980s electronics peak), he returned to Europe for an MBA at INSEAD and moved into industrial leadership roles, taking on high-responsibility turnaround assignments in his late 20s across France, Italy, Germany, and Switzerland. He later helped open a European office for a US firm pioneering semantic analysis for qualitative market research, working with major global brands. That experience led to entrepreneurship in eyewear (ski goggles and sunglasses), a subsequent exit to an Italian group, and executive-level work tied to licensing and Western European markets. After a period in California doing pre- and post-M&A consulting (including carve-outs linked to the Vivendi break-up), he returned to Japan, became President of Paris Miki, and later pivoted after a Cerberus transaction collapsed on the day of the Lehman shock. He then founded B4F in Japan, building a members-only, online flash-sales model that sources only through official brand channels and emphasises simplicity of operations, trust, and process discipline. Armel Cahierre’s leadership story, is less a straight line than a sequence of deliberately chosen reinventions anchored by one constant: clarity of purpose and an intolerance for unnecessary complexity. As Founder and President of B4F, he operates a members-only flash sales platform focused primarily on fashion and lifestyle brands, with time-limited sales and controlled visibility designed to protect brand equity. The proposition is simple for customers and brands alike: members access discounts without prices being exposed to the wider web, and brands clear excess inventory without training the mass market to wait for markdowns. Operationally, the model leans toward discipline—no grey market sourcing, no parallel imports, and minimal exposure to foreign exchange or customs friction by buying and selling in yen. That preference for simple systems was shaped long before e-commerce. Early in his management career, Cahierre was sent into difficult turnaround situations and learned that the fastest route to recovery often begins with information-sharing and dignity. In one formative case, he arrived at a unionised boiler manufacturer with a catastrophic defect cycle and discovered frontline employees had never been told the company’s true position. Once he made the economics and the problem visible, alignment followed—less because of charisma, more because people could finally see the same “game board”. In Japan, he argues, the same outcomes are possible, but the route is slower and more socially coded. Ideas rarely appear instantly in open forum; trust must be earned, roles must be read correctly, and influence may sit away from formal hierarchy. Where some foreign leaders push targets and individual incentives, he sees higher leverage in process: process KPIs, well-defined routines, and a shared understanding of “how work is done”—a philosophy that maps cleanly onto kaizen, consensus-building, and the reality that nemawashi often precedes the formal ringi-sho. He also warns against confusing “culture” with “excuses”: claims that “Japan can’t do X” frequently hide uncertainty avoidance, fear of accountability, or simple inertia rather than any immutable national constraint. On technology, Cahierre is pragmatic and a little provocative. If AI is framed as replacing white-collar work, the CEO should not imagine immunity. The agenda, in his view, is training and judgement: equip teams to use AI well (as companies should have done with Excel and PowerPoint years ago), understand where it accelerates work, and retain human decision intelligence where context, responsibility, and ethics matter. Q&A Summary What makes leadership in Japan unique? Cahierre frames Japan’s leadership challenge as less about “mystical difference” and more about how alignment is formed. Teams often respond best to clearly defined processes and shared routines, rather than blunt target pressure. Consensus is frequently built informally first—akin to nemawashi—before decisions become visible through formal approval mechanics (the ringi-sho mindset), meaning leaders must manage the unseen steps, not just the outcome. Why do global executives struggle? He sees many global leaders bringing a KPI-and-bonus playbook that freezes people rather than mobilising them. When targets are pushed without an equally clear process map, staff can become defensive, quiet, and risk-minimising—especially in environments where standing out carries social cost. He also calls out a “guru layer” of advice that over-indexes on etiquette and language theatre while ignoring business fundamentals. Is Japan truly risk-averse? His view is more nuanced: behaviour can look risk-averse, but it often reflects uncertainty avoidance and accountability anxiety. Autonomy can feel like exposure. The leader’s job is to reduce ambiguity with system clarity, make responsibility safe, and remove the fear that initiative will be punished. What leadership style actually works? He advocates clarity-first leadership: leaders must know why they are in Japan, be able to “cover” for head office rather than hiding behind it, and set simple, easy-to-grasp goals. The style is firm on direction, generous on trust, and disciplined on processes. Praise is handled carefully: group praise in public is often safer, with individual recognition delivered in ways that do not isolate the person. How can technology help? Technology (including AI) is framed as a productivity multiplier when paired with training. Cahierre argues organisations underinvest in capability-building, then pay the price in wasted hours. AI can support decision intelligence, scenario work, and even “digital twins” of operations if used thoughtfully—but banning it is usually counterproductive, especially when younger workers adopt it as a learning partner rather than a shortcut. Does language proficiency matter? Language and cultural literacy help, but Cahierre’s sharper point is that leaders should not let “Japan is different” become a shield for poor execution. Credibility is built more through transparency, consistency, and the ability to explain goals and trade-offs than through performative cultural fluency. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? He returns to trust as a strategic choice. Trust creates speed, openness, and a healthier workplace, even if it occasionally leads to disappointment. Distrust creates paralysis. In Japan especially, he argues that trust must be paired with a simple system: clear rules, clear processes, and a leader willing to be transparent about risks without being ruled by worry. Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/39304435

276 Vincent Mathieu - CEO of Carl Zeiss Japan 11/28/2025

276 Vincent Mathieu - CEO of Carl Zeiss Japan “Leadership is staying ahead of change without losing authenticity”. “Trust is the real currency of sales, teams, and Japan’s business culture”. “Zeiss’s foundation model is a rare advantage: patient capital reinvested into R&D”. “Japan is less “risk-averse” than “uncertainty-avoidant” when decisions lack clarity and consensus”. “Language is helpful for connection, but not the primary qualification for leading in Japan”. Brief Bio Vincent Mathieu is the CEO of Carl Zeiss Japan, leading a multi-division portfolio spanning semiconductors, medical devices, microscopy, industrial quality solutions, ophthalmic lenses, and imaging optics. Originally from the south of France near the Basque Country, he studied business in Toulouse, then spent several years travelling and working across Morocco, Denmark, Ireland, Chile, and South America—discovering along the way that his core strength was building trust in sales. He first came to Japan in 2001 to launch and grow a new division, learning the realities of hiring, selling, and leading without fluency in Japanese. After returning to Europe for global and country leadership roles—including navigating a corporate receivership in the UK—he was recruited to Zeiss and returned to Japan for a second stint. There, he led a turnaround in the vision care business by rebuilding the team, premium positioning, and distribution strategy, then expanded to broader regional responsibilities before taking the top role in Japan, leading a larger organisation through compliance, regulatory, structural change, and remuneration reform. Carl Zeiss is often mistaken as “just cameras”, yet the company’s real gravity sits elsewhere: precision optics, industrial measurement, medical equipment, and the advanced semiconductor ecosystem that powers modern computing. Vincent Mathieu, CEO of Carl Zeiss Japan, uses that breadth as both a strategic advantage and a leadership test—because leading a portfolio business demands credibility across wildly different technical domains, from microscopy used by Nobel Prize-winning researchers to X-ray inspection systems supporting EV battery quality control. He also points to a structural difference that shapes Zeiss’s long-term posture: the company operates as a foundation rather than a classic shareholder-led public entity, enabling sustained reinvestment into R&D and the patience required to develop complex innovations that may run at a loss for years before they become indispensable. In semiconductors, that mindset shows up in partnerships and breakthrough optics supporting lithography and EUV pathways tied to ever-smaller chips and AI-era demand. Mathieu’s personal story mirrors the adaptive leadership he advocates. He describes an early uncertainty about career direction, a formative period of travel and “odd jobs”, and a gradual shift into commercial roles where trust, not extroversion, became his sales engine. His first Japan assignment was a tough entry: conservative hiring conditions, limited language ability, and the slow build of distributor confidence—where one relationship took years to convert. Returning later via Zeiss, he expected a smoother “global” environment and instead found a familiar friction point: leadership without a shared language, competing internal politics, and the need to earn followership through visible effort. His approach was practical and gemba-oriented—going into the field with salespeople, learning enough Japanese to observe and debrief well, and leading by example rather than relying on title or hierarchy. In his current role, the leadership challenge is no longer a small turnaround team but a larger organisation navigating regulatory scrutiny, compliance expectations, talent gaps, and a shift from “box-moving” to workflow and digital solutions. He frames Japan’s organisational reality as deeply sensitive to trust, transparency, and consistency—especially when change touches taboo areas such as pay. Whether the topic is performance-based remuneration, AI adoption, or organisation redesign, Mathieu returns to the same idea: leadership is change management plus authenticity. The most durable influence, in his view, comes from understanding who the leader is, then showing up coherently—because Japanese organisations may not offer immediate feedback, but they do evaluate whether words and actions match. Q&A Summary What makes leadership in Japan unique? Leadership in Japan is uniquely shaped by trust, time, and social proof. Decision-making often relies on nemawashi (pre-alignment), the ringi-sho approval flow, and a preference for consensus that reduces future friction. Feedback can be indirect, and the “real signals” may appear later, after relationships deepen. Why do global executives struggle? Global leaders often struggle when they arrive expecting predictable “rules” about Japan, or when they assume a corporate title will create followership. Without local credibility, language bridges, and contextual awareness of honne/tatemae dynamics, even good strategies can stall. Impatience can be read as shitsukoi (pushy), yet excessive patience can also lead to inertia—forcing leaders to balance consistency with restraint. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Japan is frequently labelled risk-averse, but a more useful lens is uncertainty avoidance. When ambiguity is high, organisations increase process and consensus to control outcomes. Once clarity exists—shared numbers, shared logic, shared stakeholders—Japanese teams can execute decisively and at high quality, often outperforming more improvisational cultures. What leadership style actually works? A field-based, trust-building style works: lead by example, show operational commitment, and invest in relationships. Mathieu’s experience suggests credibility is built through visible contribution—being present with customers, coaching sales behaviours, and demonstrating consistency. Authenticity matters: employees may accept difficult change if the leader is transparent, coherent, and reliably delivers on commitments. How can technology help? Technology helps when framed as decision intelligence rather than novelty. AI tools, automation, and even “digital twins” for process and manufacturing can reduce reporting burden, strengthen compliance, and redirect scarce talent towards analysis and customer value. The warning is “AI for AI’s sake”: capability must be learned, prompts must be mastered, and use cases must be chosen with discipline. Does language proficiency matter? Language matters for connection and cultural nuance, but it should not be the primary criterion for leading in Japan. A leader can choose English for clarity at scale—especially when communicating strategy—while still building trust through effort, respect, and selective Japanese usage in day-to-day engagement. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? The ultimate lesson is that leadership is managing change while staying true to oneself. As confidence grows, leaders feel less pressure to perform to other people’s expectations and more capacity to act with authenticity. That inner coherence becomes a stabiliser for teams navigating uncertainty, consensus-building, and transformation. Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/39197430

275 Joanne Lin - Senior Director, APAC, Deckers Brands 11/21/2025

275 Joanne Lin - Senior Director, APAC, Deckers Brands “Come as you are works in Japan when leaders are also willing to read the air and meet people where they are”. “Japan isn’t as risk-averse as people think; it is uncertainty avoidance and consensus norms like nemawashi and ringi-sho that slow decisions”. “In Japan, numbers are universal, but how people feel about those numbers is where real leadership begins”. “For foreign leaders, kindness, patience, and genuine curiosity are far more powerful than charisma or title”. “Women leaders who embrace their own style, instead of copying male role models, can quietly transform Japanese workplaces”. Joanne Lin is Senior Director, APAC, for Deckers Brands, the American company behind UGG, HOKA, and Teva. Born in Taiwan and raised in Canada, she later completed her MBA at Boston University and began her career in Boston, working in a trading company and then at Merrill Lynch Investment Company. In 2000, she moved to Japan for family reasons and has since built a 25-year leadership career in this complex market. In Japan, Joanne first held senior finance roles, including Head of Finance for Reebok Japan and CFO for Aegis Media, where she worked on mergers and acquisitions. She joined Deckers over thirteen years ago as CFO for Japan and was later asked to step in as interim Country Manager for Deckers Japan. Today she is back in an APAC-wide role, responsible for finance and strategy across 15 markets, including Japan, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. Her remit covers subsidiaries and distributor markets alike, requiring constant adaptation across cultures. Throughout her journey, Joanne has learned to reconcile a direct, North American style with Japan’s more implicit, consensus-driven culture. Often mistaken for Japanese because of her appearance, she calls herself the “invisible gaijin”, using that ambiguity to observe carefully, read body language, and bridge cultural expectations. Her leadership story is one of resilience, curiosity, and the quiet confidence to lead as herself in a country that often expects conformity. Joanne Lin’s leadership journey began far from Japan. Born in Taiwan and raised in Toronto, she grew up immersed in North American directness, meritocracy, and straight-talking feedback. After completing an MBA at Boston University, she started her career in Boston, first at a trading company and then at Merrill Lynch Investment Company, building a strong foundation in finance. Numbers, ratios, and cash flows were her native business language long before she ever heard the phrase kūki o yomu — “reading the air” — in Japan. In 2000, she moved to Japan for family reasons, expecting to build a career but not realising how deeply the culture would challenge her assumptions about leadership. She entered the corporate world here without Japanese language skills and without local experience. Physically, many colleagues assumed she was Japanese, or at least of Japanese descent, and treated her accordingly. She jokes that she became an “invisible gaijin”: expected to understand unspoken rules despite never having grown up with them. Early on, she discovered that in Japan, silence often speaks louder than words. Concepts akin to nemawashi — the quiet groundwork of building consensus before meetings — and the unspoken pressure to align with the group meant that decisions rarely came from a single, charismatic leader. Instead, she had to watch faces, posture and micro-reactions around the table. While she came from an environment where people said “yes” or “no” clearly, in Japan phrases like “I’ll think about it” could mean “no” 80% of the time. Learning to interpret these signals became as important as reading the P&L. Her career advanced steadily through senior finance roles: Head of Finance for Reebok Japan, CFO for Aegis Media leading M&A, and later CFO for Deckers Japan. Over thirteen years at Deckers, she helped steer the growth of brands such as UGG and the fast-rising performance brand HOKA in one of the world’s most competitive footwear markets. Eventually, she was asked to serve as interim Country Manager for Deckers Japan, an opportunity that tested her ability to go beyond numbers and lead entire functions including sales, marketing, HR and retail. Joanne’s leadership philosophy is grounded in being genuine and transparent. She believes in explaining the “why” behind decisions, giving context, and aligning people rather than simply seeking agreement. She spends time helping non-finance colleagues understand what gross margin, discounts and operating income mean in practical terms, translating finance into everyday language rather than using it as a gatekeeping tool. Engagement surveys, where Japan often scores modestly compared with global benchmarks, have been a recurring theme in her work. Rather than blaming culture, she looks at how questions are worded, how norms shape responses, and then uses those insights to design practical remedies — from “lunch and learn” sessions to cross-functional gatherings and new-joiner lunches with senior leaders. As a woman leader, Joanne has wrestled with impostor syndrome yet chosen to step forward anyway. She sees many high-potential women in Japan holding back, waiting to be “perfect” before raising their hand. Her message to them is clear: trust yourself, recognise your natural strengths in communication and empathy, and accept that no leader — male or female — is ever fully ready. In the end, her story is about blending global experience with local nuance, leading with kindness and clarity, and proving that one can honour Japanese culture while still bringing a distinct, authentic leadership style to the table. Q&A Summary What makes leadership in Japan unique? For Joanne, leadership in Japan is defined by what is not said. The real meeting often happens before and after the official meeting, through nemawashi, where stakeholders quietly shape outcomes. In the room, kūki o yomu — reading the air — is critical: leaders must observe body language, side glances and subtle hesitations to interpret what people truly think. Formal tools like ringi-sho workflows, built on stamped approvals and consensus, reinforce a collective approach to decision-making. Japanese employees often assume the leader should already know their needs without them having to say it. That expectation of intuitive understanding, combined with a strong norm of harmony, makes empathetic listening and patience indispensable leadership skills. Why do global executives struggle? Global executives often arrive with a Western template: clear targets, rapid decisions, direct feedback. In Japan, that can clash with a culture that prizes stability, seniority and group consensus. Leaders may misinterpret indirect communication as indecisiveness or lack of ambition, when in fact people are carefully weighing the impact on the group. Engagement surveys then show Japan at the bottom of global rankings, and headquarters misreads this as disengagement, rather than a reflection of conservative scoring norms. Many foreign leaders also underestimate how much time must be invested in trust-building, one-on-one conversations, and slow-burn relationship work before people feel safe to share ideas or challenge the status quo. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Joanne sees Japan as more uncertainty-avoidant than risk-averse in the pure financial sense. As a finance professional, she knows that commercial risk can be quantified — through scenarios, ratios and forecasts. But in Japan, the social and reputational risks loom equally large: who will be blamed if this fails, what will it do to group harmony, how will customers react? These uncertainty factors slow decisions more than the numbers themselves. Leaders who introduce tools like decision intelligence platforms, scenario simulation or even digital twins of supply chains can help Japanese teams see risk in a structured way, reducing the emotional fear around uncertainty and making experimentation feel safer. What leadership style actually works? The style that works for Joanne is grounded in transparency, modesty and consistency. She leads by example, explaining not only what must be done, but why, and what it means for individuals and teams. She tries to give her people “airtime”, resisting the urge — common to many finance leaders — to jump straight to the solution. In practice, that means listening to ideas without immediate judgement, thanking people publicly for their input, and celebrating small wins as much as big milestones. She maintains high standards but increasingly recognises that not everyone should be held to the same work rhythm she sets for herself. Alignment, not forced agreement, is the goal: people may disagree but still commit to the path once they feel heard. How can technology help? Technology, in Joanne’s world, is not just about efficiency; it is a bridge between data and human behaviour. Advanced analytics, dashboards and decision-support tools can make trade-offs between margin, volume and investment more tangible for non-finance teams. AI-driven text analysis of engagement comments can surface themes that traditional surveys miss, helping leaders understand sentiment behind Japan’s modest scoring patterns. Scenario modelling and digital twins of operations can turn abstract risks into concrete options, making it easier for consensus-driven teams to move forward. At its best, technology supports nemawashi by giving everyone a shared, data-informed picture, rather than replacing dialogue. Does language proficiency matter? Joanne arrived in Japan with no Japanese language ability and was forced to become an intense observer of body language and context. That experience convinced her that leadership is possible without fluency — but far more sustainable with it. Learning Japanese shows respect, reduces distance, and makes informal conversations and humour possible. Even basic proficiency helps leaders understand nuance in ringi documents, hallway chats, and customer feedback. She encourages foreign leaders to invest in language learning not as a checkbox, but as a signal of commitment to the market and to their teams. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? Her core lesson is simple yet demanding: be kind, be open, and be yourself. Leaders should stop expecting perfection from themselves and from others, especially in a country where external shocks like currency swings, tariffs and pandemics can derail even the best-laid plans. Instead, they should focus on doing their best, communicating clearly, and treating people with respect. For women leaders especially, Joanne’s message is to step forward even when self-doubt whispers otherwise — to recognise that their strengths in empathy, communication and cultural sensitivity are not “soft” add-ons but central to effective leadership in Japan. In the long run, success here is less about heroics and more about steady, human-centred leadership that people genuinely want to follow. Timecoded Summary [00:00] The conversation opens with an introduction to Deckers Brands, the American company headquartered in Santa Barbara and best known in Japan for UGG, HOKA and Teva. Joanne explains that Deckers historically functions as a holding-style company, acquiring and growing footwear brands, and that Japan is a key market where three major brands are active. She outlines her current role as Senior Director, APAC, overseeing finance and strategy across 15 countries, including both subsidiaries and distributor markets. [05:20] Joanne traces her career arc: Taiwanese by birth, raised in Canada, MBA from Boston University, then finance roles in Boston with a trading company and Merrill Lynch Investment Company. In 2000 she relocates to Japan for family reasons, later becoming Head of Finance for Reebok Japan and CFO for Aegis Media, working on M&A. She joins Deckers over thirteen years ago as CFO for Japan and eventually steps into an interim Country Manager role, before returning to a wider APAC mandate based in Japan. [12:45] The discussion shifts to cultural adjustment. Because she “looks Japanese”, colleagues initially assume she understands Japanese norms. She describes becoming an “invisible gaijin”, held to local expectations without having grown up here. She learns to read the air, focusing on facial expressions, body language and context. Phrases like “I’ll consider it” often conceal a “no”, and she gradually becomes adept at interpreting such indirect communication. Her direct North American instincts must be tempered by Japanese expectations for restraint and harmony. [19:30] Finance and human reactions to numbers come into focus. Joanne notes that while sales, gross margin and SG&A appear objective, different functions interpret them in varied ways: finance may celebrate high margins while sales may worry they are under-investing. She stresses the importance of explaining financial concepts in simple terms, almost as if speaking to a 10-year-old, so that everyone can understand consequences. Her temporary shift from CFO to GM broadens her empathy for non-finance views and deepens her appreciation for cross-functional tension. [26:10] Attention turns to team engagement and communication. Japan’s engagement survey scores routinely trail global averages, a pattern she attributes partly to cultural modesty and translation issues. Instead of accepting low scores as fate, she focuses on post-survey action: leaders are asked to talk openly with teams, understand expectations, and co-create remedies. Concrete initiatives such as “lunch and learn” sessions and new-joiner lunches with directors help break silos, humanise leadership and create informal nemawashi-like spaces where people can ask questions and share concerns. [33:40] Joanne discusses culture-building under the umbrella of Deckers’ “Come as you are” value. She supports self-expression — even store staff in gender-fluid fashion — as long as it’s tasteful and customer-appropriate. Her own leadership style is to be genuine, transparent and open about vulnerabilities. She balances the efficiency of top-down directives with the long-term benefits of participation: while consensus-building and alignment take time, they reduce turnover, re-training costs and disengagement. [40:15] Gender and leadership come into sharper focus. Joanne recounts her own bouts of impostor syndrome and the temptation, earlier in her career, to doubt her readiness for bigger roles. She notes that many women hesitate to raise their hands until they feel almost 100% qualified, while men may step up with far less. She encourages aspiring women leaders to recognise their strengths in empathy and nuanced communication, to “give it a try” even when not fully confident, and to view setbacks as learning rather than final verdicts. [47:30] The interview closes with advice for foreign leaders coming to Japan. Joanne emphasises being open, respectful and kind — to oneself and to others. She urges leaders to accept that Japan’s deep-rooted culture will not change in a short posting, and that success depends on adapting rather than trying to remodel the country. Learning Japanese, even imperfectly, is both a sign of respect and a practical tool for building trust. Ultimately, she argues, effective leadership in Japan is about balancing data and humanity, global standards and local nuance, ambition and empathy. Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/39130645

274 Martin Steenks - Previous Chief Orchestrator, Domino’s Pizza Japan 11/15/2025

274 Martin Steenks - Previous Chief Orchestrator, Domino’s Pizza Japan Deliver the win, then ring the bell. Make small mistakes fast; make big learnings faster. Think global, act local — but don’t go native. Do the nemawashi before the meeting, not during it. Your salary is earned in the stores: go to the gemba. A 28-year Domino’s veteran, Martin Steenks began at 16 as a delivery expert in the Netherlands. He rose to store manager, multi-unit supervisor, then franchisee, building his operation to eight stores by 2019. After selling his stores, he became Head of Operations for Domino’s Netherlands, then CEO of Domino’s Taiwan in 2021, and subsequently CEO of Domino’s Japan. Previously he was Chief Orchestrator in Japan, focusing on operational excellence, culture, and scalable execution in one of Domino’s most exacting service markets. He is known for hands-on store work, cross-training, “Friday F-Up” learning rituals, the Grow & Prosper bell for micro-wins, and quarterly “Go Gemba” days that connect HQ functions with frontline realities. Martin Steenks’ leadership arc runs from a three-minute job interview at 16 to orchestrating Domino’s Japan — one of the brand’s most demanding markets for service quality. The connective tissue is execution discipline: he has run stores, supervised regions, built and exited an eight-store franchise, owned national operations, and led two country P&Ls. That breadth gives him pragmatic empathy for franchisees and HQ alike, which he leverages to align incentives, simplify operations, and insist that every back-office salary is ultimately “earned in the stores.” Japan sharpened his leadership. Coming from low-context, fast-moving Dutch and Australian business styles into high-context Japan, he learned that meetings signalling agreement can still stall without prior nemawashi — the groundwork with middle management and other stakeholders. He now invests in pre-alignment, translating intent into culturally legible action: fewer big-room debates, more quiet lobbying, more ringi-sho style consensus building for irreversible decisions, and a clear bias to test-and-learn for reversible ones. Rather than trying to “change the culture,” he adjusted himself — becoming more patient while preserving speed by separating decision types and sequencing alignment before action. His operating system is human and tangible. He set a weekly rhythm of learning with a “Friday F-Up” session, where leaders share mistakes and what was learned — a radical move in a high uncertainty-avoidance culture. He celebrates micro-wins with the Grow & Prosper bell to make progress visible, sustaining morale during long transformations. He bridged HQ–store gaps with Go Gemba: each quarter, every function works a store shift; IT discovers why a workflow fails at the point of sale, marketing sees campaign friction at Friday night peak, finance hears cost-to-serve realities. He personally worked in stores four to five days a month, especially during crunch periods like Christmas, leading by example and rebuilding trust through competence. Marketing localisation is equally pragmatic. Deep discounting can signal poor quality to Japanese consumers; “customer appreciation weeks” preserve value perception while rewarding loyalty. Community building is pushed to the store level — managers engage local clubs and schools to turn footfall into fandom. Cross-training makes delivery experts confident product explainers at the door, restoring a human touch in a world where >90% of orders arrive online. Ultimately, Steenks’ playbook blended cultural fluency with decision intelligence. He aligned stakeholders through nemawashi, codified learning rituals, chose language and campaigns that respected local signals, and keeps strategy tethered to the edge where pizzas are made, boxed, and delivered hot. The title “Chief Orchestrator” wasn’t just whimsy; in a business of many specialists, he conducted tempo, harmony, and timing — the difference between noise and music. What makes leadership in Japan unique? Japan’s high service standards and high-context communication demand leaders who are both exacting and empathetic. Success depends on pre-work: nemawashi with middle managers, thoughtful ringi-sho style consensus for high-impact choices, and visible demonstrations of respect for the frontline. Uniforms (like Domino’s iconic race jacket for store managers) and rituals create shared identity that motivates in a group-oriented culture. Why do global executives struggle? Low-context leaders often misread meeting “yeses” as commitment. Without groundwork, nothing moves. Impatience backfires in high uncertainty-avoidance environments; public criticism shuts people down. Leaders must separate reversible from irreversible decisions, secure alignment offline, and then move decisively. They should also avoid copy-pasting global marketing: in Japan, steep discounts can be read as “lower quality,” eroding trust. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Japan is less risk-loving than many markets, but teams will take smart risks when safety and learning are explicit. Stanks normalises small, fast experiments, celebrates micro-wins, and protects people when bets misfire. This reframes risk as controlled uncertainty with upside — a shift from avoidance to improvement. What leadership style actually works? Lead from the front and the shop floor. Work stores every month. Tie HQ metrics to store impact. Use rituals — Friday F-Up, the Grow & Prosper bell — to institutionalise learning and momentum. Celebrate teams more than individuals, and praise privately when cultural norms warrant it. Think global, act local, but don’t “go native”: retain an outsider’s clarity about pace and standards. How can technology help? Digital tools amplify decision intelligence when paired with gemba reality. Store-level dashboards, route optimisation, and digital twins of peak-hour operations can test scenarios before rollouts; telemetry from ovens, makelines, and delivery routes can reveal bottlenecks that nemawashi then resolves across functions. Tech should reduce operational complexity, not add it. Does language proficiency matter? Fluency helps, but intent matters more. Demonstrating effort — basic greetings, store-floor Japanese, and culturally aware email etiquette — earns trust. Tools that translate bidirectionally unlock participation, but leaders still need to read context and invest time with the middle layer. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? Do the cultural homework, orchestrate alignment before action, and keep your hands in the dough — literally. When people see you respect their craft, protect their learning, and tie strategy to execution, they’ll go all-in. Timecoded Summary [00:00] Origin story: hired at 16 as a delivery expert in the Netherlands; stayed through school; first — and only — job interview; early leadership as store manager, then multi-unit supervisor. [05:20] Entrepreneurship chapter: buys a struggling store; builds to eight locations with his wife’s support; sells in 2019 to become Head of Operations for the Netherlands, trading entrepreneurial freedom for strategic impact. [12:45] Asia leadership: becomes CEO Taiwan in 2021, then moves to Japan; discovers that despite common Domino’s DNA, markets differ; Japan’s service bar is the highest. [18:10] Cultural recalibration: early meetings show apparent agreement but slow follow-through; learns nemawashi and middle-layer alignment; patience becomes a leadership muscle; adopts “Chief Orchestrator” title to reflect cross-functional reality. [24:00] Store-first operating system: cross-training (makeline ↔ delivery ↔ service); >90% of orders online makes the delivery interaction critical; community outreach by store managers; hands-on leadership with 4–5 store days per month and peak-period shifts. [31:30] Learning rituals: Friday F-Up meeting reframes failure as fuel; Grow & Prosper bell celebrates micro-wins to sustain momentum; public recognition calibrated to cultural comfort; Domino’s manager jacket signals identity and pride in Japan. [38:05] Marketing localisation: avoid pure discounting (quality signal risk); position as “customer appreciation”; test premium, limited campaigns; keep operations simple for peak. [43:20] Bridging HQ and field: quarterly Go Gemba embeds IT/Finance/HR/Marketing in stores; internal surveys (anonymous) surface issues; visible follow-through flips scepticism to trust. [49:40] Leadership philosophy: lead by example, protect experimenters, separate reversible vs irreversible decisions, and use decision intelligence (telemetry, digital twins) to derisk change while moving faster. Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/39042305

273 Akiko Yamamoto — President, Van Cleef & Arpels Japan 11/08/2025

273 Akiko Yamamoto — President, Van Cleef & Arpels Japan “Care and respect aren’t slogans; they’re operating principles that shape decisions and client experiences”. “Lead by approachability, using nemawashi-style one-to-ones to draw out quieter voices and better ideas”. “Calm, clarity, and consistency beat volume; emotion never gets to outrank the message”. “Consensus isn’t passivity—done well, it’s disciplined alignment that accelerates execution”. “Confidence grows by doubling down on strengths, seeking honest feedback, and empowering the team”. Akiko Yamamoto is the President of Van Cleef & Arpels Japan, leading the French maison’s jewellery and watch business in a market it has served for over fifty years. She began her career at L’Oréal Japan, spending twelve years in marketing across brands including Kérastase, Helena Rubinstein, and Kiehl’s, ultimately managing multi-brand teams. Educated in Japan with formative childhood years in the United States, she later completed a master’s degree at the University of Edinburgh. Having led primarily in Japan, she now manages a multicultural team, drawing on international exposure, bilingual communication, and deep local insight to harmonise global brand culture with Japanese expectations. Akiko Yamamoto’s leadership story is anchored in a simple premise: people follow leaders they can trust. That trust, she says, is earned through care, respect, and steady examples—not declarations. After a foundational run at L’Oréal Japan, where she learned the rigour of brand building and the mechanics of marketing leadership, Yamamoto stepped into the jewellery and watch world at Van Cleef & Arpels. There, she refined an approach that blends global standards with local nuance, ensuring the maison’s culture of care resonates in Japan’s relationship-driven marketplace. Her leadership style is deliberately approachable. Rather than “planting the flag” at the summit and expecting others to follow, she prefers to climb together, side-by-side. In practice, that means creating psychological safety, inviting dissent early, and spending time—especially one-to-one—to surface ideas that might be lost in large-group dynamics. She embraces nemawashi to build alignment before meetings, recognising that consensus in Japan is less about avoiding risk and more about creating durable commitment. Yamamoto’s calm is a strategic asset. She is explicit that emotion can crowd out meaning; when leaders perform anger, the message gets lost in the display. In a culture where visible temper can be read as immaturity, she chooses composure so that the content of decisions remains audible. When missteps happen—as they do—she follows up, explains context, and converts heat into learning. The aim is not perfection but progress with intact relationships. For global leaders arriving in Japan under pressure to “turn things around,” she recommends two immediate moves: become intensely reachable and cultivate a few candid truth-tellers who will share the real story, not just what headquarters wants to hear. Language helps, but fluency isn’t the barrier; respect is. A handful of sincere Japanese phrases, consistent aisatsu, and an evident willingness to listen can narrow social distance faster than chasing perfect grammar. On advancing women, Yamamoto rejects tokenism yet underscores representation’s practical value. Visible female leadership signals possibility; it tells rising talent that advancement is earned and achievable. Her own leap to the presidency required an external nudge, plus a disciplined shift of attention from self-doubt to strengths—past wins, trusted relationships, and demonstrated team outcomes. That reframing, combined with empowerment of capable colleagues, made the role feel both larger and more shared. Ultimately, Yamamoto treats “client experience first, results follow” as an operating model, not a motto. Decision intelligence—clear context, decisive action, and empathetic execution—converts consensus into speed. In her hands, culture is not a constraint; it’s compounding capital. What makes leadership in Japan unique? Japan prizes harmony, preparation, and earned consensus. Leaders succeed by combining decisiveness with empathy, using nemawashi to socialise ideas before meetings and ringi-sho-style documentation to clarify ownership and next steps. Calm conduct signals maturity; approachability creates safety for frank input. Why do global executives struggle? Many arrive with urgency but little social traction. Defaulting to big-room debates and top-down directives can silence contributors and slow execution. The fix is proximity: sustained one-to-ones, visible aisatsu, and a small circle of candid advisors who translate context and sentiment. Uncertainty avoidance exists—but it’s often rational; people hesitate when they haven’t been invited into the reasoning. Is Japan truly risk-averse? It’s less “risk-averse” and more “uncertainty-averse.” When leaders reduce ambiguity—through pre-alignment, clear criteria, and explicit trade-offs—teams move quickly. Consensus done well accelerates delivery because dissent was handled upstream, not deferred to derail execution downstream. What leadership style actually works? Approachable, steady, and standards-driven. Yamamoto models care and respect, sets crisp direction, and empowers execution. She avoids theatrical emotion, follows up after tense moments, and insists that client experience lead metrics. Clarity + composure + collaboration beats charisma. How can technology help? Technology should reduce uncertainty and amplify learning: shared dashboards that make ringi-sho approvals transparent, lightweight digital twins of client journeys to test service changes safely, and collaboration tools that capture one-to-one insights before group forums. The goal is not more noise but better signal for faster, aligned decisions. Does language proficiency matter? Fluency helps but isn’t decisive. Consistent courtesy, listening, and reliability shrink the distance faster than perfect grammar. A capable interpreter plus leaders who personally engage—in simple Japanese where possible—outperform hands-off translation chains. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? Lead with care, earn trust through example, and turn consensus into speed by front-loading listening and clarity. Focus on strengths, empower capable people, and keep emotion from overwhelming the message. Do this, and results follow. Timecoded Summary [00:00] Background and formation: Early years in the United States, schooling in Japan, master’s at the University of Edinburgh. Marketing foundations at L’Oréal Japan across Kérastase, Helena Rubinstein, and Kiehl’s; progression from individual contributor to team leadership. [05:20] Transition to Van Cleef & Arpels: Emphasis on a maison culture of care and respect that maps naturally to Japanese expectations; client experience as the primary driver with sales as consequence. Expanding to lead multicultural teams. [12:45] Approachability and trust: Building durable followership by remaining accessible after promotion; maintaining continuity of relationships; modelling aisatsu and everyday courtesies to embed culture. Using one-to-ones to surface ideas that large meetings suppress. [18:30] Calm over drama: The communication cost of anger; how emotion eclipses meaning. Post-incident follow-ups to turn flashes of heat into alignment and learning. Composure as credibility in a Japanese context. [24:10] Working the consensus: Nemawashi to prepare decisions; ringi-sho-style clarity to memorialise them. Consensus reframed as disciplined alignment that speeds execution once decisions drop. [29:40] Global leaders in Japan: Close the distance quickly—be reachable, secure truth-tellers, and learn enough Japanese for sincere aisatsu. Don’t over-index on perfect fluency; prioritise respect, listening, and visible learning. [34:15] Women in leadership: Representation without tokenism; the confidence gap; how sponsorship and a focus on strengths help leaders step up. Empowerment as the multiplier—no president wins alone. [39:00] Closing lesson: Decision intelligence = context + clarity + care. Reduce uncertainty, empower teams, and let client experience steer priorities; results compound from there. Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/38957605

272 Erwin Ysewijn, President, Semikron Danfoss Japan 10/31/2025

272 Erwin Ysewijn, President, Semikron Danfoss Japan “Get your hands dirty: credibility in Japan is built in the field, not the boardroom”. “Bridges beat barriers: headquarters alignment turns local problems into solvable projects”. “Make people proud: structured “poster sessions” spark ownership, ideas and nemawashi”. “Decisions at the edge: push market choices to those closest to customers, then coach”. “Trust travels: clear logic, calm feedback, and consistency convert caution into commitment”. Belgian-born power-electronics engineer turned global executive, Erwin Yseijin leads Semikron Danfoss in Japan with more than three decades across Japan, Germany, and Taiwan. Beginning as a hardware engineer in switch-mode power supplies and motor drives, he joined a Japanese semiconductor firm in Munich in 1989 and relocated to Japan in 1992, learning operations, production planning, quotations, and logistics from the inside. Subsequent leadership roles at Infineon included Japan and a five-year post-merger integration in Taiwan overseeing ~50 R&D engineers and close OEM relationships across PCs, routers, and wireless. After a gallium-nitride startup stint in Dresden, he joined Semikron, later Semikron Danfoss, leading APAC reorganisation, factory consolidation, and a direct-plus-distribution sales model, before becoming Japan President. Fluent in the technical, commercial, and cultural languages of the region, he specialises in aligning headquarters and local teams, and in building pragmatic, customer-led organisations in Japan. Erwin Yasvin exemplifies the hands-on leader who earns trust in Japan by showing up where problems live. His credo—“get your hands dirty”—is not metaphorical. When customers escalate issues, he goes with sales to uncover root causes and secure head-office commitments on the spot. That credibility shortens cycles in a market where 100% quality is table stakes and where the service “extra mile” extends even a decade beyond a nominal warranty. A European by training and temperament, he learned Japanese corporate practice from the inside in the early 1990s, when multilayered hierarchies still defined decision flow. Rather than railing against the pyramid, he mined its upside: leaders who rise through layers bring practical judgement and empathy for shop-floor realities. Yet he also streamlined speed by bridging headquarters and Japan—translating commercial logic, technical constraints, and customer detail into decisions the field can act on. He builds voice and pride through “poster sessions”: monthly forums where team members present customers, markets, wins, and bottlenecks to peers. That design triggers nemawashi—quiet pre-alignment—and fosters cross-functional curiosity. By picking one or two ideas from each session and ensuring execution, he turns speaking up into visible impact. Decision rights sit with those closest to the market. Each salesperson owns one or two verticals—motor drives, wind, solar, energy storage, UPS—with accountability for target customers, competitive intel, product needs, and pricing. Headquarters supports with budgets for samples and after-warranty analysis, signalling trust with money. Where ambiguity or urgency is high—such as the 2022 exchange-rate shock—he decomposes the “working package” into digestible actions, avoiding paralysis. Mistakes are coached privately and framed as leadership accountability: if an error occurred, expectations weren’t clear enough. Monthly one-on-ones, written agendas, and evidence-led conversations establish a durable logic chain that travels across language boundaries. Culture-wise, he neither copies a Japanese firm nor imposes a foreign pace. Instead, he articulates values—efficient workdays, transparent processes, skill development—while adapting compensation to local norms through a hybrid bonus model that blends guaranteed and performance-tied elements. Asked how outsiders should lead in Japan, Yasvin stresses credibility, example, and constancy: be present in the hard moments, don’t over-promise, and speak in clear, digestible steps. In a country where consensus and detail orientation are prized, leaders win by aligning logic with respect—turning caution into momentum without sacrificing quality. Q&A Summary What makes leadership in Japan unique? Japan blends layered hierarchies with high expectations for managers to understand field-level problems. Leaders gain status less by slogan and more by track record. Consensus is built through nemawashi and formalised via ringi-sho, with detail-rich documentation that honours uncertainty avoidance while preserving quality. The upside of layers is decision empathy; the downside can be speed—unless leaders bridge across functions and headquarters. Why do global executives struggle? Many push headquarters logic without translating it into local realities: customer expectations of zero defects; service beyond written warranty; and process fidelity (e.g., traceability standards) that must integrate into Japanese customers’ own systems. Leaders also misread how “pride” shows up—quietly, not publicly—and miss mechanisms (like poster sessions) that let people contribute without confrontation. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Not exactly; it’s uncertainty-averse. When leaders clarify the “box” and broaden it gradually, teams will step forward. Decomposing problems (e.g., FX pass-through frameworks) turns ambiguity into executable steps. Decision intelligence—structured data, clear thresholds, defined triggers—reduces uncertainty and enables action without violating quality norms. What leadership style actually works? Lead by example; be visibly present at customer flashpoints. Push decisions to the edge (market owners), back them with budgets, and coach in private. Use structured forums to surface ideas, then implement a few to prove that speaking up matters. Keep corporate values intact (efficient workdays, skill building) while tuning incentives to local practice. How can technology help? Operational dashboards that tie customer issues to root-cause analytics, plus digital twins of power-module reliability and logistics flows, elevate conversations from anecdote to evidence. Traceability systems aligned to global standards reduce manual re-entry and delays, while decision thresholds (e.g., FX bands) automate price updates and ensure fair, consistent application. Does language proficiency matter? Helpful, not decisive. Clear logic, written agendas, data, and diagrams travel farther than perfect grammar. Leaders who frame problems visually, confirm next actions, and close the loop consistently can overcome linguistic gaps, while continuing to study Japanese accelerates trust and nuance. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? Credibility compounds. Show up in the hard moments, keep promises small and solid, convert ideas into implementation, and protect quality while increasing speed through better alignment. Over time, trust becomes a structural advantage with customers and within the team. 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/38857660

271 Chris LaFleur, Senior Director, McLarty Associates 10/24/2025

271 Chris LaFleur, Senior Director, McLarty Associates “Leading is easy. Getting people to follow is the hard part”. “Listen first; don’t pre-decide the outcome”. “Japan is a Swiss watch—change one gear and the whole movement shifts”. “Do nemawashi before decisions; ringi-sho is the runway, not red tape”. “Bring people back to Japan—networks mature with the country”. Chris LaFleur is Senior Director at McLarty Associates, the Washington, D.C. based strategic advisory firm. A career U.S. Foreign Service Officer, he served multiple tours in Japan—including Sapporo, Yokohama language training, and Tokyo in political and politico-military roles—worked on the staff of Secretary of State Al Haig, at the U.S. Mission to the UN, and at the U.S. Embassy in Paris focusing on Asia during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. He later became Deputy Director of the American Institute in Taiwan, returned to Tokyo as Deputy Chief of Mission under Ambassador Tom Foley, and served in Washington as the No. 2 in the Bureau of East Asian Affairs as well as a negotiator on alliance modernisation with Japan and South Korea. He was U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia in the Iraq War era, then Vice Chairman of JPMorgan Japan, and repeatedly served as President and Chairman at the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ). Today, he advises global firms on policy, regulatory, and political risk across Japan and the region. Chris LaFleur’s leadership journey tracks the evolution of U.S.–Japan relations and the realities of making decisions inside complex systems. Beginning as a vice consul in Sapporo, he learned that listening precedes leading in Japan. Hokkaidō’s standard Japanese, the step-by-step pace of regional life, and daily immersion built linguistic and cultural pattern recognition. That foundation scaled when he rotated through Yokohama language training and the Tokyo Embassy, where politico-military work brought alliance management into focus: with bases, communities, and bilateral policy layered together, decisions were not events but processes requiring consensus and continuity. Shifting to Washington to staff Secretary Al Haig offered a crash course in how policy gets made, while the UN posting and a Paris portfolio on Asia sharpened his systems view across capitals. Taiwan unlocked dormant Chinese language skills and reminded him that capability compounds with context. Returning to Tokyo as Deputy Chief of Mission under Ambassador Tom Foley, he saw that organisational power is distributed: success hinged on local staff with deep networks, continuity across rotating Americans, and steady, trust-building communication with home offices that wanted speed while Japan required sequence. As Ambassador to Malaysia during the second Iraq War, LaFleur had to explain and persuade amid public scepticism—learning again that legitimacy is earned by hearing concerns first. Transitioning to the private sector as Vice Chairman at JPMorgan Japan validated a surprising constant: large companies decide like large governments. He expected neat, calculated choices; he found coalitions, trade-offs, and path dependence. The lesson for leaders: map stakeholders, solicit ideas early, and let nemawashi do its work before the ringi-sho formalises momentum. In consulting today, he helps global executives reframe “risk” in Japan as uncertainty to be worked through with decision intelligence—aligning goals, mapping interdependencies, and testing scenarios before locking in. Japan, he says, is a Swiss watch: its precision is an asset, but every gear is linked. Leaders succeed by respecting that system—sequencing conversations, checking downstream effects, and ensuring consensus is genuine, not assumed. Technology can accelerate this work—digital twins for processes, collaborative platforms for traceable sign-offs—but tools must fit culture. Above all, bring people back to Japan; networks—and trust—rise with time. What makes leadership in Japan unique? Japan’s operating model is sequence over speed. Nemawashi aligns stakeholders in advance; the ringi-sho codifies consensus; and downstream interlocks across compliance, customers, and partners mean details matter before decisions. Leaders must treat decisions as journeys, not moments, and recognise local staff as the critical path to progress. Why do global executives struggle? Headquarters often assumes top-down approvals equal action. In Japan, meetings with “the top” rarely move the machine unless the working levels are engaged. Foreign leaders also underestimate uncertainty avoidance embedded in tightly coupled processes—the “Swiss watch” effect—so a small tweak can ripple across functions and clients. Is Japan truly risk-averse? It is more accuracy-seeking than risk-averse. The system prizes predictability because errors propagate widely. What looks like reluctance is often prudent scenario-testing. Reframe risk as uncertainty management: clarify assumptions, run premortems, and build reversible steps that preserve harmony while enabling change. What leadership style actually works? Listening first. LaFleur emphasises not pre-deciding outcomes and actively soliciting ideas from Japanese colleagues. Credibility grows when leaders translate Japan’s logic to HQ (and vice versa), sequence approvals, and sponsor inclusive consensus. Authority helps; empathy and patience deliver. How can technology help? Use decision intelligence to visualise interdependencies and simulate impacts. Digital twins of processes reveal where approvals, compliance, and client commitments intersect. Collaborative tools can make nemawashi transparent, while structured knowledge bases preserve networks as staff rotate. Tech should speed alignment, not bulldoze culture. Does language proficiency matter? Fluency amplifies effectiveness but isn’t binary. Even partial competence builds sensitivity to context, omissions, and implied meaning. Leaders who grasp how Japanese sentences carry subject and object through context better “hear” what a yes might actually mean in terms of readiness. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? Inspire people to move together. Map the system, honour the culture, and turn listening into aligned action. Keep bringing talent back to Japan so relationships mature; in a consensus economy, trust is compounding capital. Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/38767055

270 Loïc Pecondon-Lacroix, President and Country Holding Officer (CHO) of ABB Japan 10/17/2025

270 Loïc Pecondon-Lacroix, President and Country Holding Officer (CHO) of ABB Japan “Listening is easy; listening intently is leadership.” “In Japan, trust isn’t a KPI — it’s earned through presence, patience, and predictable behaviour.” “Leaders here must be gatekeepers of governance and ambassadors for people, culture, and brand.” “Don’t copy-paste playbooks; calibrate the boss, context, and cadence.” “Win hearts first, then heads — only then will ideas and decisions truly flow.” Loïc Pecondon-Lacroix is President and Country Holding Officer (CHO) of ABB Japan, responsible for governance, compliance, and the enabling infrastructure that keeps ABB’s Japan entities operating within law, regulation, and internal policy. A French national educated primarily in sales, he built his career as a business controller and CFO across local, regional, and global roles, developing a reputation for process discipline and decision support. Before ABB, he spent a decade in the automotive sector, including senior roles at German powerhouse Mahle, where he moved between France, Germany, China, and Japan. His first Japan posting was as a general manager in the automotive industry; his second brought him back to Tokyo, where — after his spouse’s executive opportunity catalysed the move — he was recruited in-market by ABB directly into the CHO role. What makes leadership in Japan unique? Japan is a high-context, consensus-first environment. Leaders must prioritise nemawashi before ringi-sho, invest in psychological safety, and value presence over performative activity. Engagement is not a survey score but an accumulation of trust signalled by consistent behaviour, calibrated communication, and respect for cadence and etiquette. Decision intelligence here blends informal alignment with formal governance so progress sticks rather than bounces. Why do global executives struggle? Many arrive with “fix it fast” mandates, underestimate uncertainty avoidance, and over-rely on imported playbooks. They communicate problems upward without solutions and fail to “manage the boss” — i.e., calibrate global expectations to local timeframes. Skipping nemawashi, they trigger resistance, burn political capital, and misread engagement metrics that don’t map neatly across cultures. Is Japan truly risk-averse? It’s less risk-averse than uncertainty-averse. Leaders can reduce uncertainty with clearer problem framing, milestones, and prototypes, thereby enabling motion without violating safety and quality norms. The practical move is to de-risk through staged decisions, transparent governance, and strong internal controls — an approach especially congruent with ABB’s integrity and compliance culture. What leadership style actually works? Begin with humility and intense listening, then coach. Win hearts before heads, model the behaviours you seek, and make middle managers masters of feedback and retention. Use direct channels (town halls, internal social platforms) to complement cascades. Choose battles, protect cadence, and be explicit about “why this, why now.” Influence beats authority in matrix settings; patience beats bravado. How can technology help? Internal communities and collaboration platforms create lateral flow so ideas don’t stall under middle-management “concrete.” Analytics can enrich decision intelligence by signalling hotspots in retention and development. In ABB’s domain, digital twins and automation are metaphors for leadership too: simulate options, align stakeholders, then execute with control plans that keep quality and compliance intact. Does language proficiency matter? Fluency helps but isn’t decisive. Context literacy — reading air, watching body language, knowing relationship histories — often yields more truth than words alone. Leaders can operate in English while respecting Japanese protocols, provided they invest in nemawashi, maintain constancy, and avoid breaking trust with premature declarations or unilateral moves. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? “Win hearts, then heads.” Authenticity tempered with empathy, disciplined listening, and careful boss-calibration turns culture from obstacle to engine. When people feel safe and seen, they move — applying for stretch roles, sharing ideas, and compounding organisational capability over long cycles. Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/38617410

269 Nicolai Bergmann — Founder, Nicolai Bergmann 10/10/2025

269 Nicolai Bergmann — Founder, Nicolai Bergmann Flowers are a stage — design is the performance. Affordable mistakes beat catastrophic caution. Build leaders from the bench you already have. A shop window can be a growth engine. Hands-on founders create hands-on cultures. Danish-born floral designer Nicolai Bergmann built his brand in Tokyo by treating the shopfront as a “stage,” inspiring customers with ready-made designs. After moving to Japan in the late ’90s, a high-visibility boutique and department-store partnership launched the “Nicolai Bergmann” name, later expanded with a Minami-Aoyama flagship featuring a café, gallery, and atelier. He popularized the signature fresh flower box, grew the team to ~250 by developing leaders from the floor and adding specialists, and runs on a philosophy of bold but “affordable” experiments—learning fast without risking the whole platform. What makes leadership in Japan unique? Japan’s leadership landscape values craftsmanship, visible commitment, and community. A founder who works the market at dawn and serves customers on the shop floor embodies credibility. Beyond hierarchy, leaders earn trust through nemawashi—quiet alignment-building before decisions—and by signalling stability through continuity of people and place. Shopfronts, department-store counters and hotel lobbies are not just sales channels; they are social proof engines where consistency, aesthetics and service fuse into leadership currency. Why do global executives struggle? Executives arriving with playbooks optimised for speed and centralisation can stall amid Japan’s consensus rhythms. Ringi-sho processes and stakeholder mapping feel slow until leaders learn to use the process to clarify value and de-risk execution. Underinvesting in the “stage”—the customer-visible experience—and overinvesting in back-office abstraction also hurts; in Japan, persuasion is tactile. People want to see, touch and feel the idea before they sign off. Is Japan truly risk-averse? It’s more accurate to say Japan practices uncertainty avoidance. Bergmann’s career shows that bold moves are welcome when the downside is capped: trial pop-ups before full leases, host-funded fit-outs, and prototypes that can be iterated. The mantra is “affordable mistakes”—push hard, but don’t blow up the platform. Decision intelligence here means structuring experiments so they teach fast without triggering existential losses. What leadership style actually works? Hands-on, craft-credible and steadily developmental. Leaders who model standards on the floor, grow managers from within, and supplement with targeted specialists (e.g., seasoned CFOs) see durable results. Clear stages—flagship, gallery, high-traffic counters—act as internal academies where juniors learn by doing. Consistency of presence from the top creates momentum that SOPs alone cannot. How can technology help? Digital twins of store layouts and merchandising flows help prototype seasonal displays before fit-out; simple decision dashboards clarify which experiments are “affordable.” Lightweight collaboration tools support nemawashi across shops, while CRM nudges seasonal outreach. None of this replaces the stage; it amplifies it—turning tacit craft into shareable playbooks without diluting design. Does language proficiency matter? Yes, but craft fluency and cultural curiosity travel far. Bergmann advanced by showing value on the counter and at installs while improving Japanese over time. A leader who demonstrates respect, learns the tempo, and leverages bilingual lieutenants can navigate ringi, win consensus, and keep teams inspired—even before perfect fluency lands. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? Treat every customer-facing surface as a stage; build leaders from the people who already care; and structure your boldness so you never risk the platform. Hands-on credibility + consensus craftsmanship = compounding trust. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/38494555

268 Alexis Perroton, CEO, Piaget Japan 10/03/2025

268 Alexis Perroton, CEO, Piaget Japan Timeless luxury thrives on trust, not transactions. In Japan, “walk the talk” converts respect into results. Prepare for 90, execute the final 10 flawlessly. Curiosity first; conclusions later. Empathy is the shortcut to nemawashi. Born in Geneva, Switzerland — the same city where Piaget began — Alexis Perroton started his career at TAG Heuer. At 24, he accepted a “Japan or nothing” posting and arrived without language skills or prior affinity for the country. The culture shock was immediate, but he refused to quit, immersed himself in the language, and built fluency as he learned retail from the shop floor. After four years, he moved to Richemont’s Finance Planning & Analysis team supporting watch maisons and later Cartier, partnering closely with marketing on product performance dashboards. That collaboration paved the way to a leadership shift: he became Head of Jewellery for Cartier Japan during a pivotal rebuilding phase marked by new management, optimism, and local creative freedom. To broaden his scope and network, Perroton relocated to Cartier’s head office in Geneva, working with the executive committee and coordinating commercial activities across Asia at the height of China’s expansion. He subsequently led marketing and communications across 12 diverse markets in Southeast Asia from Singapore, then moved to Hong Kong in 2015 to oversee Hong Kong & Macau — the largest subsidiary at the time — through a demanding, resource-rich growth period. Recruited to Piaget by a former Cartier colleague tasked with revitalising the maison, Perroton returned to Japan eight years ago to lead Piaget Japan. Since then, he and his team have delivered strong results across triumphs and setbacks, emphasising client relationships, boutique excellence, and disciplined execution. Across roles in Switzerland, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and back to Japan, his career reflects 18 cumulative years in Japan, a deep commitment to on-the-floor leadership, and the conviction that respect, transparency, and consistency (“walk the talk”) generate trust and performance. Alexis Perroton’s leadership philosophy is forged from the boutique floor up. He insists luxury is about emotion and human connection, and that leaders must be visible, useful, and humble where the relationship actually forms: in-store. Early in Japan, unable to speak or read the language, he nearly left. Instead, he doubled down, learned Japanese, and used that experience to shape a style that blends Swiss discipline with Japanese trust-building. Over time he moved through finance, marketing, and general management across Asia, all while honing empathy and executional rigour. Perroton learned that Japanese engagement cannot be read through global dashboards alone. Survey scores trend conservative, but comments are nuanced and often positive; a “5/10” may signify a customer’s desire to keep a brand exclusive rather than dissatisfaction. He rejects international league tables that flatten culture, preferring to mine qualitative feedback and then close the loop visibly so staff see action, not surveys for surveys’ sake. This is classic nemawashi: patiently build consensus and psychological safety before decisions are formalised (ringi-sho), and communicate the “why,” the frame, and the plan. He is equally clear-eyed on empowerment. Large brainstorming sessions seldom unlock the quiet voices; one-to-one breakfasts and small-group conversations do. He schedules weekly “what I did/what I’m doing” forums so every voice exercises agency. Then he provides structure — owners, milestones, expectations — so ideas survive the off-site and turn into operational work. He understands Japan’s “prepare 90, execute 10” rhythm and harnesses it: meticulous rehearsal (including speeches scripted phonetically in romaji) ensures flawless client experiences. On technology, he is pragmatic. Luxury e-commerce remains smaller in Japan; clients value brick-and-mortar intimacy, trusted advice, and post-purchase care. Technology supports, but cannot replace, that theatre. Decision intelligence for leaders here means translating data into empathetic action: role-plays at morning chokurei, field coaching, and feedback cadences that respect uncertainty avoidance while still inviting challenge. Language proficiency matters because it collapses distance. Speaking directly with clients at dinners and events, or packing event crates with staff after hours, signals “same boat” solidarity that no town hall can replicate. It also short-circuits the “expat for three years and gone” scepticism. Resilience, for Perroton, comes from perspective: sleep resets the day; reframe the negative until a constructive path appears. In a market where wealth skews older and relationships are compounding assets, his approach fuses empathy, preparation, and presence — the quiet mechanics of trust that make luxury feel effortless. What makes leadership in Japan unique? Leaders succeed by investing disproportionate energy in trust and preparation. Nemawashi precedes decisions; ringi-sho codifies them; consensus safeguards execution. Staff and clients value “walk the talk” — the leader who shows up at events on weekends, role-plays in morning huddles, and can serve a client in Japanese. Preparation (90) before execution (10) yields the “flawless” client moment. Why do global executives struggle? They over-index on global benchmarks and underweight context. Japanese engagement and NPS scales are conservative; comments carry the gold. Translation nuance matters. Without patient listening, one-to-one conversations, and follow-through, ideas die in the gap between off-site enthusiasm and Monday reality. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Japan is uncertainty-averse more than risk-averse. Teams will pursue bold goals once leaders reduce ambiguity: clarify intent, sequence, owners, and safeguards. Meticulous rehearsal de-risks the last 10 percent. Leaders who frame decisions with transparent dashboards and narratives convert caution into commitment. What leadership style actually works? Respect, transparency, and consistency. Be reachable, empathetic, and specific. Set frames (who/what/when), then empower execution. Build psychological safety in small groups; invite challenge privately if needed. Model shared labour — from packing crates to greeting clients — to accelerate trust and speed up nemawashi. How can technology help? Use technology to enhance, not replace, human theatre. Digital twins of service journeys and decision intelligence dashboards can surface bottlenecks, skill gaps, and best practices. But luxury clients in Japan still choose boutiques for trust, tactility, and tailored advice. Tech should augment coaching (e.g., role-play libraries, analytics), not automate empathy. Does language proficiency matter? Yes — it compresses distance and signals respect. Direct Japanese conversations enable richer feedback loops with staff and clients, reduce reliance on filters, and quicken consensus. Even partial fluency, used consistently, advances trust faster than polished slides. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? Curiosity before conclusions. Listen wide, close the loop visibly, and “walk the talk.” In Japan, leaders who pair empathy with structure turn consensus from a delay into a multiplier, sustaining performance through crises and growth cycles alike. Timecoded Summary [00:00] Geneva to Ginza: Perroton recounts growing up in Switzerland, joining TAG Heuer, and taking a “Japan or nothing” assignment at 24. Early months are brutally hard — no language, cultural isolation — but he refuses to quit, learns Japanese, and discovers the client-facing heartbeat of luxury. [05:20] From FP&A to jewellery: At Richemont he partners with marketing on analytics, then becomes Head of Jewellery for Cartier Japan during a renewal period with new management and local freedom. The move proves that cross-functional fluency (finance + marketing) accelerates leadership range. [12:45] Head office vantage: In Geneva, he coordinates Asian markets as China scales rapidly, building an ex-co network and regional perspective. The exposure to different uncertainty profiles and market maturities seeds his later playbook on framing and consensus. [18:30] Southeast Asia tour: From Singapore, he oversees 12 heterogeneous markets — mature (Singapore), emergent (Vietnam), culturally complex (Indonesia), Anglo-Saxon (Australia). A small, tight team learns to tailor playbooks without losing brand coherence. [23:40] Hong Kong & Macau (2015): He leads the largest subsidiary pre-COVID, where resourcing and pressure are equally high. He calibrates “prepare 90, execute 10” at scale, learning that big markets demand both autonomy and disciplined alignment. [28:10] Piaget Japan: Recruited amid a brand rebuild, he returns to Japan. Eight years deliver wins and setbacks, but the throughline is presence: weekends at events, dinners with clients, and coaching on the floor. He schedules boutique time, blocks calendars, and adapts to two time zones daily. [34:15] Engagement optics: He critiques comparing Japan’s NPS/engagement to other countries. Scores are conservative; comments reveal loyalty and exclusivity impulses. The fix: translation nuance, qualitative mining, action plans, and visible follow-through — nemawashi in practice. [40:00] Empowerment engine: Weekly “feedback” meetings make speaking up routine. Small breakfasts surface quieter voices. He supplies frames (owners, timelines) so ideas outlive off-sites. Role-play during chokurei institutionalises learning despite dispersed retail schedules. [45:35] Digital vs. human: E-commerce is smaller in Japan’s luxury; clients prioritise tactile experiences and trusted advisors. Technology should serve decision intelligence and coaching, not attempt to automate empathy. [49:50] Resilience & habits: He writes everything down, rehearses speeches in romaji, takes thinking breaks, and resets daily — reframing negatives until a constructive path emerges. The ultimate lesson: curiosity, empathy, structure, and “walk the talk.” Author Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/38462045

267 Dr. Laura Bonamici — Global Head of Marketing, Fujitsu 09/26/2025

267 Dr. Laura Bonamici — Global Head of Marketing, Fujitsu “Anything that stretches you and makes you grow is never easy.” “In general, to gain trust, the three things that work are humility, curiosity, and authenticity.” “In Japan, you have to move from busy to productive, and from productive to impactful.” “As a leader, you must trust others to be your voice, your interpreter, and your proofreader.” “First and foremost, put your hand up—there’s too much hesitation and self-censoring.” Dr. Laura Bonamici is the Global Head of Marketing at Fujitsu, based in Tokyo, Japan. Her career has spanned multiple industries and geographies, from consumer goods and luxury fashion to technology, each stage demanding adaptability and reinvention. Previously she was a Communications Specialist, Embedded PR; Commodity Operations Program Manager, Goldman Sachs; Investment Banking Division, Goldman Sachs; Corporate Marketing Assistant, Drake International-Learning Technologies. She has a Ph.D. from Royal Holloway University of London; and B.A from Universita degli Studi di Firenze. She has built her reputation on her ability to lead transformation across cultures, guiding teams through periods of uncertainty and change. In Japan, she has been tasked directly by Fujitsu’s CEO with spearheading marketing transformation, a mandate that challenges her to balance global speed with the local consensus-driven style of decision-making. Fluent in several languages and deeply committed to cultural immersion, Laura has become known for blending precision with creativity, humility with authority, and long-term commitment with immediate impact. She champions diversity, particularly encouraging women to take leadership roles and pursue international assignments, believing that exposure to different cultures is essential for confidence and perspective. Today, she continues to refine her leadership approach in Japan’s uniquely complex business environment, guided by authenticity, curiosity, and respect for cultural nuance. Leadership, for Dr. Laura Bonamici, is a process of constant growth, challenge, and adaptation. As Global Head of Marketing at Fujitsu, she has learned that leadership in Japan is unlike anywhere else in the world: demanding patience, cultural sensitivity, and an unwavering commitment to authenticity. Upon her arrival in Tokyo, she was tasked by the CEO with driving transformation. Yet, she quickly discovered that while international markets often prize speed and disruption, Japan’s consensus-driven decision-making process values nemawashi (informal groundwork), ringi-sho (formal approval circulation), and a deliberate pace. Rather than imposing a foreign model, Laura chose to respect the cultural norms while still pushing for meaningful change. This balancing act has required resilience and an appreciation that transformation cannot be rushed. Trust lies at the heart of her leadership. As a non-Japanese executive, she is acutely aware of perceptions that foreigners may not stay long. To counter this, she invests time in one-on-one interactions, symbolic gestures like delivering speeches in Japanese, and consistent demonstrations of long-term commitment. These actions, while small, become essential trust-building measures that gradually shift perceptions. Laura’s leadership style is built on humility, curiosity, and authenticity. She believes in asking questions, even in a culture where questioning may be uncomfortable, framing them in ways that show genuine interest rather than criticism. She uses tools such as workshops, Post-it brainstorming, and agile methodologies to encourage open participation and psychological safety. For her, leadership is not about imposing a style but about weaving together the best aspects of Japanese precision, international innovation, and Fujitsu’s own corporate culture. She also emphasises the need to move from being “busy” to truly “impactful.” By deliberately carving out time in her calendar for reflection and creativity, she models the behaviours she wants her team to adopt. This philosophy resonates strongly in Japan, where overwork is common but does not always translate to high impact. For women, she acknowledges both the barriers and the opportunities in Japan. She urges female leaders to “put their hand up” rather than self-censor, and advocates for international assignments to build resilience and global perspective. With Fujitsu’s goal of 30% female leadership, she sees systemic change as gradual but achievable through consistent encouragement and role modelling. Ultimately, Laura likens leadership to salt: essential when used wisely, overwhelming when misapplied. Her approach, grounded in authenticity and cultural respect, is a reminder that leadership is both an art and a discipline, particularly in the nuanced environment of Japan. What makes leadership in Japan unique? Leadership in Japan is shaped by consensus-driven decision-making and cultural expectations of humility and harmony. Unlike markets that prioritise speed, Japan values nemawashi and ringi-sho, where alignment is painstakingly built. For Laura, leadership here requires balancing international urgency with local patience. Why do global executives struggle? Executives often arrive expecting to implement rapid change, only to find progress feels slow. They underestimate the importance of trust and long-term commitment. As Laura highlights, without demonstrating persistence and cultural respect, leaders may be dismissed as transient. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Rather than being risk-averse, Laura believes Japan exhibits high uncertainty avoidance. Transformation is not rejected but must be managed through careful consensus-building. She frames this as a shift from rushing decisions to ensuring impact, which aligns with decision intelligence principles. What leadership style actually works? Authenticity, humility, and curiosity are key. Asking questions, even when uncomfortable, models openness and encourages dialogue. Laura avoids imposing a singular “foreign” leadership style, instead blending the strengths of Japanese precision, international innovation, and Fujitsu’s own values. How can technology help? Laura leverages agile methodologies, workshops, and digital collaboration tools to break down silos and create psychological safety. She believes technology, such as digital twins and agile design frameworks, enables experimentation without fear, helping bridge the gap between speed and consensus. Does language proficiency matter? Yes, both symbolically and practically. Delivering speeches in Japanese signals respect and commitment. It also reduces the reliance on interpreters, though Laura emphasises trusting interpreters and proofreaders as extensions of leadership. What’s the ultimate leadership lesson? Leadership, like salt, must be applied with balance. Too much control overwhelms; too little leaves teams directionless. Laura’s ultimate lesson is that leadership is about fostering trust, modelling authenticity, and creating the conditions for impact rather than imposing authority. [00:00] Dr. Laura Bonamici introduces her leadership philosophy, stressing that anything that stretches and challenges you is never easy. She frames leadership as a balance of authenticity and cultural adaptation. [05:20] Discusses her arrival in Japan and mandate from Fujitsu’s CEO to drive transformation. She quickly identifies the challenge of aligning international speed with Japan’s consensus culture, rooted in nemawashi and ringi-sho. [12:45] Highlights the importance of trust-building as a foreign leader. Shares strategies such as one-on-one meetings, learning Japanese, and consistent presence to counter perceptions of transience. [18:30] Outlines her leadership pillars of humility, curiosity, and authenticity. Explains how asking questions, though culturally uncomfortable, demonstrates genuine interest and encourages dialogue. [25:10] Describes practical tools like workshops, Post-it brainstorming, and agile practices to foster innovation and psychological safety within teams. [32:00] Emphasises the shift from being busy to impactful. She blocks time for reflection and creativity, modelling productive behaviours in contrast to Japan’s culture of overwork. [39:15] Addresses the challenges and opportunities for women leaders in Japan. Urges women to put their hand up, avoid self-censoring, and take overseas assignments to build resilience. [45:00] Concludes with her metaphor of leadership as salt — essential in balance, destructive in excess — encapsulating her philosophy of authenticity, cultural sensitivity, and patience. Host Credentials 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. /episode/index/show/japanstopbusinessinterviews/id/38320945

Japan's Top Business Interviews Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan

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