[:en]Sense, Not Sensitivity[:ja]文化に敏感になることではなく、文化センスメイキングが大切[:]

[:en]The greatest impediment to success in international business is cultural sensitivity. Yes, that’s right. Now take a moment to vent your outrage if you need to, and bear with me. It is not cultural sensitivity but rather cultural sense-making that you want, and these are not the same thing. Don’t get me wrong. I am no xenophobe. It is good to make yourself an expert in a foreign language or another country’s culture. However, there is a difference between using your expertise to adapt to the culture around you, as opposed to changing it.

[:en]Secret to Persuasive Strategy: To Persuade Others that you’re Right, Talk about why you might be Wrong[:ja]相手を説得する秘訣:自分の正当性を訴えたければ、逆に間違っている可能性を示唆すること[:]

[:en] All senior level executives and managers are asked to develop and present a strategy, whether global, regional, or simply for a domain that they oversee. Many create long slide presentations with lots of data to justify why the strategy is right, and feel they need to persuade others and convince them. Their arguments provide support for their conclusion. However, the most effective way to persuade others that your strategy is right is to talk about all the reason it might be wrong.

[:en]The Middle-Aged Mid-Level Japanese Male Manager: The Bane of Business Leaders[:ja]日本の中年中間層男性マネージャー達:ビジネスリーダーの衰退[:]

[:en] No creativity or innovative ideas. Overly risk-averse. Fearful of change or anything new. Just going through the motions of their jobs, often working late, but more often just working slow. They’re not hungry! They are not assertive! They’re indecisive!. They’re afraid to speak up—afraid to say something with which others might disagree. Abominable at English, they wince at the mere suggestion of trying to learn. The problem is Japanese culture say some. I have encountered many such Japanese managers in Tokyo.

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