[:en]You Are Not Carlos Ghosn[:ja]あなたはカルロス・ゴーンにあらず[:]
[:en]Some have argued the reason for Carlos Ghosn’s legal trouble is for having pushed change too hard—that he crossed some kind of Japanese nationalistic redline in wanting to merge Nissan and Renault, giving the French company control over the Japanese entity. Had Ghosn been more conservative in his actions, they reason, he would not be in the predicament in which he finds himself. This narrative, however, is disingenuous.
[:en]Business Trends in 2019[:ja]2019年ビジネス・トレンド[:]
[:en]As 2018 comes to a close, I foresee three trends based on my experience with clients. Here are business trends to keep an eye on in 2019.
[:en]AI-Induced Atrophy[:ja]人工知能がもたらす退化[:]
[:en]For some, artificial intelligence and automation in business herald a new era of increased productivity. For others, these are a harbinger of job obsolescence and layoffs.
[:en]Culture Change Manifesto[:ja]企業改革宣言[:]
[:en]I define culture as norms of behaviors based on shared beliefs. When a leader says he or she wants to change the culture of his or her company, the ultimate goal is always to change norms of behaviors. If I want to understand the culture of a company, all I need to do is observe which behaviors are encouraged and rewarded, which are discouraged and penalized, and which are the behaviors to which people are indifferent. I can understand the beliefs that drive those behaviors by asking questions.
[:en]No More New Strategy Tools[:ja]戦略ツールなどいらない[:]
[:en]In photography, new cameras do not make for better art, just as in strategy, new tools do not make for better business results.
[:en]Could You Get a Job at Your Own Company?[:ja]自分の会社に採用してもらえるかどうか[:]
[:en]If you are finding it difficult to fill key roles with excellent people, don’t assume it is because your company does not attract the right candidates, but rather that the right candidates don’t get through your company’s screening process. If you applied for a job at your own company, you too might not get through either.
[:en]Ideology is No Ersatz for Strategy[:ja]イデオロギーは戦略の代わりになり得るものではない[:]
[:en] A friend of mine recently observed that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s strategy to deter a Chinese seizure of the disputed Senkaku Islands makes no sense.
[:en]No Path to Excellence in Market Price[:ja]市場価格にこだわらないこと[:]
[:en] Saving pennies should never justify forgoing dollars of income. The most successful business people I know never consider cost, and only consider ROI, particularly when hiring people and engaging services. There is no path to excellence through paying market price. A consistent ROI focus results in rapid growth and success.
[:en]The Anatomy of Misogyny[:ja]女性差別を分析すると[:]
[:en]The other week, Tokyo Medical University was revealed to have been deliberately boosting entrance test scores of male students to give them an advantage and to limit the number of female students since 2006. The motivation? Women shorten or halt their careers after becoming mothers, exacerbating staff shortage problems at hospitals. There is no real evidence for this, but whatever. Misogyny, like all other forms of hate, is always rationalized as being in some arbitrary best interest of the greater common good.
[:en]Make Your Own Economy[:ja]景気は自分で作り出すもの[:]
[:en]Are you allowing the economy to dictate your results, or are you making your own economy? In 1995, in the aftermath of the Kobe earthquake in which five thousand people lost their lives, an American businessman told me that he had been advised to lower his expectations for the Japan market because Japanese consumers had reduced their spending, so as not to appear ostentatious or feel guilty about enjoying life in the wake of the tragedy suffered by their compatriots.
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