[:en]Identify Cause. Never Presume. [:ja]大切なのは原因を突き止めること。仮定はすべからず。[:]
[:en] The CEO of a well-known US company in Japan contacted me recently to ask whether I thought flatter organizational structures are better than more hierarchical ones. He learned that vital information from the ranks was not getting to him fast enough and thought that a flatter structure might resolve the problem. He was, in fact, asking the wrong question, because his question presumes cause is organizational structure, whereas it might not be.
[:en]Conversation with Barilla Japan CEO [:ja]バリラジャパンCEOアントニー・ストリアネーゼから学んだこと[:]
[:en]I conducted an onstage conversation with Barilla Japan CEO, Antony Strianese. Here are my takeaways.
[:en]It’s Never Because “This is Japan”[:ja]日本が企業問題の原因であることはない[:]
[:en]Address real root cause, and you can accelerate change in your business. Blame your ailments on Japan, and you will remain permanently stuck. It’s up to you. What is it about Japan that makes companies as they are? Below are a few statements from a company manager, many of which you might find familiar in your own experience in Japan.
[:en]Conversation with BMW Japan CEO[:ja]BMWジャパン代表取締役社長のインタビューから学んだこと[:]
[:en]On September 22nd, I conducted an on-stage conversation with BMW Group Japan CEO Peter Kronschnabl. This event, co-hosted by the American and German Chambers of Commerce, was attended by over one-hundred people on the fifty-first floor of Tokyo’s posh Roppongi Hills Club. While this event was off-the-record, I enumerate nine of my personal takeaways below from the conversation with the insightful, innovative and consummate international business leader, Peter Kronschnabl.
[:en]Kobe Steel vs. Japanese Culture[:ja]神戸製鋼と日本文化[:]
[:en] Bloomberg invited me to discuss the current situation with Kobe Steel and my take on Japanese culture and the role it plays (or does not) with respect to what is happening inside of corporations in Japan. If you’d prefer to read this interview, the following transcript has been provided by Bloomberg:
[:en]Leader Versus Minion Behaviors [:ja]リーダーとそうでない人との違い[:]
[:en]Who on your staff is leadership material, and who is…perhaps not? Forget personality profiling and engagement survey results. None of these tests have ever been scientifically validated, and can tell you as much about a candidate for a higher level of leadership as reading the entrails of a slaughtered chicken.
[:en]Big Consequences of Tolerating Small Infractions[:ja]たとえ小さくとも、違反は大きな影響を及ぼすもの[:]
[:en] Illicit and unethical behavior should never be tolerated, even if the impact is small. For example, if a manager is padding company expenses for personal gain, you really have no choice but to fire the manager, even if it is for less than a few hundred dollars per year. That can be a hard decision to make when the manager’s performance is high, such as a top salesperson, but it is the right decision. It is a matter of judgement and leadership of the manager rather than a cost-benefit analysis of the infraction.
[:en]Mothers Outperform Men[:ja]男性社員をしのぐ母親社員達[:]
[:en]Prime Minister Abe recognizes that getting more Japanese women into the workplace, including women with children, is the greatest potential domestic resource for boosting Japan’s GDP rapidly. He is, of course, right in terms of economics. However, he may not realize that getting more women with children into the workplace may also solve Japan’s low productivity and excessive overtime problem at the same time.
[:en]Presume the Best in People: The Gains Far Exceed the Losses[:ja]人を信用することから得られる利益と、疑うことから発生するリスク[:]
[:en] Recently, when traveling first class on the Shinkansen (the Green Car), I noticed that conductors no longer check passengers tickets. It used to be that uniformed conductor, often female, would first distribute complimentary disposable wet towels to new passengers who had just boarded, noting their seat numbers, and then some minutes later return to the same seats to inspect tickets. Now they just distribute towels. No one checks the tickets.
[:en]Pride and Confidence[:ja]プライドと自信[:]
[:en] The goal of every business is to create a customer, and its mission is to contribute to the society in which it serves. This is not about CSR or charity.
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