Your Own Worst Enemy
Businesses can be their own worst enemies when business process supplants business thinking. The CEO of a large industrial American company in Japan told me
Businesses can be their own worst enemies when business process supplants business thinking. The CEO of a large industrial American company in Japan told me
Exceptions are “exceptional” by definition, and always exist no matter how rare. Just because research in organizational change shows a strong correlation between certain factors
The only data you need are those needed for making a decision. Yet in my experience, much data reported to head offices are rarely needed
The simplest explanation is most likely the right one. Occam’s Razor holds true not just for science but for international business as well—even in Japan.
A highly successful Japanese CEO I know who had just taken a new role leading a deeply troubled company in Japan asked me, “What are
In a small Tokyo sales office of a Kansai-based company, the sales manager in charge habitually turns away sales people from other companies who call
When it comes to identifying their own successor, Japan CEO’s whom I know often find themselves in exile in a land of no good options.
On December 9th, I conducted and onstage conversation with Suntory Beverage and Food CEO Makiko Ono for the French and Australia New Zealand Chambers of
Understanding the rationale for change alone when accountability is lacking is never enough. As leader, you will find yourself having to do the work of your staff
On November 25th, I had the pleasure of conducting and onstage conversation with Porsche Japan Philipp von Witzendorff for the French, German, Canadian, and Australia
In this video, I’m talking why attitude trumps capability. Here are three things I learned about capability. Most people and most leaders are far more
A CEO client of mine lamented a crisis. Union members were protesting vocally in front of one of the business’s retail stores, and a concomitant
We are living in a post-distributor age. Gone are the days of cajoling distributors in representing your products to customers—often poorly. The best businesses of
Leaders cannot engage people. People must engage themselves. All a leader can do is clear the way. Despite this, I often find overreaching conclusions from
A guest services call center agent at a luxury hotel in Tokyo told me how bad she felt when unable to satisfy a guest’s request
CEOs often ask me how best to lead dramatic, strategic change knowing full well the kind of concerns, resistance, and doubt that such change can
On October 9th, I conducted a conversation with Domino’s Pizza Japan CEO Martin Steenks for the American, Australia New Zealand, and Netherlands Chambers of Commerce
If you want to improve collaboration in your business, it should not be done by encouraging harmonious interaction. Rather, you must institutionalize confrontation. No healthy
On September 25th, I conducted an onstage conversation with Novo Nordisk Pharma Japan President and Representative Director Kasper Bødker Mejlvang at the French Chamber of
Around a decade ago, the CEO of the Japanese subsidiary of a European building infrastructure and engineering services company told me his business had repeatedly
On September 12th, I conducted an onstage conversation with Bel Japon CEO Aytekin Yildiz with my colleague Maïa Maniglier for the French Chamber of Commerce
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